Advisory Board

ARTHUR TCHALIKIAN

Art is the Managing Director of AGI and has prior government experience in criminal investigations and intelligence. During his career with the US Department of the Treasury, he specialized in narcotics, money laundering and smuggling investigations.

He covered the same issues, as well as counter-intelligence and high technology transfer, for the US intelligence community. In the private sector, Art has held several managerial positions, and was director of investigations for a major international security consulting firm.

He has conducted hundreds of corporate investigations dealing with internal or external civil and criminal matters and also has experience in risk assessment, executive protection and physical security.

Art holds an MBA degree with honors in International Management from Golden Gate University.

ROBERT SAFREED

During his 34-year security career, Bob was Director of Security for AlliedSignal, Inc., TRW Space and Defense, and Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corporation. In addition, he spent five years in operational security with the Hughes Glomar Explorer where he was awarded  a Certificate of Distinction by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

Bob earned both his BS and MS in Police Administration and Public Safety from Michigan State University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program, UCLA Graduate School of Management.  He served as a member of the Advisory Council of the School of criminal justice at both Michigan State University and California State University at Long Beach.

He is a former chairman of both the Security Committee, Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and Research Security Administrators (RSA), co-chair of the National Industry Security Program (NISP) task force, member of  the International Security Management Association (ISMA), and was appointed to the US Department of State Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC).  He is a former US Marine infantry officer.

ANTONIO BALESTRINI

Based in Lima, Peru, Tony has over 20 years of experience in Latin America as a senior executive of several multinational companies, primarily in the mining sector.  In addition to Operations Management, he has held key positions in Public Affairs, Government Relations, Logistics and Security.

Tony also has a proven track record with designing the strategic and tactical aspects of crisis management response.  Additionally, he is a recognized specialist in assessing and managing the public relations risks stemming from entering new markets.

Prior to his business career, Tony served in the Peruvian Navy where he reached the rank of Commander and was extensively involved in intelligence and counter-terrorism.   He is a graduate of the US Naval Academy.

Tony currently heads his own External Relations and Communications firm and he teaches courses in negotiation, conflict resolution and social / environmental responsibility at the ESAN University in Peru. 

SPENCER ELMER

Based in Hong Kong, Spencer heads a consultancy that specializes in risk management, due diligence and business intelligence, intellectual property-related investigations, and executive protection in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and parts of Africa.  His staff consists of inter-disciplinary analysts with multi lingual capabilities.

A seasoned professional, Spencer has assisted numerous Fortune 500 companies with assessing the risk of entering new markets, selecting local joint venture partners and dealing with crisis management issues.   Spencer has continuously developed a far reaching network of trusted on-the-ground resources from private and public sectors and he is a specialist for high-risk frontiers, such as Mongolia and Myanmar.

Additionally, Spencer is an accredited close protection specialist and he headed several security teams for US multinationals during the Beijing Olympics.