Michael is a U.S. licensed Customs Broker and a Certified Public Accountant (ret.) who founded Thomas International Group (TIG) in December 1994 and regularly consults clients independently or in association with other professional and law firms. 

Michael brings over 35 years of experience in trade and international tax matters to his clients and the international trade community.  Over the course of his career, he served two separate 4-year terms on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones (NAFTZ).  An original member of the Oil Refinery and Petroleum subcommittee, Michael has also contributed time and insight on various Customs and Trade (COAC) working groups focused on developing workable solutions to issues facing the trade community. Michael has unique in-depth experience with petroleum and petrochemical operations in Foreign-Trade Zones and other Customs areas.   

Michael serves as a member of the Trade Support Network working with CBP in developing the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and worked with a NAFTZ task force in conjunction with CBP to perfect automation of FTZ admissions. As a US icensed customs broker, Michael routinely files ACE Cargo Release and Entry Summaries for clients, assists in Customs Audit activities to ensure past and prospective compliance with U.S. Laws, and generally works with clients and independently to develop and maintain creative information management solutions for administration, accounting, and reporting for global trade programs.   

Michael's industry involvement includes petroleum, petrochemicals, chemicals, hi-tech process companies; light manufacturing, heavy equipment manufacturing, automotive supply, consumer products, and various service sectors.  In addition to his expertise in NAFTA and Free Trade Agreements (FTA) consulting and compliance, he has worked extensively with clients to develop and pursue global optimization strategies, apply for FTZ status, activate FTZ sites, implement Drawback programs, resolve various international issues, evaluate and optimize existing customs duty management programs, and investigate potential business activities in foreign venues. 

Michael’s professional experience includes over 12+ years working with global clients as a member of multinational public accounting firms and prominent law firms, and over 30 years in trade related services since 1977. 

Michael’s education includes a BS degree in Finance from the University of Houston – Clear Lake, preceded by studies in Materials Science at Rice University.