About Us

Export Compliance Training Institute, Inc.

The Leader in Export Compliance Training

The Export Compliance Training Institute, Inc. (ECTI) trains companies on how best to comply with export, import, transaction and activity regulations administered by the US Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury. The Institute holds a series of seminars every spring and fall throughout the United States and across the globe, and offers customized training programs to keep your company compliant with US trade controls. We provide:

• Comprehensive training programs on the EAR, ITAR, and OFAC regulations
• Special industry-focused programs such as seminars for aerospace industry, information technology, and financial services
• International seminars for overseas companies

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Instructors

The Institute’s instructors are widely respected experts in the field of export compliance and have many years of experience in interpreting and applying the rules. Our instructors include:

• John R. Black
• Maarten Sengers
• Scott M. Gearity
• Gregory J. Creeser

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John R. Black

Principal - Black, Sengers & Associates

John R. Black has over 22 years of experience in US export and trade control matters. He advises a wide range of US and foreign companies, ranging in size from Fortune 10 to small companies in nearly every industrial sector. He also serves as an expert export control adviser to several major US law firms and their clients, and has advised several foreign governments on US export control matters. Within the export compliance field, he has earned a reputation as one of the leading experts on US export and trade controls.

From 1984 through 1988 he worked for the Bureau of Export Administration, where he was responsible for writing the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and interpreting the EAR for government and industry. From 1988 to the present, Mr. Black has been an export/trade control compliance consultant.

During his 20 years in the field, Mr. Black has developed a comprehensive knowledge of the Export Administration Regulations (including the antiboycott provisions), the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and the trade control regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Accepts Control. He uses his depth of expertise in multiple US trade control regulations to help his clients ensure they comply with the entire scope of US trade controls.

Mr. Black has advised major US exporters on export control internal compliance policies, processes, and procedures. He has also conducted many export control compliance audits for his clients and worked with them to implement remedial measures to address deficiencies found in the audits. Mr. Black has worked with companies involved in export enforcement actions and has helped them to develop comprehensive remedial compliance policies, processes, and procedures which have successfully mitigated the penalties imposed for their violations.

Mr. Black’s comprehensive knowledge of US regulations and his understanding of practical business requirements enable him to develop targeted in-house training programs for US and foreign companies. He has been a featured speaker at well over 100 conferences and seminars on US export controls throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. He has also written numerous articles for various legal and export publications regarding US export/trade controls and has written several books on the subject.

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Maarten Sengers

Principal - Black, Sengers & Associates

Maarten Sengers runs the Washington, DC office for Black, Sengers & Associates. Since entering the field in 1993, Mr. Sengers has worked with a variety of corporations, both large and small, in all aspects of export compliance, particularly in the IT industries. He has mastered the EAR, ITAR, and OFAC regulations. Mr. Sengers has advised numerous companies on computer, telecommunications, software, encryption, chemicals, and defense controls. He has conducted numerous export compliance audits for both US and international companies. He is fully familiar with the latest regulatory developments.

Mr. Sengers has worked as an advisor to over 100 domestic companies in diverse industries. He has also served as the interim Export Compliance Director for a major PC company and a satellite telecommunications company. His work includes classifying thousands of products to determine their export control restrictions, obtaining export licenses, and constructing and implementing related compliance procedures, and providing practical day-to-day export compliance advice.

Mr. Sengers’ experience also includes drafting and implementing internal compliance programs and auditing some of the most sophisticated export compliance programs globally. Mr. Sengers in a regular seminar speaker on export controls and a regular contributing author to several export compliance publications. He received his Juris Doctor from the College of William & Mary and is admitted to the New York, Washington DC, and Maryland bars.

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Scott M. Gearity

Senior Consultant - Black, Sengers & Associates

Scott M. Gearity is a consultant with Black, Sengers & Associates. Scott joins BSA from Microsoft Corporation, where he held a variety of international trade compliance roles. Most recently, Mr. Gearity was based in Dublin, Ireland where he served as Microsoft’s export compliance manager with overall responsibility for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Gearity was a consultant at two boutique Washington-based export control consulting firms, MK Technology and Export Strategies, LLC.

Mr. Gearity’s clients have ranged in size from small start-ups to some of the world's largest companies, in industries including software, computer hardware, telecommunications, aerospace, and energy. Mr. Gearity is practiced in designing and implementing compliance programs, integrating controls into enterprise resource planning systems, conducting audits, and seeking export authorizations from government agencies. In addition to a broad knowledge of US export controls, Mr. Gearity is also well-versed in the European Union system, as well as the challenges facing multinational companies operating under the complex, overlapping, and sometimes contradictory regulations of various countries.

Mr. Gearity holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies and economics from American University. He is also a licensed US customs broker.

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Gregory J. Creeser

Export Compliance Consultant

Prior to becoming an export compliance consultant, Gregory Creeser held the position of Corporate Director for International Trade Compliance with Goodrich Corporation’s Washington Operations Office. In this position, Greg was responsible for assisting the export and import compliance programs, and international trade requirements for 3 major sectors with over 100 facilities located throughout the United States and overseas. Prior to Goodrich, Greg worked for four years as the Corporate Manager for Export and Import Compliance within TRW’s Washington Operations office.

Greg began his career in the export arena by serving for 2 years as a licensing officer within the Office of Defense Trade Controls at the Department of State. In that role Greg adjudicated export applications relating to categories I, II, III, XI and XII as well as Commodity Jurisdiction requests. Prior to his days as a licensing officer, Greg spent 8 years with the State Department’s Office of Administration, traveling internationally with various Presidential administrations to arrange the financial and logistic requirements for foreign policy visits made by the Executive Branch.

Greg held the position of President of the board of directors of the Society for International Affairs (SIA) from 2004-2006, a volunteer non-profit educational organization dedicated to the education of the export community on all aspects of technology transfer. He also held the positions of Vice President, Communications Director, and Conferences Director for SIA.

Greg has spoken at numerous conferences and seminars both in the US and Internationally on Export Issues.

Greg received his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Economics from Texas A&M University in 1987. He is married and has three children, ages eight, eight and five.