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Michael Hershman

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Michael J. Hershman (born circa 1945) is a business ethics, litigation, governance and security  consultant. His career began, during the 1960s, in military intelligence and government service, including as an investigator for the Senate Watergate Committee during the Watergate scandal, and as the deputy staff director of the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations. He founded Fairfax Group, an anti-corruption investigation and corporate compliance firm. He also co-founded Transparency International, and served on the independent  governance committee for FIFA, later becoming CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS). Hershman serves on various boards of directors and, in 2021, became the CEO of real estate development company Soloviev Group.

Biography

Born about 1945 to a family who operated a real estate business, he entered the military during  the Vietnam War, leaving his home town on Long Island, New York. Following two years of college prior, in 1972, Hershman earned a BSc. from John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. He is married to Marsha Ralls Hershman.

Career

Military and government appointments

Hershman began his career working in counterterrorism in the military, investigating financial ties between terrorist groups in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, which led him to other government investigations, including work for the Senate Watergate Committee, and then private investigations and compliance. He became a special agent for US Military Intelligence, working as a counterterrorist expert, during 1967 through 1969. While pursuing his BSc, he joined the New York City Department of Investigation, operating as a special investigator during 1970-1973. There, he investigated corruption within judicial, police and correctional  agencies, including in the New York City Police Department corruption investigation that had been precipitated by the reports of NYPD whistleblower Frank Serpico. Hershman joined the New York State Special Corruption Prosecutor's Office, during 1972 and 1973. In early 1973, he was appointed to the Commission staff as its chief investigator for the United States Senate Watergate Committee, led by Sam Ervin. Following the resignation of President Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal, in 1975, he became chief investigator at the Federal Election Commission. He served as the deputy staff director for the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the Committee on International Relations of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs to investigate the Koreagate bribery scandal, which implicated several US political officeholders. Hershman next served as deputy auditor general of the Foreign Assistance Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), conducting international investigations and audits of overseas projects that were funded by US interests, while helming worldwide security for all foreign aid missions.

Fairfax Group

He founded Fairfax Group, a private investigation and corporate compliance firm, in 1983. Fairfax merged with Decision Strategies International in 1997, becoming Decision Strategies/Fairfax International L.L.C. (DSFX), headquartered in New York. In February 2001, DSFX was acquired by its client, SPX Corporation, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Hershman remaining as chairman of the new SPX subsidiary. In late 2006, he left SPX then re-established the Fairfax Group where it had originally been founded, in Fairfax County, Virginia. Fairfax clients have included domestic and international governments, law firms, and corporate clients such as General Electric, NBC, Pfister, and Soloviev. Noted investigations include the Bofors scandal, following Hershman's revelation that the company Bofors had bribed Indian politicians, and also had attempted to bribe him, both in order to halt investigation, and again to undermine key figure Vishwanath Pratap Singh.

Soloviev Group

He became the chief executive officer of long-term client Soloviev Group in 2021. Hershman had had a long-term relationship with the firm's late founder, Sheldon Solov, whose son appointed Hershman CEO of the rebranded Soloviev Group in 2021, after assuming leadership. He is spearheading the developers bid to erect a casino in Midtown Manhattan, among other projects, and serves on the advisory board of the Soloviev Foundation. 

Affiliations

Hershman joined Peter Eiger, formerly of World Bank, in co-founding Transparency International (TI), in 1993, as a director of its board. The watchdog group is based in Germany and cited as the foremost NGO battling corruption globally, with a mission to "stop corruption and promote transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels" growing internationally to, in 2015, about 90 national chapters.

He was named independent compliance advisor to the board of directors of Siemens in 2006, to structure its governance and transparency, helping mitigate pending fines through compliance, to be levied following its worldwide bribery scandal.  He received commendation for business ethics from The General Assembly  of the Virginia House of Delegates in its House Joint Resolution 1002 in February 2009. In 2010, he was a founder of the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna, Austria.

In 2012, Hershman served on the independent governance committee for FIFA, soccer's global governing body, following an array of scandals, appearing on 60 Minutes. After two years of  investigation, he surmised that a "complete reorganization of FIFA, with a change in leadership and  in the top staff" was necessary. In 2015, he chaired the Fairfax County, Virginia Ad Hoc Police Practices Review Commission.

He became Group CEO of the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) in June 2016. Hershman has been a corruption advisor to Interpol, and a member of the United States Chamber of Commerce Economic and Security Working Group. He is also a board member the Center for Internet and Private Enterprise (CIPE), Coalition for Integrity and on the board of trustees for Marymount University.

References

  1. ^ "Transparency International founder to head Qatar’s ICSS", Arab News (June 2, 2016)
  2. ^ "CEO Michael Hershman leads Soloviev Group’s next act", Harrison Connery, The Real Deal (November 2, 2023)
  3. ^ security-2015 "The Most Influential People in Security 2015", Claire Meyer, Security Magazine (September 1, 2015)
  4. ^ "Fed's Rice-Caper Investigator Joins Private Eye", Washington Post (October 19, 1980)
  5. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/11/archives/love-thy-target.html
  6. ^ "Michael J Hershman Biography". 26 January 2017.
  7. ^ "Ex-FIFA adviser: Scala exit damages reform at soccer body", Graham Dunbarap, Associated Press (June 2, 2016)
  8. ^ "Hershman appointed ICSS Group CEO", Qatar Tribune (March 6, 2016)
  9. ^ "Electronic Surveillance: Report of the National Commission for the Review of Federal and State Laws Relating to Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance". 1976.
  10. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/embarrassing-foreigners-point-wrongs-malaysia 022153129.html
  11. "Transparency". The Philippine STAR.
  12. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1988/05/16/corporate-sleuthing-a-tame-business/bfd5b483-0a69-485e-983d-1f5d739eaef4/
  13. https://www.acc.com/sites/default/files/resources/vl/membersonly/ProgramMaterial/148669_1.pdf
  14. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/20/business/decision-strategies-and-fairfax-group-plan-merger.html
  15. https://www.fairfaxgroup.us/docs/Fairfax_Group.pdf
  16. "Bofors is Back: DNA revisits dramatic twists & turns and brazen cover-ups in India's longest-running criminal investigation", Darpan Singh, Daily News and Analysis (October 29, 2017)
  17. "Bofors case: DNA brought the focus back", Daily News and Analysis (February 3, 2018)
  18. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/nyregion/bruce-munro-soloviev-east-river-casino.html
  19. https://pulitzercenter.org/people/michael-hershman
  20. Zhang, Yahong; Lavena, Cecilia (17 June 2015). Government Anti-Corruption Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. CRC Press. ISBN 978-1-4987-1202-6.
  21. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/business/worldbusiness/28iht-siemens.4.14839263.html
  22. "Richmond Sunlight » HJ1002: Commending Michael Hershman".
  23. ^ "Careers in Global Development: A Discussion with Mr. Michael Hershman | CSIS Events".
  24. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0HX0YK/
  25. "Exposing FIFA's Culture of Corruption". 16 February 2016.
  26. https://cdn.vanderbilt.edu/vu-wp0/wp-content/uploads/sites/78/2019/05/25135842/5.20Bank.pdf
  27. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/panel-recommends-broad-changes-to-police-practices-in-fairfax-county/2015/10/14/98cb3d5c-729e-11e5-8248-98e0f5a2e830_story.html
  28. "Hershman new Group CEO of ICSS". 3 June 2016.
  29. "Center for International Private Enterprise Inc - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg News.
  30. "Michael J. Hershman".
  31. "Marymount University - Nonprofit Explorer". 9 May 2013.
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