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  4. Ian Saunders, U.S. Candidate for Secretary General of the World Customs Organization

Ian Saunders, U.S. Candidate for Secretary General of the World Customs Organization

Poster of Ian Saunders overlaid on top of Ian Saunders, U.S. Candidate for Security General of the World Customs Organization. Protect. Deliver. Evolve. Engage. #IANSG WCO icon, and QR code

 

Ian Saunders U.S. Candidate for Secretary General of the World Customs Organization
Ian Saunders
U.S. Candidate for Secretary General of the World Customs Organization

 

Driving customs toward a safe, prosperous, and inclusive future

Ian Saunders is a proven and principled leader with more than 20 years of customs experience and 30 years of experience in international relations.  A member of the U.S. Government Senior Executive Service since 2008, Mr. Saunders has a record of addressing complex challenges and elevating organizations to excellence.  He has served the public and the international community in diverse and challenging roles focused on various facets of trade: customs, commercial policy, travel, and infrastructure.  Collaborative in style, considered in communication, and accomplished in delivery, Mr. Saunders has led the implementation of programs, formulation of policies, and forging of partnerships that have advanced facilitation and security in trade worldwide. 

Ian Saunders standing at ITC podium at the Ronald Regan Building
    

Mr. Saunders has been at the forefront of customs’ evolution from a purely revenue-generating enterprise to one that has adopted a proactive enforcement posture to safeguard our societies from the cross-border movement of illicit goods and bad actors.  After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Mr. Saunders supported development of the SAFE Framework and promoted its global implementation via the WCO.  He continues to advocate for coordinated border management to respond to supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, criminal exploitation of e-commerce shipments, the adverse effects of climate change, and other contemporary threats.  Mr. Saunders is committed to providing pragmatic, accountable leadership that will empower customs agencies to address these challenges.

DAS Saunders with the Commissioner and the US Ambassador to Belgium
   

Parallel to its efforts to ensure safety, customs must sustain its tradition of facilitating trade to promote global prosperity.  In his current role as a senior leader at the U.S. Department of Commerce, Mr. Saunders has implemented policies, programs, and strategies that have strengthened commercial cooperation throughout the Western Hemisphere.  Mr. Saunders’ deep understanding of the needs of customs and the trade community enables him to forge strong and enduring public-private partnerships.  He is committed to ensuring predictability and consistency for customs, the trade community, and the public by fully implementing the WCO’s flagship instruments.  While respecting the WCO’s rich past, Mr. Saunders recognizes the need to innovate and adapt to modern challenges.  He will leverage his experience negotiating information sharing arrangements and leading global technology exchanges to help customs agencies harness new trade facilitation technologies while protecting sensitive business information.  Mr. Saunders recognizes that a key to balancing the new with the old is to ensure that the WCO’s working bodies have feasible, time-bound scopes of work that are cost-effective and aligned with the organization’s strategic priorities.

DAS Saunders with DGs of Madagascar and Panama Customs officials
   

Inclusivity is fundamental to the continued success of the WCO and to the effectiveness of global customs cooperation.  Mr. Saunders made responsiveness to members a hallmark of his leadership of the WCO’s Permanent Technical Committee.   Through his experience overseeing U.S. Customs and Border Protection capacity building initiatives, Mr. Saunders developed a keen awareness of member needs and an effective approach to delivering solutions that enabled partners to tackle local problems while strengthening their ability to participate at the international level.  He understands that the global customs community is strongest when it welcomes a diversity of thought and experience. Mr. Saunders is committed to transparency and openness as fundamental principles of good governance and as keys to realizing a safe, prosperous, and inclusive future.

Mr. Saunders has dedicated himself to improving the lives of all touched by the customs community and will bring that dedication to the post of Secretary General.

 

 

 

Ian Saunders Campaign brochures in multiple languages.

Ian Saunders February Newsletter

Please provide appropriate credit when using photographs in digital and print media. Please click on an image to get the high resolution copy.

Ian Saunders at a Department of State facility
Ian Saunders at the U.S. Department of State.
Ian Saunders at the Fragile Borders Conference listening to a presentation
Ian Saunders at the WCO Fragile Borders Conference.
Ian Saunders in a crowd of people at the Fragile Borders Conference
Ian Saunders attends the WCO Fragile Borders Conference.
Ian Saunders with Jordan customs leaders and the Yemeni Director General
Ian Saunders with Jordan Customs Officials, including the Director General.
Ian Saunders poses for a photo with the APEC Gender Equality Workshop organizers from New Zealand's Customs Service
Ian Saunders with New Zealand Customs Service organizers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Gender Equality in Customs Workshop.
Ian Saunders poses with a member of Japan Customs leadership
Ian Saunders with a Japanese Customs representative to the APEC Gender Equality in Customs Workshop.
Ian Saunders presents at the 2023 Asia Pacific Economical Collaboration (APEC) conference
Ian Saunders presents at the 2023 Asia Pacific Economical Collaboration (APEC) event.
Ian Saunders sitting at a table in a recording studio with headphones and a microphone recording his first podcast episode
Ian Saunders recording his first podcast episode
Ian Saunders poses for a photo with the San Diego Deputy Director of Field Operations Anne Maricich
Ian Saunders poses for a photo with the San Diego Deputy Director of Field Operations Anne Maricich
Ian Saunders talks with Kuwaiti customs leaders and the Director General
Ian Saunders talks with colleagues from Kuwait Customs, including the Director General.
Ian Saunders poses for a photo with the U.S. Ambassador to the Port of Spain
Ian Saunders with The Honorable Candace A. Bond, US Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago
Ian Saunders poses for a photo with Yemen's Director General
Ian Saunders with the Director General of Yemen Customs

Please provide appropriate credit when linking to podcasts.

The Ian Saunders Campaign Podcast Series

Ian Saunders Podcast campaign series. Ian is talking into a mike

https://www.dvidshub.net/podcast/569/the-ian-saunders-campaign-podcast

The Ian Saunders Campaign Podcast: Protect

Ian Saunders WCO Campaign Podcast Series: Episode 1 "Protect"

Ian Saunders is the U.S. candidate for Secretary General of the World Customs Organization. In this podcast, he discusses one of the four pillars of his campaign, Protect. Join Mr. Saunders and host, David Quiñones, on a deep dive into Mr. Saunders’ campaign!

El podcast de la campaña de Ian Saunders: Proteger

El podcast de la campaña de Ian Saunders: Proteger

Ian Saunders es el candidato estadounidense al cargo de Secretario General de la Organización Mundial de Aduanas. En este podcast, habla sobre uno de los cuatro pilares de su campaña, Proteger. ¡Únase al Sr. Saunders y al presentador, David Quiñones, en una inmersión profunda en la campaña del Sr. Saunders!

 

 

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  • Last Modified: March 20, 2023