Team
Introduction
At Audere, our most valued asset is our exceptional team, comprising executives, advisors, case managers, analysts, and security operatives. Together, the team collectively possesses and draw upon their unique experiences in uncovering and deciphering confidential information while operating effectively in the most challenging environments.
Charles Blackmore
Charles founded Audere International in 2015 as a specialist commercial intelligence and investigations company emphasising quality human source and analytical research.
He entered the industry in 2004 after leaving JP Morgan Chase and headed up a US-owned practice in London. Charles expanded the business into emerging and frontier markets also establishing a sizeable security company in Iraq after the war.
In 2009 he moved to Page Group as CEO where he developed the global footprint and managed security contracts in Afghanistan, Haiti, the West Bank and Gaza. He was an officer in the British Army for 15 years before leaving to become an investment banker with Flemings. He was resident country manager for Jardine Fleming in Pakistan for 3 years before returning to run corporate finance coverage of Russia.
Charles has considerable experience of utilising timely intelligence on individuals and companies to facilitate decision-making and de-risk new market entry; as well as expertise in using a network of well-placed, confidential sources to trace assets and investigate financial crime. He is widely travelled and has published two books about his expeditions Conquering the Desert of Death and In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind KCMG KC
Malcolm Rifkind began practicing law in 1969 and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1985. He represented Pentlands in Parliament from 1974 to 1997. He served as a junior minister under Margaret Thatcher, as Secretary of State for Scotland and for Transport before, in 1992, becoming Secretary of State for Defence and from 1995 to 1997 Foreign Secretary. He was MP for Kensington and Chelsea from 2005 to 2015 and served as the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament from 2010 until 2015. In the private sector, he has been non-executive Chairman of Armor Group and of Alliance Medical; served as a non-executive Director of Unilever, and of Aberdeen Asset Management; and consulted to Price Waterhouse Coopers and other companies.
Glenn Johnston
Glenn is spearheading Audere’s expansion in North America and also specialises in business development efforts globally. He has over two decades of experience in intelligence and investigations, including, cross-border transactional due diligence, market entry advisory, fraud and corruption investigations, litigation support, asset searches, shareholder activism and proxy contests, and Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and other national security matters.
Glenn began his career as a financial journalist in London and New York. He served as a press officer for the United Nations after the Gulf War and was assigned to the General Assembly’s Legal Committee and the Security Council. He worked for two corporate law firms before transitioning to the intelligence and investigations sector. He has a law degree from Trinity College Dublin.
Mike Longstaff OBE
Mike Longstaff is the Managing Director of Audere Securus. An experienced senior executive with proven track record in business development, stakeholder engagement, relationship management and international relations, with an in-depth knowledge of contemporary defence and security global issues, specifically in the UK, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Indo-Pacific. He has served in numerous senior posts across the military, government, and internationally, managing complex programmes introducing innovation/creativity to business solutions.
Oliver Blackmore
Oliver spent ten years building and managing mining, security and logistics operations in Africa, including four years as Managing Director of a new mining venture in South Africa; Junior Operations Manager of a gold exploration operation in the hostile Karamoja region of North East Uganda; Madagascar Country Manager for a ASX listed company that developed a 136M-tonne coal reserve in a remote region; and managed exploration projects in Zimbabwe, Angola, Kenya, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa.
Monika Rihma
Monika leads our Business Intelligence and Investigations practice. She offers guidance to clients on a range of matters, including pre-transactional, transactional, and post-transactional stages. Her expertise encompasses complex transactional due diligence, market entry strategies, and the management of investor disputes. Working closely with multinational corporations, family offices, and investment funds, Monika provides them with actionable intelligence to effectively enhance and support their commercial strategies.
Her experience spans both the public and private sectors, encompassing government service and a role at PwC, where she investigated political, commercial, and security risks. Monika has a particular specialisation in Russia and the Former Soviet Union territories, a region where she lived and worked for over 12 years.
Renowned for her exceptional skills in intelligence collection and analysis, Monika excels at uncovering strategic information in challenging situations and jurisdictions.
Educated in Hong Kong and the UK, Monika holds a master’s degree in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College London. She is also furthering her expertise in Cybersecurity at Harvard University.
Teagan Erichsen
Teagan leads our litigation support and disputes practice. She works closely with corporate clients, external counsel and litigation funders to provide strategic intelligence for litigation and arbitration proceedings, internal investigations and sovereign asset tracing. Her work includes pre-litigation assessments, large-scale fraud and corruption investigations and multi-jurisdictional asset tracing at various stages of enforcement. She has particular expertise in challenging jurisdictions including offshore financial centres.
Teagan has worked in business intelligence and investigations for over fifteen years, initially and as an analyst and German business development manager at a UK risk consultancy. In addition to her disputes-focused work she has extensive experience case managing complex pre-transactional due diligence assignments.
