Title
Principal, Trade and Investment
Company

Bio
Walter Hekala has over 40 years of experience in trade facilitation, customs laws, trade capacity building, anticorruption measures, and project management. He is very knowledgeable of customs code and civil service reforms, revenue enhancement policy, and WTO border requirements, and has assessed border operations in more than 20 developing countries, designing projects and providing training to modernize operations. In approaching trade-related reform, Mr. Hekala strives to institute public integrity programs grounded in public-private cooperation and voluntary compliance. As both a certified quality auditor and certified project manager, he brings a unique perspective to reform projects, one that emphasizes timeliness, cost-effectiveness, and measurable results. For the USAID Worldwide Support for Trade Capacity Building (TCBoost) project, he led the creation of the Customs ICT Solutions Database and co-authored the related handbook, “Information and Communications Technology Procurement, Best Practices Guide for Customs Administrations.” He is currently working on the design and implementation of the ASEAN Trade Repository that is identified as a series of linked National Trade Repositories and previously designed and led the USAID-funded development of the Comprehensive Integrated Tariff System in Jordan.. As a member of the Project Management Institute he is proactive in the development of new project management standards including participation in the technical review of the Practice Standard for Project Risk Management.