Sebastiaan is one of the founding partners of Bennink Dunin-Wasowicz and he enjoys a stellar reputation as leading expert in the international trade law community. Sebastiaan has vast experience in providing pioneering technical and strategic advice in complex national and cross-border trade law related matters to (inter)national clients operating in a wide range of industries and jurisdictions. Sebastiaan’s practice focuses on advising and representing clients on export controls and economic sanctions and he also assists clients on other compliance related matters. Sebastiaan conducts internal investigations, prepares voluntary disclosures, and he frequently represents clients in regulatory enforcement actions with national and foreign competent authorities. Clients highly regard Sebastiaan’s direct, clear and practical advice, as well as his sharp legal analyses, his result-driven approach and in-depth knowledge of their business. Sebastiaan has exceptional knowledge of export controls and sanctions and has a great ability to break down the most complex legal challenges into a readily comprehensible advice. Furthermore, Sebastiaan lectures on economic sanctions and export controls and is a regular speaker at (inter)national conferences and seminars about these and other compliance-related topics. In addition, Sebastiaan frequently publishes articles in legal magazines and is regularly quoted in various (inter)national media outlets.

Martijn Feldbrugge, Director of BSCN BV (Business & Sanctions Consulting Netherlands), studied business administration and worked for various financial institutions for over 20 years.With a background in ICT, broad financial industry knowledge, strong analytical capabilities and a business administration education, he implemented solutions for complex situations. Since 2005, he set up and executed sanctions and export control compliance functions for two major Dutch financial institutions after they were subject to enforcement action by US authorities. In 2011, he founded BSCN, which supports financial and non-financial institutions and companies in developing and implementing policies, processes and procedures related to compliance, sanctions and export controls. Clients value him for his enthusiasm, analytical skills, broad network and out-of-the-box views.

Dr. Thorsten Güldner-Bervoets is Executive Director, Group Head of Financial Sanctions Compliance at Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI) and Head of the Raiffeisen Competence Center for Financial Sanctions. He has worked in RZB/RBI compliance since 2005, primarily focusing on the implementation and enforcement of anti-money laundering measures, counter-terrorism financing, and financial sanctions at the head office and throughout the RBI banking group. Prior to his work as a compliance officer, he spent nearly 10 years as a client advisor.

Natascha Mattern is a Senior Operations Specialist in Export Control at SAP, based at the company’s headquarters in Walldorf, Germany. With nearly a decade of experience in export compliance, she brings deep expertise in navigating the complex regulatory landscape of international trade. Natascha began her career at SAP in 2015 as a working student in Export Control, transitioning to a full-time role within the team in 2018. From 2020 to 2022, she broadened her industry perspective at KSB SE & Co. KGaA, a global engineering leader, where she worked as Export Control Referent in the Legal & Compliance department. She rejoined SAP’s Export Control team in 2022. In her current role, Natascha works on SAP’s Export Compliance Management program, including sanctioned party list screening and embargo checks via SAP Global Trade Services (GTS), the execution of daily export control operations under EU, German, and U.S. law, the optimization of export control processes in close partnership with IT as well as risk management and the implementation of internal controls. Natascha has a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Management from the University of Applied Sciences Ludwigshafen in Germany including a year of study at National Taiwan University in Taiwan and subsequently completed her Master’s degree in the same field at Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany with a semester at Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. Her international academic background complements her global perspective on export control and trade compliance.

Jeff Nielsen is a sanctions and export controls lawyer with over 20 years’ experience representing clients in diverse industries, both at law firms and in-house. His expertise is in both United States and European Union sanctions and export controls laws.

Susan Thompson is the ICRM EU Sanctions Regulations Head. In her role, Susan is responsible for overseeing financial sanctions compliance across the EU. Susan advises senior management on critical sanctions risks and geopolitical developments, ensures Citi’s adherence to the Citi’s Sanctions policies, and manages the execution of issue escalation and strategic initiatives from an EU perspective. As part of her role, she also engages with local and European regulators and National Competent Authorities (NCAs) across EU countries and actively participates in peer forums. Susan joined Citi in 2001, holding various positions within Citi before transitioning to Citi’s Sanctions organization in 2015. Prior to Citi, she gained experience at Ulster Bank and AIG. Susan is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers Ireland (ACOI) and the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS).

Dr. Siqi Zhao is a Legal Associate in the firm's Amsterdam office. She assists clients with sanctions, export control, and other trade-related matters. A native Mandarin speaker, her work has an emphasis on projects involving China. Siqi holds a PhD in law from KU Leuven in Belgium. Her doctoral research centred on international trade law, WTO law, Free Trade Agreements, and EU and China trade laws and policies. Her PhD dissertation was unanimously approved by the doctoral examination committee without changes. Siqi holds a master degree (cum laude) in EU law from the University of Turin, Italy. She earned dual bachelor degrees in law and sociology from the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) in 2017 and successfully passed the Chinese National Judicial Examination in the same year, obtaining the Legal Professional Qualification Certificate.