Co-founder and CEO
Benoit Grenier is a renowned leader in the field of risk management, intelligence and security. Co-founder and CEO of ProActive Risk Management, a risk management firm, Benoit is a highly experienced business professional and security expert with a passion for protecting people, assets and reputations. Hailing from Quebec, Canada,
Benoit began his business career in various management roles including Human Resources, Operations, Sales and Marketing, before becoming the VP of Sales and Marketing of an Apple Computer authorized reseller in Canada. Benoit later went on to become Corporate Director of Risk Management & Security and lead a Security consulting firm before founding ProActive Risk Management.
His expertise in business, combined with his fluency in both English and French and his deep understanding of risk management, has made him a sought-after leader in the industry.
Gina Savoie
Co-Founder, Executive Vice-President, CFO
Gina was born and raised in Quebec to a Canadian mother and a Portuguese father. She completed the Executive Program at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Organizational Development training given by the École des Dirigeants des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC) in Montreal. With over 35 years of expertise in consulting and business intelligence in the retail, manufacturing, and service sectors, Gina is recognized for her insight, judgment, and ability to establish strong client relationships. She is a co-founder of ProActive Risk Management Inc in the United States and Grenier e Savoie, LDA in Portugal, and is fluent in English and French.
To learn more about Gina and the spirit of the Azores.
To learn about her story
Who's Who
Melvin Cordova
Executive
Vice-President
Mr. Melvin Cordova earned a bachelor’s degree in electronics and education from Southern Illinois University. He has 30 years of military and intelligence community experience in technology innovation, addressing the most difficult problems of IT, Analysis, MASINT, and HUMINT. Cordova has four years of private industry experience developing plans, process improvements, and strategies that minimize risks, accelerate revenue, and build strong customer relationships. Mel is bilingual: English & Spanish.
Nam Hoang
Executive Strategist
Vietnamese born in France and raised in Canada, Nam holds an MBA and has over 15 years in technology and business strategy. He is known for his exceptional skills in marketing and sharp business acumen. With extensive and diversified experience going from food and beverage, design and architecture to nanotechnologies, his multi-disciplined approach and background always brings a fresh new perspective.
Don Codling
Executive Advisor
Former FBI Cyber Security
Senior Cyber Security advisor for multiple companies. Still maintains active TS clearance with CI Polygraph. Exec Manager 23+ years with FBI-as Unit Chief Cyber division with extensive operational experience in Cyber Crime and Cyber National Security investigations and senior policy development and implementation operations. FBI lead for Cyber STORM 2 and 3 national Cyber exercises. FBI entities such as NCFTA and IC3 while Chief Liaison Officer to DHS National Cyber Security Division and other IC members.
Spokesperson and cyber security “best practices evangelist” with focus on cyber threats to SCADA/ICS systems, energy sector, health care and financial services. Provides thought leadership in areas involving Law Enforcement and National Security agencies interaction with the private commercial sector.
Yousef Badou
Senior Consultant
Yousef Badou is an educator and trainer with a diverse background. Having grown up in the Middle East, Yousef was better prepared to handle the nuances of the region while deployed as a United States Marine. He served multiple deployments to Iraq, where he navigated through many tribal factions from the southern border to the northern areas of Iraq. Following his time in the military, Yousef was certified as an Instructor/Trainer and was requested, by name, to serve as the Predictive Threat Analysis Lead to the Marine Corps Combat Hunter Program. He served as the certifying authority for instructors in subjects pertaining to Enhanced Observation, Predictive Threat Analysis and Tracking. Yousef founded Emergence LLC to innovate new products and bring Threat Analysis to a wider variety of industries and communities.
Michael Bruecks
Senior Consultant
Michael Bruecks is a recognized, highly accomplished, and internationally respected subject matter expert in critical infrastructure and high-risk facility security protection programs. He has over two decades of leadership experience successfully developing and implementing comprehensive protection programs for the critical infrastructure sectors, and other high-risk facilities in the U.S. and across the globe.
