Built by a team of seasoned professionals and advisors, Sumner Global has the required industry knowledge and access to meet desired outcomes and the demands of continual global challenges.

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CHAIRMAN - LON AUGUSTENBORG

Lon Augustenborg served in the CIA’s Clandestine Service and Directorate of Operations for 35 years, where he reached the highest ranks of the Senior Intelligence Service.  His last position was Chief of CIA’s largest domestic station, where he worked closely with the US private sector and US law enforcement.  He served as Chief of Station in CIA’s flag ship locations in East Asia and Latin America.   While posted in Washington DC, he held positions as Chief of Operations for CIA’s Counter Intelligence Center and Chief of Operations for Latin America.  Mr Augustenborg’s eight foreign diplomatic postings included locations in the former Soviet Union, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
 
Prior to entering the CIA, Mr Augustenborg was a Los Angeles Police Officer where he worked undercover in LAPD’s Public Disorder Intelligence Division, and served in multiple uniform divisions (e.g., Public Affairs, Juvenile Division, etc.).
 
Mr Augustenborg holds a BA in International Relations and Social Studies from the University of Southern California (USC) and a MA  in Public Communication from Pepperdine University, California. He completed a year of study at University College London (UCL) in England at the Center for International Conflict Resolution.  Mr Augustenborg speaks Spanish and has a working knowledge of Russian, Italian, and Hungarian.
 
A recipient of the CIA Career Intelligence Medal, Mr Augustenborg chaired the CIA’s leadership and teamwork training program for high performance officers and served on numerous strategic planning and promotion boards for the Intelligence Community.  He  worked closely with many foreign intelligence and security services covering four continents, where he provided training, operational assistance, logistical support, and leadership for joint intelligence programs.
 
Since entering the private sector, Mr Augustenborg became a Senior Advisor at Starr Companies Global Insurance and Investments, and a Senior Advisor to Teneo Global consulting services.  He is the founder and current CEO of Novus Intelligence LLC.  He serves on the Advisory Board of the medical research and development firm Liberty BioSecurity. He is  Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Medical Excellence Capital, LLC.
 
Mr Augustenborg is married with four children and six grandchildren.

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER - DAVID SUMNER

David Sumner has over 30 years of experience in developing successful global business platforms focusing on the defence, healthcare, mining and cleantech sectors with a specific interest in corporate finance. Throughout his career, he has held appointments on numerous private and public company boards in executive and non-executive capacities. He has a track record of raising debt and equity funding from global capital markets, demonstrated by him having successfully built and taken six of his own companies’ public at IPO.
 
Having lived most of his working life in the Middle East and Asia, Mr Sumner has built deep and reaching government agency and corporate networks around the world. He has a track record of, and particular interest in, working to solve complex geopolitical issues to the benefit of all. Mr Sumner is the founding trustee of The Sumner Foundation, which started in 2018.

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CHIEF OF STAFF - DR MELINDA FOUTS

Dr Melinda Fouts is a worldwide recognized and highly decorated psychotherapy coach focusing on individuals, corporate executives and government agencies. Her sector agnostic approach has seen Dr Fouts guide and advise some of the world’s most influential people and entities to ensure that their goals are reached in an effective and ethical manner by allowing leaders to focus on critical and strategic thinking, performance optimization, and leadership skills development.
 
Dr Fouts holds an MA in Psychology from the Pacifica Graduate Institute; she achieved her PhD in Psychology from Saybrook University in 2013. She is a member of The International Coach Federation, the Leadership Investment, International Association of Top Professionals (IATOP) and sits on the Forbes Coaches Council. She received recognition from the IAOTP as the Top International Coach of the Year in 2020 and received the award for Most Empowered Woman of the Year in 2021. Dr Fouts has been extensively interviewed for her expertise in executive coaching and also her book, Cognitive Enlightenment.

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CHIEF COMPLIANCE OFFICER -  MICHAEL R. CLARKE (CCEP, NACD.DC)

Michael R. Clarke is Deputy General Counsel & Global Chief Compliance officer for ConvaTec, Inc., a FTSE 100 global medical technology company.  He provides legal guidance on human capital management risks across all global functions and business units for the Convatec enterprise.  For over 21 years, Michael has implemented third-party business risk management programs and mitigated internal risks through his creation and management of global ethics and compliance programs for life sciences and healthcare entities.  He has educated employees and third parties on business ethics practices; managed third-party corruption, fraud and bribery risks; and conducted or overseen internal investigations.

