Greg Nichols

Global customs & trade leadership

Turning border complexity into business advantage.

Global customs executive, DHL Global Forwarding Global Management Board member, and proven product leader—combining deep trade expertise with commercial growth and operational transformation.

Explore my work Speaking & advisory
90+global markets
4,000+specialists
Over 6×product growth in 7 years

A core belief

The best customs organizations do more than clear goods. They improve how the entire supply chain performs.

When import and export clearance is managed in a modern, connected way—with the right data, expertise, technology, and exception management—it improves far more than customs performance. It strengthens the results of the entire supply chain.

01Faster flow
02Greater predictability
03Lower cost & inventory
04Stronger compliance
01

Areas of expertise

Where policy meets operations

Leading through the moments when trade gets complicated.

01

Customs strategy

Transforming customs from a transactional requirement into an actively managed source of supply-chain resilience, insight, and value.

02

Trade transformation

Bridging technology and operations through integrated data, analytics, digitalization, and practical regulatory expertise.

03

Product & P&L growth

Scaling a specialist service into a global product through customer focus, business development, investment, and operating discipline.

TradeConnect

From fragmented local services to one global customs product.

I conceived TradeConnect and led its development into the integrated global customs landscape that I believed our customers and operations needed.

When I took on the global role, customs brokerage was an immature, largely country-led product. I transformed it into a globally managed proposition serving many of the world's largest companies—combining local regulatory expertise with common standards, connected technology, and a unified customer experience.

01

Global standards

Created the common operating, compliance, service, and data standards required to manage customs consistently at global scale.

02

Integrated technology

Built a global IT and data environment connecting our local customs declaration systems around the world.

03

AI-led evolution

Now leading full-scale AI adoption in operations to improve quality and efficiency, and in customer experience through advanced AI-powered analytics.

Leadership perspective

“Clearance should be managed as part of the supply chain—not as an administrative step at the border.”

I lead at the intersection of customs regulation, global logistics, technology, and customer strategy.

As Senior Vice President, Global Customs Solutions and a member of the DHL Global Forwarding Global Management Board, I lead a network of more than 4,000 import and export clearance specialists across over 90 global markets.

During seven years in the role, I have grown the customs brokerage product by more than sixfold. From 2019 to 2025 alone, its bottom-line contribution increased by over 500%, with EBIT growing at a compound annual rate of more than 25%. That performance has been built on deep local expertise, a globally consistent operating model, and TradeConnect—our integrated customs environment.

ExpertiseMake regulatory complexity useful.
ScaleBuild globally; execute locally.
GrowthTurn customer value into durable results.
02

Career perspective

Three decades in global trade

Operator, advisor, practice builder, and global product leader.

2019—present

DHL Global Forwarding

Senior Vice President, Global Customs Solutions. Global customs product leadership, P&L growth, digital transformation, and TradeConnect strategy.

2014—2018

Tradewin Asia

Principal leading practical trade compliance consulting across Asia, from outsourced compliance operations to complex customs and market-entry advisory.

2001—2014

PwC & KPMG

Built and led trade, supply-chain, and business-performance practices across Asia, including China and Singapore, with responsibility for clients, teams, risk, and financial performance.

1995—2001

Global forwarding operations

Progressed from air operations to District General Manager, with responsibility for sales, operations, and a full-service logistics and customs brokerage organization.

03

Current thinking

Executive agenda

The issues reshaping global customs leadership.

02

From customs data to business intelligence

Why a unified data layer changes the conversation from filing performance to enterprise decision-making.

03

Leading through tariff volatility

How leaders can move from reactive updates to structured scenario planning and active trade management.

04

The AI-enabled customs organization

How applied AI can improve operational quality and efficiency while giving customers more powerful, predictive trade analytics.

Speaking, advisory & boards

Practical perspective for leaders navigating global trade.

Available for selected executive forums, industry events, advisory conversations, and board opportunities where customs, logistics, technology, business growth, and international trade intersect.

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Selected themes

  • Global trade in an era of volatility
  • Scaling a global product across diverse markets
  • Customs as a strategic business capability
  • AI, automation, and the future of brokerage