Throughout his career, he has been recognized for drastically improving the protection design, protective strategies, and performance standards for some of the largest commercial nuclear security protection programs in the U.S.
Claude G. Hotte
Senior Advisor
Mr. Claude Hotte earned a Master’s degree in Management from l’École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montreal, Canada. Over his career he has acquired considerable experience in the domain of Corporate Intelligence especially Strategic Advice surrounding mergers and acquisitions. He is also a skilled trainer and coach, one who specializes in advising senior executives. He has worked extensively in both the private and non-government sectors both domestically and internationally for almost 40 years.
Ohad Steinhart
Senior Consultant
Latin America
Is an expert in security matters. His vast experience is based on his participation as an ex-combatant in the Special Forces belonging to the Israeli army, specializing in the fight against terrorism and special operations. He has been an instructor of the Ramat Gun Shooting Academy in Israel, where he trained private and governmental groups as well as in Guatemala where is started in the early 1990’s. He then founded his own security firm to provide a wide range of security services and training. He currently provides consulting to various private entities and families on from the list of fortune 100, to include travel, risk and site security assessment including concerts and large exclusive events, In Mexico, Central American and South America region. Mr. Steinhart has planned and led international protective operations, operating in more than 15 different countries. Mr. Steinhart has supervised and trained agents in domestic and international settings, on protection and security issues. Mr. Steinhart fluently speaks Spanish, English, and Hebrew.
Awah Teh
Chief Information
Vice-President
Awah brings over 16 years of technology development and business strategy experience to the table; including senior and executive management experience at several fortune 500 firms such as IBM, Walt Disney, Sony, Amgen and The Lincoln Financial Group to name a few.
Armed with his experiences from the corporate world, Mr. Teh decided to take-on the Tech-Startup-world, and built a string of successful technology startups.
Paulo Félix
Senior Consultant
Mr. Paulo Felix is a well-respected out-of-the-box thinker and problem solver. He is also recognized as a cyber threat and OSINT expert. Portuguese national, born in Angola, he combines +37 years’ experience in Law Enforcement and Intelligence. Paulo worked for the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police (PJ), Europol, Interpol, and the Portuguese Intelligence Service (SIS). Paulo fluently speaks four languages; English, Portuguese, Spanish, and French.
Me Frédérique Grenier
Executive Legal Vice-President
Lawyer
After receiving the highest honors Suma Cum Laude at the University of Ottawa, Frédérique was called to the Bar of Quebec in 2017. She is recognized for her pragmatic spirit and her talent for popularizing complex situations. Concise in her communications, she is appreciated for her ability to provide practical and business-oriented advice. She has carried out various process implementation projects with great professionalism. Her analytical and strategic capabilities are focused on minimizing risk and maximizing client revenue. Frédérique is bilingual in French and English.
Mark P. Pfeiffer
Senior Consultant
Mark is an expert in aerospace, special mission aircraft as well as some future technologies and their application and intelligence clients on counterterrorism/-extremism as well as dis- and misinformation campaigns in the context of Hybrid Warfare. Another part of his business pertains to aerospace. He has over 20 years of experience in the field of OSINT and co-owned an OSINT system manufacturer (SAIL LABS) for most of that time before successfully selling it to Hensoldt. In his disclosable activities, he works with the European Hybrid Center of Excellence (Hybrid COE – NATO&EU funded) as well as the Baltic War College and the European Commission. Marks is bilingual in English and German.
João Fatia
Special Consultant
João Fatia of Portuguese nationality, combines more than 35 years of experience in the area of Borders, Electronic Security Documentation and Biometrics, document fraud and Research and Analysis in the area of Migrations.
He worked for the Fiscal Police and the Foreigners and Borders Service.
João, speaks three languages Portuguese, English and French.
Simon Talbot
Senior Consultant
Simon is a strategic thinker and problem solver with over 10 years of security, loss prevention and military experience. Holding a Master’s degree in criminology with a specialization in homeland security, Simon has led teams and helped organizations manage risk, optimize their security operations and develop robust processes.