BExA member wins World ECR Export Controls Consultant of the Year Award
Congratulation to long-standing and active BExA member, Strong & Herd LLP, who have received the prestigious accolade of being voted the Export Controls Consultant of the Year in the 2017 World ECR Awards. Previous winners of this award include the Center for Information on Security Trade Controls (CISTEC) a Tokyo based organisation and SECURUS Strategic Trade Solutions that concentrated on export compliance within the Middle East. The runner up for the 2017 Award was BPE Global a women-owned, women-operated San Francisco, California-based global trade consultancy.
“It was enough to be nominated by our clients for this award,” said Sandra Strong the Managing Partner who originally set up the business in 1995 with Brian Herd, “and really exciting when we learnt we had made it on to the World ECR shortlist so to win is just amazing. I’m really proud of all the team at Strong & Herd who work very hard to ensure that we put our clients first with a friendly, reliable service they can trust.”
When Strong & Herd LLP started 22 years ago they were determined to work in partnership with their clients – and focus on their goals above all else. “Simply put, our measure of success is maximising our clients’ commercial outcomes. Compliance is often seen as an administrative chore but it is a vital link in the international trade world and needs to be given due time and attention but we have to ensure that it is treated sensibly so that it doesn’t become a crippling burden on businesses. It’s my steadfast belief that we won this award because we do things differently, offering on-demand, flexible and focused services.”
This approach clearly allows them to walk with their heads held high among the giants of this world. You just need to look at the other businesses among the World ECR 2017 winners and runners up – Clifford Chance, Akin Gump, HFW (Holman Fenwick Willan as was), Baker McKenzie, Clyde & Co, and in-company compliance teams at Celestica and Meggitt Europe, as well as individuals such as Kevin Wolf who worked tirelessly with the US BIS to advance the US Export Control Reform – to appreciate how impressive and inspiring it is to see a small UK training and consultancy business, located near Manchester Airport, punching above its weight globally and providing positive benefits for companies in the UK, Europe and beyond.
So what does this mean to Strong & Herd? The final word goes to Sandra: “It’s a tremendous boost for the whole team to be acknowledged by your peers in this way but we’ll just carry on as normal. We have been able to champion companies big and small and produce some incredible outcomes for our clients this year and we look forward to doing so for many years to come. So, to our clients (old and new) thank you for letting us help you!”
Posted 25/07/2017