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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LON AUGUSTENBORG - CHAIRMAN

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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DAVID SUMNER - CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

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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DR MELINDA FOUTS - CHIEF OF STAFF

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

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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RAPHAEL THAM - CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

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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BILL GIBBS - CHIEF TRAINING OFFICER

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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J. FRANK MERMOUD - INTERNATIONAL & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Mr Mermoud is an experienced corporate Executive and former senior U.S. Government official with extensive international experience in government and in the private sector.  Mr Mermoud has a demonstrated record of success in government and corporate leadership and strategy, business development, capital raising, policy creation and implementation, advocacy and strategic negotiation, and crisis and reputation management.

Mr Mermoud has also held a number of advisory and board positions on both private and public companies.

Over his career in government spanning more than three decades, Mr Mermoud has served four United States Presidents in several appointed Government positions, including: Head of International and Diplomatic Corps for United States Presidential Inauguration, U. S. Department of State as the Secretary of State's Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, U. S. Department of State, Director of Congressional Affairs, U. S. Information Agency, Congressional Liaison Officer and Private Sector Initiatives, U.S. Department of Commerce, Associate Director of EXPORT NOW Presidential Initiative and Director for Congressional Federal Business Procurement and Export Development, U.S. Department of State, Protocol Officer, White House, Presidential Advance Representative.

While at the U.S. Department of State from 2002 - 2009 and serving as the Secretary of State's Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs, Mr Mermoud directed and managed the Department’s trade, energy and business advocacy programs in Washington and in more than 180 countries with annual deal flow value of over $20 Billion.  Mr Mermoud led Economic and Energy Dialogues with the Baltics, Poland, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine to name a few.  Additionally, he was a lead participant in Iraq Reconstruction economic and commercial efforts and in a variety of sectoral Economic Working Groups with the OECD, EU, China and India.

He is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and is an Eagle Boy Scout.

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JUDY ROBERT - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Mrs Robert has over 30 years of experience within international business development management and government relations. Judy has an impressive proven track record across all sectors with a particular emphasis on Defence systems and technologies. She has sourced, negotiated and closed numerous multi-million dollar government funded deals in the Latin American, Caribbean and European markets.

Based in Israel with her family, Judy is fluent in Spanish, English, Hebrew and Portuguese and has served within the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) where she was decorated by the President of the State of Israel for services to her country.

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JASON CALDER MBE - GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Jason Calder served as an Infantry Officer for 23 years, leaving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Army.  During that time he saw operational service in the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan both as an armoured infantry commander in 7 Armoured Brigade and in an air landing role with 16 Air Assault Brigade.  He also held senior positions as the Chief of Staff for all armoured training in British Forces Germany, and as a strategic planner within the UK's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.  His final role was in the Ministry of Defence as the lead for Dismounted Close Combat equipment acquisition.
 
In the private sector, Mr Calder has spent 13 years in Financial Services, firstly as a Programme Director with BNY Mellon and subsequently as the Head of Change and interim Chief Transformation Officer with a UK based pension fund.  His expertise has included leading large-scale  global programmes to both remediate and implement complex regulations; leading strategic transformation projects to help businesses become more agile and effective in meeting client expectations; in fixing foundational operating issues; and in developing target models to meet business needs in line with maturing corporate strategy.
 
Mr Calder is a graduate of the UK's Advanced Command and Staff Course, achieved an MA in Defence Technology from Cranfield University, majored in Corporate Strategy for his MBA with the Open University and was awarded an MBE in 2011 for leadership whilst in the British Army.  Mr Calder is married with four sons.

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BRIAN MAIR - GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

During a 30 year extensive and varied career in the Royal Navy, specialising in Diving and Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Brian saw operational service in numerous conflicts across the globe. In addition to ship command he also taught Joint Operational Campaign Planning at home and abroad, served in the Permanent Joint Headquarters and was a Project Manager in the Ministry of Defence.  After a year as a student of the Defence School of Language, his final appointment was a Diplomatic role in the Middle East.
 
On leaving the service as a Commander, having completed a Masters Degree in Security & Risk Management, he transitioned smoothly into the civilian world by working in the Port Special Systems department during the construction of a mega port in Abu Dhabi.  This was followed by a senior Corporate Security position with SHELL acting as their Regional Security Manager for Africa. This role, based in Lagos, was responsible for creating a secure business operating environment, minimizing loss and, crucially, safeguarding reputation of SHELL in one of the most complex and high threat security regions in the Group. Brian held a similar role in Mozambique with Anadarko, a large US independent company.

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MIKE FERNSBY - GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Mike Fernsby has a distinguished career in law enforcement and corporate security, combining strategic leadership with hands-on operational expertise. With extensive international experience navigating complex legal and regulatory environments, he has a proven ability to build high-performing teams and forge strong global partnerships that drive success.

Mr Fernsby was a senior decision maker for national crime agencies in the UK. Following a five-year tenure based in Asia, he was the UK law enforcement lead for cooperation on serious crime investigations. On his return to the UK he was appointed as an advisor to the UK Government on cyber security.

Following a career in law enforcement, Mr Fernsby joined a Multi-National Company as Security Director. From a base in Southeast Asia, he led a team of regional Heads of Security to guide smart security risk decisions. Mr Fernsby managed an extensive range of site and supply chain security assurance programmes; led misconduct and brand protection investigations; and provided expert guidance and training on security strategy and crisis management.

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