DARRELL SPIRES is an export controls and classification consultant with Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., based in Fort Washington, Md. He specializes in export classifications for complex parts, technologies, and software as well as export controls training for engineers and scientists. Mr. Spires has more than 15 years of classification experience and has personally classified nearly 50,000 items.
Earlier in his career Mr. Spires served as a senior electronics engineer and licensing officer in the Office of National Security and Technology Transfer Controls in the Bureau of Industry and Security. In this position he provided subject matter expertise for dual-use acoustic, navigation, avionics, gravimeters, magnetometers, marine, and propulsion commodities. He was also the principal federal official responsible for export licenses, commodity classification requests, and commodity jurisdiction reviews for national security commodities, software, and technology.
At BIS Mr. Spires was a highly-requested speaker for export control seminars and training, both domestically and internationally. He also provided technical expertise for the update of the Dual Use and Munitions List of the Wassenaar Arrangement as well as outreach consultation to the governments of Jordan, Malaysia, Thailand, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan.
Mr. Spires has also served as the director of consulting services at an international trade law firm and senior manager for export compliance for a global electronics company. Additionally, he spent 20 years in the Department of the Navy, primarily as a project engineer for various surface combatant and submarine sonar systems and unmanned undersea vehicles.
Mr. Spires holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from Tuskegee University and an M.S. in management from the Florida Institute of Technology.
Darrel Spires is not admitted to the practice of law.