Anne Marie Lacourse: Bridging transactional data and risk intelligence

In celebration of International Women’s Day, ACAMS Today spoke with Anne Marie Lacourse, Global Trade Industry adviser for Sayari Labs. She has 25 years of demonstrated experience helping over 2,000 companies embed international trade compliance into their global supply chains and commercial operations. Lacourse has developed, implemented and managed cross-border trade platforms to support multijurisdictional import and export regulations. In addition, she has managed three-quarters of a million classifications across nearly a billion shipments on every continent, including Antarctica. Lacourse’s extensive technical and practical knowledge across diverse regulatory schemes has been instrumental in completing nearly 1,000 assessments and audits. Lacourse has been key in the development of industry-leading commodity-based transaction signals for red flag identification and shipment diversion detection.

In addition, Lacourse was a crucial member of the team that developed the first commercially available global trade management platform at Vastera, a technology that was later acquired by JPMorgan Chase. Lacourse utilized this technology in day-to-day operations powering anti-money laundering/trade-based money laundering (AML/TBML) compliance for the bank’s international trade finance business. She has served as a U.S. State Department International Traffic in Arms Empowered Official. Lacourse is a member of the ACAMS Today Editorial Committee and a contributing author on topics such as TBML and managing global import and export controls for ACAMS Today and other publications. She speaks extensively at conferences on the mechanics of using transactional import and export data to signal TBML risk.

ACAMS Today (AT): In an industry focused on protecting the financial system, how do you see “Give to Gain,” this year’s theme for International Women’s Day, contributing to stronger and more effective anti‑financial crime (AFC) outcomes?

Anne Marie Lacourse (AML): Over the course of my career, I have come to believe that compliance work generally and AFC work specifically is fundamentally collective. No organization sees the entire risk landscape. TBML, sanctions evasion and corruption thrive in fragmentation. What strengthens the system is the willingness to share knowledge such as typologies, lessons learned, detection methods and even mistakes. “Give to Gain” reflects that reality. When we contribute our experience, through writing articles for the industry, presenting at conferences, mentoring or open industry dialogue sometimes at all hours, we raise the baseline of capability for everyone. Early in my career, I benefited from leaders who were generous with their knowledge of regulatory architecture and enforcement philosophy. That generosity shaped my own commitment to contribute publicly and mentor. In AFC, “giving” knowledge multiplies impact. For example, when we standardize red flags, refine beneficial ownership analysis or elevate trade-based risk signals collectively, detection becomes more anticipatory and less reactive. For women especially, sharing experience accelerates access. Each insight offered shortens someone else’s learning curve. Over time, that exchange builds resilience not only within the institutions and organizations where we work, but across the global financial system.

AT: This field is often male-dominated, especially in national security and export controls. How have you navigated gender dynamics in such technical and policy-driven spaces?

AML: This is true of the past, present, and I suspect the future too. Export controls and national security, especially at the upper levels of complexity, are environments where credibility must be earned and sustained. From watching and participating in anything and everything I could, I learned that preparation and execution were going to be my strongest equalizer. Not theory, drafting impractical policy or showboating, but actually doing the very hard work of embedded trade controls across real commercial environments, demonstrating systems thinking, operational discipline and commercial fluency were going to be my differentiators and then I set out to do just that.

Being one of the few women—or only woman—in a room is noticeable. You cannot pretend it is not what it is, but over time the respect I earned countered the awkwardness. What grounded me was focusing on substance and execution. When you can explain how a diversion scheme unfolds operationally or how a licensing failure creates downstream exposure, the conversation centers on expertise.

Over time, I have also seen progress. More women are now visible in senior roles across sanctions policy, trade compliance and investigative functions. That visibility matters not because competence is gendered, but because representation expands what leadership looks like.

Navigating these spaces has reinforced something important for me: Operational excellence creates authority, but composure sustains it. My approach has always been to contribute rigorously, invite debate and mentor others entering the field so that their pathway feels less isolating than it once did for me. 

AT: Can you share a moment in your AFC career when inclusion empowered you?

