Mike Heldebrand leads Ernst & Young’s Americas/US global trade practice, which includes a team of over 500 professionals. Heldebrand helps companies improve and strengthen their overall international trade functions. He has experience in helping companies determine compliance with global trade regulations and strengthen their overall function. Examples of projects include import/export process reviews, identification of areas of exposure, completing policies and procedures manuals, and on-site compliance training. He has also coordinated the preparation, submission, and activation of Foreign-Trade Zone applications for numerous companies. Heldebrand is experienced at conducting compliance assessments and opportunity evaluation reviews for global clients. He uses EY’s international tax network to conduct reviews for clients aimed at reducing their global customs duties and Value Added Tax liabilities while concurrently ensuring compliance. Heldebrand also has participated in systems integration projects in international trade. He has worked with clients to define systems functional requirements and evaluate available software packages. Frequently Heldebrand is engaged with reviewing traditional manual trade processes to find potential efficiencies gained through automation. In addition, he has been involved with reviewing a company’s landed cost structure to identify minimization opportunities. Heldebrand received a bachelor of business administration from Baylor University and has a master of business administration. He is licensed as a US customs broker. In addition, Heldebrand is a member of the American Association of Exporters and Importers, the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones, Tax Executive Institute, and CompTIA (the Computing Technology Industry Association). He has been a contributory speaker at all those associations.