Teagan studied International Relations at the University of St Andrews and holds a Masters in the same subject from the LSE. A dual German-American national, she speaks German and divides her time between New York and London.
Vivien Li
A native Mandarin and Cantonese speaker, Vivien specialises in the Asia Pacific region and complex investigations. Vivien started her career in foreign direct investment consulting. Prior to joining Audere, Vivien worked at several prominent global corporate intelligence firms on behalf of a wide range of clients including banks, sovereign funds, PEs, law firms and multinational corporations.
Dr Burcu Ozcelik
Burcu has extensive on-the-ground knowledge of the Middle East, and has lived in Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, and the US. Burcu has taught Middle East politics, conflict, and peacebuilding studies at the University of Cambridge, where she earned her PhD. Previously, she worked with the United Nations Development Programme, conducted research for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and advised private entities and regional governments on geopolitical risk and security.
Jean-François Minier
Based in Tokyo, Jean-François brings over 30 years’ experience advising governments and leading multinational institutions on bridging the Asian and European markets. Jean-François has also worked in both trading and management roles at some of the world’s leading financial institutions, including: CEO, Asia-Pacific for Dresdner Klenwort, the investment banking arm of Dresdner Bank; Managing Director and Senior Advisor at Kroll in Japan. He is the former Vice-Chairman of the European Business Council in Japan and an Independent Outside Board Member of Denki Kogyo, a prominent listed telecommunications company in Japan.
Edward Foo
Edward has over two decades of experience as a senior investment professional managing distressed debt investments, special situations investments, and financial transactions in global markets. Predominantly based in Asia, he has accumulated a wealth of expertise and cultivated extensive networks to adeptly manage complex situations. This includes the execution of private structured finance deals, overseeing debt restructuring and workouts, management of litigation and enforcement proceedings as well as successfully executing cross-border asset recoveries.
Additionally, Edward is involved in strategic advisory roles for state-owned enterprises and prominent Asian conglomerates, with a specific focus on the development, financing, and operational aspects of infrastructure in the domains of transport, power and mining.
Mathieu Boulègue
Mathieu has for many years worked on corporate intelligence cases, due diligence, and geopolitical risk analysis related to Russia, Ukraine, and the Former Soviet Union in both the public and private sectors. Based in New York, Mathieu is a Consulting Fellow with the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House.
Sam Lytton Cobbold
Sam graduated with a first in French, Arabic, and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from St Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford. He has worked for media and charity organisations in a range of jurisdictions across EMEA.
Jordan Dobney
Jordan graduated from University of Bristol with a MSc in International Security, after earning his BA in History and International Relations from University of Exeter and has worked in policy and political communications and for NGOs in Greece and in London.
William Seymour
Will graduated from Durham University with a BA in French and Russian and has worked for businesses in Paris and Moscow. Before Audere, he had worked as a consultant to a global corporate intelligence firm; as an analyst for an Africa-focused political risk consultancy; and as a financial researcher for a London-based expert network start-up.
Thais Maemura
A fluent Portuguese and Japanese-speaker, Thais holds a master’s degree in international Peace and Security from King’s College London where she wrote her thesis on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Thais has conducted research and analysis for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and has also worked in the Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
Jonny Norman
After serving for over a decade as a Royal Marine Commando, Jonny worked extensively with US environmental, security, and engineering companies and in leadership positions in a leading UK medical, safety, and mine/UXO clearance service provider, as well as a prominent integrated risk management group. Jonny’s experience spans Iraq, Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Libya, Kuwait, the UAE, and Antarctica, where he worked with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) team.
Bryan Hutcheson BEM
Bryan served over 40 years serving in the British Army, primarily in the Special Forces. He has delivered specialist security risk management consultation globally for both Government services and commercial companies and has a proven record of success in setting up physical security facilities and personnel security (vetting) regimes and in assessing and understanding regulatory and management requirements for all security disciplines within the UK and overseas. Bryan is also a Member of the World Institute for Nuclear Security, (WINS.) and holds a current UK vetting accreditation.
John David
John possesses a distinguished 17-year tenure in the British Military, marked by acquiring specialised security skills. Post-service, he gained over 30 years of security management expertise across various sectors and regions. His roles included training, policy development, and extensive international experience in countries like the USA, Mexico, Kenya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Ukraine.
He holds a master’s degree in risk and security management, cybersecurity certifications, and a Certified Project Officer certificate. John is a registered Independent Security Consultant with the London Chamber of Commerce and an active member of global security institutions, including SIA, ASIS, IRSM, and The Security Institute, where he’s a Validation Board Member.
