The ACFE Nominations Committee has selected nine candidates to compete for three positions on the 2016-2017 Board of Regents. The board sets standards to promote professionalism and ensure the reputation of the CFE credential.
"As always, we receive many more applications from top CFEs than positions to fill on the Board of Regents," says James D. Ratley, CFE, President and CEO of the ACFE and chairman of the ACFE Nominations Committee. "We thank all the applicants. The committee had to make some difficult decisions in selecting candidates."
Beginning Nov. 1 and ending Dec. 31, members will be able to vote online at ACFE.com for their selections to replace three retiring Board of Regents members, Joseph J. Agins, CFE; Alton Sizemore Jr., CFE, CPA, CFF; and Gerard Zack, CFE, CPA, CIA. The newly elected Regents will be installed in February 2016 and will each serve two-year terms.
Douglas Abbott, CFE, Cisco Systems Inc., San Jose, California
Douglas Abbott, CFE, is the manager, operations of WW Data Intelligence within Cisco Systems' Brand Protection department. Abbott drives Cisco's Data Intelligence team in developing leads by creating tools and reports, which analyze big data for product diversion fraud targeting for Cisco's worldwide team of investigators.
Abbott has been instrumental in creating reactive fraud targeting models and "hunting" tools. He also spearheaded the development of predictive modeling utilizing predictive analytics to identify potentially fraudulent deals before they occur.
Abbott built his position from his experience over several years as a brand protection investigator. His duties have included fraud discovery through data analytics, conducting and coordinating international investigations, interviewing key witnesses and suspected targets, testifying in federal court, and collaborating with Cisco legal and business stakeholders on appropriate deterrent strategies.
His work has led to significant monetary settlements through civil action as well as case support and referrals to federal law enforcement.
Abbott holds a Bachelor of Arts in General Management from California State University, Fullerton, and an MBA from San Jose State University.
Abbott has served as a member and director on the board of directors of the
Alliance for Gray Market and Counterfeit Abatement (AGMA Global).
Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA, CFF, Stout, Risius, Ross Inc., Los Angeles, California
The ACFE honored Sidney P. Blum, CFE, CPA, CFF, as the Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year at the 2012 Annual ACFE Global Fraud Conference for outstanding achievements in the field of fraud examination. Blum's last 30 years have included leading Ernst & Young's (EY) national internal audit fraud investigations and royalty audit practices, winning EY's National Innovation Award, writing the contract investigation methodologies for both EY and KPMG, and creating KPMG's Contract and Royalty Audit Services as a partner.
His teams have conducted more than 1,500 fraud and forensic investigations.
Blum wrote two leading books for attorneys: "License, Royalty & Revenue Agreements: Drafting, Monitoring and Auditing," published by Oxford University Press, and "License, Royalty and Revenue Agreements," published by LexisNexis.
As chief audit officer at Beats Electronics, Blum helped guide the company's acquisition by Apple. He also led internal audit at Warner Bros. Studios and worked five years for a Fortune 50 oil company's internal audit department.
Blum is a frequent speaker at international conferences, and he has testified more than 30 times as an expert witness in federal, state and U.S. International Trade Commission courts.
He leads the Western USA Dispute Advisory & Forensic Services practice for SRR — a global litigation support, forensics and valuation firm.
Rémi Gayraud, CFE, GSK, Paris, France
Rémi Gayraud, CFE, has a finance background and has been the chief financial officer for the Middle East region of a global health care leader.
After this operational experience, he dedicated more than 10 years in investigations and project management for forensic firms as a partner. He has recently joined GSK — a science-led health care company — and works on the corporate investigations team for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He says the new team is comprised of the best experts in global investigation using state-of-the-art investigation methodology.
Gayraud is co-author of two French books:
- "Contrôle Interne / luttez contre la fraude éd. 4," a reference book in France on internal control and fraud risk management, Maxima, 2013.
- "La gestion du risque de fraude éd. 2," on fraud risk management, Emerit Publishing, 2014.
Gayraud has been a CFE since 2007. He collaborated with John D. Gill, J.D., CFE, vice president - education for the ACFE; and Bruce Dorris, J.D., CFE, CPA, CVA, vice president and program director for the ACFE, on the first CFE Review Course in France, which the ACFE implemented in 2014.
He says that becoming a member of the ACFE Board of Regents would help promote the ACFE in Europe and encourage ethics training and help develop an anti-fraud culture for France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
Trixie Guy, CFE, EMBA, AICB, Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation, Trinidad and Tobago
Trixie Guy, CFE, EMBA, AICB, is the manager, recoveries at the Trinidad and Tobago Housing Development Corporation (HDC) with cross-functional expertise in risk management, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing, business continuity professional, auditing, formulating policies and procedures, and financial analysis and debt recovery.
Prior to her position at HDC, she was an assistant vice president at the Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation with responsibility for internal and external auditing, fraud investigation, fraud prevention and detection, formulating policies and procedures and disaster recovery mitigation, and marketing of the organization's products and services.
Guy has more than 20 years of experience in the prevention, detection and control of fraud. She's a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and is the vice president of the Trinidad and Tobago Compliance Association and the treasurer of the ACFE Trinidad and Tobago Chapter.
Guy received an Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) from The University of the West Indies. She's an associate of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (AICB) and a disaster recovery professional.
Leah D. Lane, CFE, Texas Instruments, Frisco, Texas
Leah Lane, CFE, has more than 25 years of combined public and private sector investigation and fraud examination experience. She began her investigative career as a U.S. Customs Service special agent — a position she held for more than seven years before moving to the private sector.
