The Honorable Louis J. Freeh   [Download VCard]
Chairman

Louis J. Freeh is a Founder and Chairman of FGIS. Mr. Freeh also serves as Senior Managing Partner of the affiliated law firm of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan, LLP.

Freeh was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University in 1971. He received his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Rutgers School of Law in 1974 and his Master of Laws (LLM) in criminal law from New York University School of Law in 1984. Freeh jointed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent in 1975, working assignments in the New York field office and later transferring to Headquarters in Washington D.C.

In 1981, he joined the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York as an Assistant United States Attorney. Subsequently, he held positions there as Chief of the Organized Crime Unit, Deputy United States Attorney, and Associate United States Attorney.

During this time, Freeh was the lead prosecutor in the "Pizza Connection" case, the largest and most complex investigation ever undertaken at the time by the United States Government. The case involved an extensive drug-trafficking operation in the United States by Sicilian organized crime members who used pizza parlors as fronts. Following the investigation, Freeh served as the federal government's principal courtroom attorney in the 14-month trial and won the conviction of 16 of 17 co-defendants. In 1990, he was appointed a Special Prosecutor by the Attorney General to oversee the investigation into the mail-bomb murders of Federal Judge Robert Vance of Birmingham, Alabama, and civil rights leader Robert Robinson of Savannah, Georgia. This case became known as the VANPAC case. After extensive investigation, a suspect was apprehended, prosecuted, and convicted.

In July 1991, former President George Bush appointed Freeh as United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York. While serving in this position he was nominated to be the Director of the FBI by President William Clinton on July 20, 1993. He was confirmed by the Senate and was sworn in as Director on September 1, 1993 where Freeh remained through 2001.

Following his many years of public service, Freeh accepted a position with MBNA America Bank, N.A., as Vice Chairman, General Counsel and Ethics Officer. In 2006, he served as the company's principal lawyer in connection with the $35 billion acquisition of the company by Bank of America and in 2007 formed FGIS.

James R. Bucknam   [Download VCard]
Chief Executive Officer

Jim Bucknam is the Chief Executive Officer of FGIS. Previously, Jim was the Executive Vice President for Risk Management and Compliance at Kroll. During his thirteen years with Kroll, Jim held a variety of other management and executive management positions and was also responsible for managing large-scale client assignments, including due diligence engagements, internal investigations and monitorships.

Before joining Kroll, Jim served for more than three years as the Senior Advisor to FBI Director Louis J. Freeh, advising him on numerous matters involving domestic and foreign law enforcement officials and government leaders. During that time, Jim traveled extensively and helped shape the FBI's efforts to enhance its foreign law enforcement presence. In 1994, he received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for coordinating multi-agency efforts in support of the Attorney General's Anti-Violent Crime Initiative.

Prior to working for Director Freeh, Jim served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he gained broad experience in federal criminal investigations, trials, and appeals. For more than two of those years, Jim served as a supervisor, responsible for managing the Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the Narcotics Unit.

Jim received his B.S.F.S. degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1983, and his Juris Doctor degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law, College of William and Mary, in 1986.

Omar Y. McNeill, Esq.   [Download VCard]
General Counsel

Prior to joining FGIS, Omar McNeill served as the Bank of America Global Card Services Legal Executive, in Wilmington, DE, where he was responsible for overseeing the Bank of America Global Card Services Legal Department, with staff in the U.S., Europe and Canada. In that role he also provided strategic guidance to the business' senior leadership team on myriad matters impacting the company's operations in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to joining Bank of America in 2006 (in connection with a merger), McNeill was employed by MBNA America Bank, N.A., where he held positions of Senior Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, responsible for managing the company's Law Division, and prior to that, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Litigation Counsel, responsible for managing the efforts of the Litigation and Employment Practices Group within the Law Division. Before joining MBNA in 1997, Mr. McNeill practiced with the law firm of Young, Conaway, Stargatt and Taylor, in Wilmington, DE, focusing on litigation and other matters. Over the course of his career McNeill has counseled clients on compliance, regulatory, legislative and risk mitigation matters, as well as numerous legal issues concerning, among other things, consumer lending, commercial transactions, complex litigation, labor and employment, and corporate governance. Additionally, McNeill has represented companies in connection with audits, investigations and complaints initiated by governmental bodies.

Mr. McNeill is a 1989 graduate of Brown University where he majored in Economics. He is a 1992 graduate of Duke University School of Law.

Timothy P. Flynn   [Download VCard]
Managing Director

Tim Flynn joined Freeh Group International Solutions, LLC, in 2009 after retiring from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with 30 years experience in law enforcement. After serving as a local police officer and then with the Pennsylvania State Police for six years, Flynn entered the FBI in 1986 and was assigned to the Miami Field Office where he specialized in Colombian drug and undercover investigations. He was also assigned to the FBI Miami Special Weapons and Tactics team as a firearms instructor and Rappel master providing tactical instruction for local police and federal agencies. In 1994, Flynn was assigned as an operator on the Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) at Quantico, Virginia. Flynn trained as a sniper and then assault team member and participated in numerous domestic and international assignments including security details for the Director of the FBI, the Attorney General of the United States and numerous foreign dignitaries. During this assignment, he provided instruction in tactics and other specialized training to local, state, federal and international tactical teams. He assisted in the security preparations and planning for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games while assigned as the FBI Counterterrorism representative to the Australian Government. He also participated in the planning and preparations for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, 2006 Torino Winter Olympics and the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.