AML: There have been many but the one that seems to have mattered most occurred when I was invited into strategic discussions integrating trade data into AML controls within a global trade finance environment! At the time, trade compliance and AML often operated separately. I saw an opportunity to use structured commodity and shipment data as predictive indicators of TBML. What made the difference was inclusion in decision-making—not simply execution. Leadership created space for me to explain how classification anomalies, routing irregularities and licensing inconsistencies could function as systemic signals rather than isolated audit findings. That inclusion transformed an idea into institutional capability. The resulting framework strengthened detection and reshaped how trade intelligence was viewed within the broader AFC program. Most of these same pattern detection methodologies are still used today. It reinforced a lesson I carry forward: Inclusion is most powerful when it is structural. When diverse expertise is integrated at the design stage, not just implementation, programs become more anticipatory and resilient. Being trusted with that level of contribution was empowering, and it shaped how I now ensure others have similar opportunities.

AT: What barriers do women still face in compliance leadership, investigations or threat intelligence roles, and what changes would most enhance inclusion across the AFC industry? 

AML: One persistent barrier is access to strategic visibility. Women often carry significant operational responsibility—designing controls, conducting investigations, managing regulatory reviews—but are not always positioned as architects of policy or system design. Leadership pipelines are influenced by who is seen as a shaping strategy. Another challenge is informal network access. In national security circles and adjacent fields, advancement still largely depends on proximity to established circles. Without intentional sponsorship, progress can be slower than performance warrants. The most meaningful changes are structural. Rotate capable women into cross-functional risk committees. Ensure representation in regulatory engagement forums. Provide exposure to system architecture and policy development discussions. These environments cultivate executive judgment.

Inclusion should also be measured with the same rigor applied to financial risk. Promotion rates, leadership representation in advanced export compliance roles and external thought leadership visibility all provide meaningful data. I feel that the AFC industry is strongest when leadership reflects varied analytical perspectives. I have personally found that it enhances detection quality, decision-making depth and long-term institutional resilience.

AT: How do you use your role to elevate diverse voices and what advice would you offer women entering the AFC field today?

AML: Elevation, to me, is intentional. I try to create visible opportunities by inviting colleagues into strategic discussions, encouraging co-authorship, recommending up and coming colleagues for speaking engagements and ensuring capable contributors are present where decisions are made. I also focus on mentorship. Confidence in this field grows from repeated exposure. Whether discussing export classifications, sanctions of screening logic or ownership transparency, AFC fluency builds over time. For women entering AFC today, my advice is to develop depth and range. Understand how transactions move, how systems structure data, and how regulatory requirements translate into operational controls. Position yourself at intersections where trade and AML, sanctions and supply chains, investigations and analytics all come together because the future of AFC is interdisciplinary. And I will make a plug here for ACAMS Today and the Editorial Committee: Contribute publicly! Writing and speaking sharpens thinking and establishes credibility. 

AT: Outside of your professional life, what shaped who you are today?

AML: Curiosity shaped me early. I was definitely the child in the front row and asking too many questions for my schoolmates to like! Accountability also played a substantial role. I was raised in environments where responsibility carried consequences. That perspective informs how I view compliance and rules generally; they are not just abstract requirements, but are safeguards protecting employees, investors, markets and entire economies. Later on, travel and cross-cultural exposure deepened my appreciation for global commerce and its interconnectedness. Seeing how trade connects people and economies reinforced the importance of integrity within our field.

Two mentors played an especially important role in encouraging and shaping my career during my time at Vastera: Larry Christensen and George Weise. Both brought extraordinary experience in the regulatory and enforcement side of international trade, and their perspectives influenced how I approach compliance to this day.

Larry Christensen, former head of regulatory policy at what was then the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA), had an exceptional command of export control regulations. What I appreciated most about Larry was his insistence on precision. He encouraged me to look beyond the text of the regulations and understand their intent—how licensing thresholds were structured, where enforcement risk concentrated and how policy translated into operational reality. That mindset helped me build a deeper, systems-oriented understanding of trade compliance.

George Weise, former Commissioner of U.S. Customs who oversaw the implementation of the Customs Modernization Act, brought a different but equally valuable perspective. He emphasized accountability within global trade and the responsibility companies have to exercise reasonable care in their compliance programs.

Together, their mentorship reinforced a principle that has guided my career: Effective compliance requires both regulatory rigor and practical understanding of how global trade operates.

Interviewed by: Karla Monterrosa-Yancey, CAMS, editor-in-chief, ACAMS, [email protected]

Ben Bahner, CAMS, editor, ACAMS, [email protected]