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TODD C. OWEN
Executive Director, Cargo and Conveyance Security
Office of Field Operations
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Department of Homeland Security

 

Todd C. Owen is the Executive Director of the Cargo and Conveyance Security Office within U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations.  As the Executive Director for the Cargo and Conveyance Security (CCS) Office since May 2006, Mr. Owen is directly responsible for all cargo security programs and policies for CBP.  Included within the CCS Office are the Container Security Initiative Office, the Secure Freight Initiative Office, the Non-Intrusive Inspection Technology Office (which includes radiation detection equipment and large scale imaging equipment, policies, and programs), the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program (C-TPAT) Office, the national Canine Enforcement Program, the Cargo Verification Office which manages cargo enforcement policies and activities with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration,  the Cargo Control Office which oversees trade security policies and programs including in-bond, manifest and carrier compliance programs, and the National Targeting Center for Cargo, located in Northern Virginia.  Previously, Mr. Owen was the Director of the C-TPAT program.

As the Director of the C-TPAT Program from January 2005 through May 2006, Mr. Owen strengthened this industry partnership program by more clearly defining the security measures which must be adopted for a member to be eligible to receive the trade facilitation benefits afforded by CBP.  Strong management controls were implemented and hiring was increased, allowing for a significant increase in the level of foreign site assessments performed worldwide under this program.

Prior to arriving in Washington in January 2005, Mr. Owen was the CBP Area Port Director in New Orleans.  As the Area Port Director, Mr. Owen was directly responsible for all CBP operations in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana.  Two hundred forty officers are stationed in the seven Louisiana CBP port offices managed by the Area Director.

Mr. Owen began his career as an Import Specialist in Cleveland, Ohio in 1990, and transferred to Miami in 1992.  Through his eight years in South Florida, Mr. Owen held various trade related positions within Field Operations and the Office of Strategic Trade, before being selected for the New Orleans Area Port Director position in 2000. 

Mr. Owen, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, is a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a senior executive fellow at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.  Mr. Owen also holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida.

 

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