Tom Mayhew
Tom graduated from the University of Exeter with a BA (hons) in International Relations and won the Deans Commendation Award. Tom’s studies focused on conflict, genocide, and counter terrorism, culminating in a thesis examining how wildlife conservation strategies could counter the drivers of violent extremism in Northern Kenya. Tom subsequently assisted King’s College London Study Group’s Director of Programmes with assessments on topics including Russia’s war against Ukraine and alternative counter terrorism strategies.
Catriona Breen
Catriona is a Chartered Accountant with extensive experience in practice and industry. A former Big 4 auditor who has worked with a variety of clients ranging from FTSE companies to family run entities.
Her most recent experience has been working in the healthcare industry, managing a group of 18+ practices including all month end procedures and consolidation.
Catriona is skilled at producing and analysing financial data and working within tight deadlines with a variety of stakeholders.
Beth Sanderson-Brown
Beth is a C-Suite Executive Assistant who supports the senior leadership team.
Following studying Business & Management at Oxford Brookes, Beth went on to continue her studies, beginning her CIMA qualification whilst working within a finance team for the Ministry of Defence before joining Audere.
Lady Olga Maitland
Lady Olga has over 35 years’ experience in security and governmental activities important to business. As a Member of Parliament from 1992 – 1997, Lady Olga specialised in defence and security issues. She founded and is president of the Defence and Security Forum, an influential foreign affairs and defence think tank. Lady Olga has been CEO of the International Association of Money Transfer Networks and has a portfolio for business development encompassing Africa and the Middle East to Asia. She chairs the Algeria British Business Council and has a deep knowledge of foreign direct investment across North Africa.
James Blount
James has spent over 40 years managing a complex range of security and intelligence risks around the world. After graduating from Oxford University in 1980, he travelled widely across Soviet-occupied Afghanistan with the Mujahideen. He served in the British embassies in Lima and Islamabad; was CEO of an investment bank in Karachi; Iraq country manager for Control Risks, Regional Manager in Erbil and Director Middle East in Dubai; and Director of Special risks at Hiscox.
Jamie Bowden CMG OBE MVO
Having first served in the region as an Army officer with the peacekeeping force in the Sinai in 1984, Jamie has nearly forty years’ experience in the Middle East. His diplomatic career included postings in Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Washington, as well as being the British Ambassador in Bahrain, Oman and Chile. Jamie spent three years at GCHQ, and from 2014 to 2017 he served as the Deputy Private Secretary to HRH The Prince of Wales, handling foreign, realm, and Commonwealth matters.
Sir Anthony Brenton, KCMG
Sir Tony Brenton served two tours in the British embassy in Moscow, including as UK Ambassador 2004-8. He oversaw the British Embassy in Washington DC throughout the Iraq war and also dealt with the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident and the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Since leaving the Foreign Office, Sir Tony been a Senior Fellow at Cambridge, an advisor to Lloyds Insurance Market and a member of the Board of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce. He has written books on environmental diplomacy and the Russian revolution and contributes regularly to media discussion on Russian issues.
Alan Rosling CBE
Alan’s deep business experience in complex growth markets, especially in Asia. Early in his career, Alan acted as Strategy Director of United Distillers, CEO of Piersons (a division of Courtaulds Textiles), as a banker with SG Warburg and a member of the Policy Unit at 10 Downing Street. Alan co-founded ECube Investment Advisors, offering ESG expertise in India. In 2009, he co-founded Kiran Energy, one of India’s pioneering solar power companies. Earlier, he was Executive Director of Tata Sons and responsible for the Tata Group’s international strategy, prior to which he was Chairman of Jardine Matheson India.
Whit Mason
Whit founded and edited the English editions of Russia newspapers in Novosibirsk and Vladivosok in the early 1990s and was a journalist and researcher in Hong Kong, Sarajevo, Seoul, Istanbul and Kosovo. Whit has spent the last twenty years advising prime ministers, generals, ambassadors and UN peacekeeping missions on the intersection of conflict and communications. Whit has published books on Kosovo, Afghanistan and Islamists; and has been affiliated with numerous prestigious think tanks and universities.
Audere’s Other Assets
Intelligence Source Network
We have nurtured enduring and well-established relationships across various jurisdictions, encompassing the offshore financial sector, governmental bodies, security services, and other entities with access to industry-specific insights.
Partnerships
Audere maintains exclusive and discreet partnerships with leading global firms specialising in physical and cyber security, as well as analysis.
Technology
Audere has invested in highly sophisticated data mining and analytical technology.
Global Presence
Audere operates from strategic locations around the world.
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Arrange ConsultationLondon (HQ)
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Arrange ConsultationMumbai, India
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Arrange ConsultationKyiv, Ukraine
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Arrange ConsultationTallinn, FSU, and Eastern Europe
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Arrange ConsultationDubai, MENA
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Arrange ConsultationSingapore, South/Southeast Asia
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Arrange ConsultationTokyo, East Asia
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Arrange ConsultationNew York/Washington
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Arrange ConsultationLagos
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