During her career, she has assisted, conducted and managed hundreds of investigations globally involving alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations, multifaceted internal and external fraud, and employee misconduct cases.
Lane is the Texas Instruments (TI) director of global investigations responsible for managing a group of investigators in the U.S. and Asia with global investigative responsibility. Lane is also responsible for fraud awareness within TI.
Prior to joining TI, Lane served as JCPenney's first audit fraud manager. She also worked for more than a decade in several security positions at Hewlett-Packard (formally Electronic Data Systems), at which she was responsible for the investigation and management of complex financial fraud and computer forensic investigations.
Lane is a Certified Fraud Examiner and holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana. She's an active ACFE faculty member and serves on the ACFE Advisory Council.
William P. Olsen, CFE, Grant Thornton, LLP, McLean, Virginia
Bill Olsen, CFE, is a principal and practice leader for the Atlantic Coast Forensic and Investigation practice of Grant Thornton. He's also the national practice leader for anti-corruption services. He's been a CFE since 1993.
Olsen is a former gaming enforcement agent with the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and a global security manager for a Fortune 500 company. He was with Arthur Andersen prior to joining Grant Thornton.
Many of his engagements involved violations of the False Claims Act and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He also has assisted law firms and government agencies in performing asset searches and net-worth analysis for asset forfeiture and recovery. Olsen has consulted numerous organizations in developing anti-bribery and anti-money laundering compliance monitoring procedures.
He has recently authored a book, "Anti-Corruption Handbook," and he was a contributor to the World Bank Institute's "Fighting Corruption through Collective Action" guidelines. He's a frequent speaker on global corruption matters. Olsen was named to Consulting Magazine's list of "Top 25 Consultants" for 2012 and The National Law Journal's Top 50 "Governance, Risk & Compliance Trailblazers & Pioneers 2014." He's also the president of the Institute for Fraud Prevention.
Beatriz Sanz Redrado, CFE, CIA, CRMA, European Anti-Fraud Office, Brussels, Belgium
Beatriz Sanz Redrado, CFE, CIA, CRMA, is director of investigation support for the European Anti-Fraud Office, better known as OLAF. The European Union charges OLAF with protecting its financial interests by fighting fraud affecting the EU budget, as well as corruption and any other irregular activity, including misconduct, within the institutions of the EU.
Sanz Redrado previously served as chief audit executive for four private companies operating internationally in such sectors as retail, defense industry and financial services: Groupe Galeries Lafayette, DCNS, Eridania Beghin-Say and Marks & Spencer. Her responsibilities included creating and reshaping the internal audit structures, leading fraud investigations and implementing best practices in corporate governance.
She's a well-known speaker on anti-fraud, governance, risk management and internal audit topics. Redrado serves on the Advisory Board of the European Institute of Fraud Auditors and on the Institute of Internal Auditors' Board of Directors and the Committee of Research and Education Advisors. In the past, she served as chairman of the Independent Advisory Oversight Committee of the World Intellectual Property Organisation and was the first qualified professional on the French Ministry of Defence Audit, Accounting and Financial Ministerial Committee.
Nancy E. Rich, CFE, MPA, United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Singapore
Nancy E. Rich, CFE, MPA, a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, has more than 25 years of experience investigating major economic crime for the U.S. Navy. Her efforts have resulted in the recovery of more than $170 million.
Rich, who holds a Master of Public Administration degree, is a member of the ACFE Singapore Chapter and served as the vice president of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. Currently working in Southeast Asia, Rich has conducted a wide range of complex, white-collar investigations with various national and international organizations such as the Australian Federal Police, Singapore's Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau and the U.S. Department of Justice Public Corruption/Major Frauds Section.
In 2014, she played an integral role on the FBI task force that dismantled two major bribery schemes at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital and Military Sealift Command in Washington, D.C. Consequently, the U.S. Attorney General's Office presented her team with the Distinguished Service Award.
Rich also has received public service awards from the District of Virginia and the Los Angeles, California, U.S. Attorney's Office. In 2014, the ACFE presented Rich with the Certified Fraud Examiner of the Year award.
Nicolas Winterson, CFE, Intel Corporation, Singapore/Australia
Nicolas Winterson, CFE, has more than 30 years of professional experience in security, crisis management, investigations and project management. He has lived and worked in Asia for more than 25 years.
He began his career with the Australian Navy focusing on SIGINT (signals intelligence), ELINT (electronic intelligence) and counter-narcotics activities within the Asia region.
After leaving the service, he returned to university and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and an MBA from Murdoch University in Australia and returned to Asia to work for Kroll. Winterson then became director of investigations at AGI in Indonesia, overseeing the groups' investigation services, before returning to Singapore to join Global Insight Group as its director of investigations.
In 2005, Winterson joined Intel to oversee its investigations operations in Greater Asia. He chairs Intel's Ethics Asia's Ethics Task Force to drive compliance across the Asia-Pacific. Winterson manages all investigations of allegations into violations of Intel's Code of Conduct, and fraud and malfeasance throughout the Greater Asia region, including Japan, Australasia and parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Winterson, who has multiple Asian language skills, has directed large forensic investigation teams as they tackle complex frauds across multi-jurisdictions. He's a member of the ACFE's Singapore Chapter and Perth Chapter. Winterson delivers presentations throughout Asia on fraud, security and interviewing techniques.