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Before his in-house career, Michael practiced law for 14 years; most recently as a litigation partner with Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, now known as Faegre Drinker; as an associate with other firms; and as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender in Essex County, New Jersey.  He is director certified by the National Association of Corporate Directors, serves on non-profit boards and is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. Michael speaks regularly at a number of legal and compliance industry conferences on employee relations issues, business risk mitigation, and creating and managing global ethics and compliance programs.  Michael Clarke is married with two adult sons.  He received his JD from Cornell Law School and his AB from Brown University.  

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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER -  RAPHAEL THAM

Raphael Tham has worked in the corporate finance sector for the last 25 years with transactions spanning Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, and the United States.  Besides capital markets and M&As, Mr Tham has taken senior management and advisory positions in many companies in various sectors (i.e., the food industry, renewable energy, engineering, finance, IT, etc.).  His expertise includes general management, financial controls and regulatory compliance, corporate restructuring, and fund raising. Mr Tham has extensive IT experience having managed the implementation and deployment of multiple enterprise projects in Singapore, to include the national transport company, sovereign fund, health and homeland government ministries.
 
Mr Tham holds a BA Honors degree from the National University of Singapore; he started his career with the Singapore Economics Development Board

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CHIEF TRAINING OFFICER - BILL GIBBS

Bill Gibbs served  the US Department of Defense and Intelligence Communities for over 20 years.  He held the senior rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army.  He served with the 1st Armored Division, 10th and 19th Special Forces Groups, and the 4th Ranger Training Brigade. As a Paramilitary Operations Officer, he served the Ground Branch of Special Operations Group in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Center (Division) and Latin American Division.  Mr Gibbs participated on foreign deployments in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Central Asia, and Latin America.
 
In the private sector, Mr Gibbs was a founder and Senior Vice President/Operations Manager of Gryphon Holdings US, Gryphon Airlines SA, and Gryphon Consulting Group GE.  Mr Gibbs was instrumental in the development and operation of flight operations throughout the Middle East and Central Asia, providing flight support to US and NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Gryphon Consulting Group has provided aviation, security and risk assessment, and logistical support to US/Allied Fortune 500 companies operating in high-threat environments.
 
Mr Gibbs holds a BA in International Relations  from Brigham Young University, is a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College, and a non-matriculating student doing advanced studies in Ethnic Conflict at Brigham Young University and the University of Colorado.  Mr Gibbs speaks Swedish; he has a working knowledge of German and Spanish.

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CHIEF CYBER OFFICER - JEREMY SAMIDE

Jeremy Samide is a highly sought after, global cybersecurity expert and speaker in the areas of cyber threat intelligence, next-generation security threats, and cyber risk for governments, insurance, financial, healthcare, retail, and legal vertical markets, and family offices. As a trusted cybersecurity expert, Mr Samide leverages his 21 years in cybersecurity supporting clandestine operations for  US Intelligence, Department of Defense, federal law enforcement, allied foreign governments, Interpol, and the private sector by advising organizations around the world on how to protect themselves. He has extensive experience in dealing with state sponsored threats from adversarial groups all over the world; he has held the highest levels of US security clearance. Mr Samide trained, briefed, and worked with Europe, NATO, and APAC intelligence agencies and military forces in the area of cyber warfare.
 
Mr Samide was a fellow in the global think tank, the Boston Global Forum (BGF). The BGF, chaired by Governor Michael Dukakis, brings together thought leaders and experts from around the globe to illuminate the most critical issues affecting the world at large. In conjunction with this program, he has worked with academia from Harvard University, Boston University, MIT, and UCLA to submit action plans on the cyber warfare initiative.
 
Mr Samide has been a guest lecturer at invited to guest lecture  at Harvard University in their Master’s Program to discuss cyber warfare.  He has lectured at the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, Poland to NATO forces focusing on cyber threat intelligence and cyber warfare. Mr. Samide has consulted on the award-winning CBS TV show, “Person of Interest.”  More recently, Mr Samide was a contributor to Italian journalist and political analyst, Loretta Napoleoni’s new book, “North Korea: The Country We Love to Hate” on the topics of cybersecurity, cyber warfare, and cryptocurrency.  Jeremy’s insight and expertise has resonated throughout the world, and he has been a key factor in the success of businesses and executives around the globe.
 
Jeremy holds a BSc in Management Information Systems from Bowling Green State University.