Thomas Cantens currently works as head of research and policy unit at the World Customs Organization. Prior to taking his position at the WCO, he served in investigation and intelligence in French Customs and in three sub-Saharan Customs administrations, Mali, Cameroon and Niger. Thomas is an Associate Researcher at the Research Centre on International Development of the Auvergne University (CERDI, France). Having initially graduated as an engineer (POLYTECH Montpellier, France), he holds a PhD in social anthropology and ethnology (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, France) and a postgraduate certificate in geospatial analysis (Ecole Nationale des Sciences Géographiques, France). He has published articles, research papers and books on customs reforms, quantification, and fragility and taxation.