Until a couple weeks ago, Bridget McGovern was Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security at the Department of Homeland Security. We sat down with McGovern to play “true false,” and to discuss CFIUS, her new role, and the new “Supply Chain Resilience Center” we covered in December.
It’s been a while since we published a “request for answers,” but two readers recently posed interesting questions related to foreign investment in agriculture land that we thought worth posing to the community. If you respond to these questions, we’ll publish your answers in a future edition.
Right before the new year, we sat down with Peter Wexler, Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at the $36 billion energy management firm Schneider Electric. We talked with Wexler about his experience interacting with CFIUS, how he mitigates potential national security risks, and more.
We sit down with Jesse Sucher, who was previously Deputy Director of Monitoring and Enforcement at CFIUS. A Senior Advisor to Paul Rosen until a few weeks ago, Sucher has joined a firm that does third-party monitoring and auditing of CFIUS transactions. Sucher’s observations inside.
We recently sat down with Dell Technologies Legal Director for Global Compliance Ethan LeKate to discuss export controls, sanctions, artificial intelligence, and more. According to LeKate, cross-functional working groups were critical when responding to the Russia sanctions. Details inside.
Hard to believe, but Paul Rosen just celebrated his one-year anniversary as head of CFIUS. We sat down with Rosen for an exclusive interview to discuss his first year on the job, and covered everything from penalties to guidance. According to Rosen, CFIUS is “always working to improve.”
This week, we sit down with SoftBank Partner and Deputy General Counsel Jared Roscoe, who leads the firm’s CFIUS/FDI program. We discuss how Softbank reviews transactions for national security considerations, how the firm evaluates the impact of national security risks on returns, and more.
This week, we sit down with Devin DeBacker, who is Chief of the Foreign Investment Review Section in the National Security Division of the Department of Justice. DeBacker explains four important factors that the DoJ considers when scrutinizing transactions for sensitive data. That and more inside.
This week, we sit down with Laura Black, who — until just a few weeks ago — was Director of Policy and International Relations at CFIUS. Black discusses how CFIUS engages with other countries, and how those engagements progress and mature over time. Black’s insights are inside.
This week, we sit down with Karen Plonty, who most recently served as Chief Security Officer of Momentus, where she oversaw compliance with the company’s National Security Agreement. We discuss *real* trends in NSAs, how CFIUS actually monitors agreements, and more.
This week, we sit down with Nicholas Klein to discuss the ins-and-outs of critical technology assessments. According to Klein, this area is complicated, nuanced, and constantly changing. “I don’t think many people realize how broadly ‘critical technologies’ is defined.” Details and tips inside.
Rumors of CFIUS inquiries and national security reviews can make employees, customers and suppliers just as inquisitive as investors or members of Congress. This week, we sit down with CFIUS communications expert Alex Finnegan to explore best (and worst) practices.
This week, we sit down with Steve Klemencic, a former division chief of the DoD’s Defense Intelligence Agency. Klemencic, who helped stand up the National Intelligence Council’s CFIUS Support Group and the FBI’s Foreign Investment Unit, explains the (hidden) costs associated with NSAs.
We sit down with Brian Moore, who serves as VP National Security and CFIUS Security Officer at a Silicon Valley-based technology company. A former policy advisor at CFIUS, Moore “nerds out” with us about foreign investment, his role, what goes into a mitigation agreement, and more.
This week, we sit down with Robert Biskup, Managing Director for International Regulatory, Forensics & Compliance at Deloitte. An expert on CFIUS, Biskup explains what it means to “roll up your sleeves” on implementing a National Security Agreement. Details inside.
This week, we sit down with John Beahn, who recently joined the law firm of Milbank as its first full-time CFIUS partner. According to Beahn, CFIUS and Team Telecom “only have begun to scratch the surface of the authorities provided to them” by FIRRMA. Details and insights inside.
This week, we sit down with Judith Alison Lee, a parter at Gibson Dunn who represented Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co. in their deal with ICON Aircraft. The deal just got the thumbs-up from CFIUS, and Lee takes us backstage, offering lessons along the way.
We sit down with David Plotinsky, former acting chief of the Department of Justice’s Foreign Investment Review Section. David takes us inside the “black box” of FIRS, describes how it interacts with CFIUS, and offers some pitfalls to avoid when dealing with the Committee.
We sit down with Greg Alexandru, who was most recently a Deputy Director at the Office of Foreign Investment Review at the DoD. Greg untangles the DoD’s CFIUS “instruction” manual, providing details on what was once a black box: process, RBAs, team coordination, and more.
Last week, we reported that Bridget Reineking had joined Cooley from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of the General Counsel. This week, we sit down with Bridget to hear about her experiences at Treasury, and to get advice for companies filing with CFIUS.