While assigned as the Senior Supervisory Special Agent in Wilmington, North Carolina, Flynn was selected as the FBI's first representative to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Counterterrorism Center in Canberra, assisting the AFP in training senior management in Command Post and Crisis Management operations. In 2007, Flynn was named the FBI's Legal Attaché in Copenhagen before being promoted in 2008 to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte, NC office responsible for criminal investigations, special events, SWAT operations and administrative functions in the field division. In 2009, Flynn received the FBI Directors Award for Outstanding Criminal Investigation.

John D. Behnke   [Download VCard]
Managing Director

John Behnke has over 22 years of law enforcement experience, with 20 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He began his career as a Special Agent of the United States Secret Service, after graduating with his Juris Doctor (JD) degree from Washington University School of Law.

During his tenure at the FBI, Behnke served in many significant capacities during his distinguished career at the FBI to include his tenure as a member of the FBI Atlanta SWAT team and as an FBI firearms instructor. He was selected to serve as Special Assistant to the then Director of the FBI, Louis J. Freeh, responsible for the planning and coordination of the Director's official travel to 35 foreign countries. Behnke also served as the principal manager and liaison for Director Freeh's visits to FBI domestic Field Offices and the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, VA. Prior to his assignment as Special Assistant to the Director, John was lead agent for the Olympic Park Bombing Investigation. As a result of his successful efforts in this investigation, the U.S. Attorney General honored John with the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award.

Additionally, John was the lead agent in the investigation of the 1989 murder of Judge Robert Vance of the 11 th Circuit Court of Appeals. After this case was successfully prosecuted, John was awarded the Department of Justice's Dedicated Service Award by President George H.W. Bush for his outstanding leadership, dedication and self-sacrifice.

Walter B. Donaldson, II   [Download VCard]
Associate Managing Director

Walter Donaldson joined Freeh Group International Solutions in April 2011 following his retirement from Bank of America / Merrill Lynch. He has 30 years of experience in Risk Management, Corporate Investigations and Law Enforcement. Walter has directed and conducted both internal and external investigations on complex fraud matters internationally. Prior to joining FGIS he served as the Global Special Investigations Executive for Bank of America. In this role, he was directly responsible for investigations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He managed physical security operations for Canada including employee safety programs, building & campus risk assessments and uniformed guard services. He oversaw the acquisitions and integration of five institutions security/investigations programs. He was the liaison for all law enforcement matters and worked with compliance regulators on a global basis.

Earlier in his career, Walter served as the Corporate Investigations Director for MBNA America. During his twenty years with the company, his responsibilities in risk management functions included Internal Auditing, Compliance, FCPA, Country Risk Assessments, and Global Investigations. He developed and implemented a Workplace Violence prevention program and oversight committee, established the Ethics program and hotline, and oversaw an Executive Protection team responsible for seven principals and their families. Walter established three computer forensic laboratories in the US and abroad. He served MBNA as their Director for twenty years before the company’s acquisition by Bank of America.

Walter is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard, Maritime Law Enforcement academy. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds multiple security related certifications. He has lectured on identity theft prevention and recovery, and computer forensics for the University of Delaware and Wilmington University Graduate programs. Additionally he taught first responders computer forensics at the FBI’s National Academy. Walter has produced white papers and been published in various periodicals including the Chief of Police magazine. He is a member of multiple professional organizations, including the International Association of Chiefs of Police among others. He has served as a board member for the International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators, and currently serves on the State of Delaware, Adult Protective Services Advisory Committee.

Jose R. Hernandez, Ph.D.   [Download VCard]
Senior Advisor

José R. Hernandez is the CEO of FGI Europe AG, a Zurich-based, independent international risk management company. He is a former Pricewaterhouse-Coopers partner, bringing expertise in forensic accounting, corporate governance and SEC compliance matters. Since 2001, he has been living in Europe and has focused on assisting Audit Committees, CFOs and Chief Compliance Officers to address issues relating to accounting fraud and corruption (including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) in response to a United States or European regulatory inquiry. These matters include internal investigations; remediation of financial statements and related disclosure; and, assisting companies in presenting their remedial actions to the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of Justice.

Dr. Hernandez holds degrees as a Bachelor of Mathematics and Masters of Accounting from the University of Waterloo (Canada), as well as designations as a Canadian Chartered Accountant, United States Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst. Most recently, he completed his PhD in Economics and Business Administration at the VU University Amsterdam (Netherlands). His dissertation is titled "Principles, Processes, and Practices of Fraud Prevention." He is a faculty at VU University.