Brian W. Lynch

Brian W. Lynch is RANE's Executive Director, Safety + Security and Chief Security Officer. Brian is a recognized leader in the security, safety, risk, and crisis management space. He previously served for over 10 years as Head of Global Security at The Vanguard Group, Inc., having retired in February 2020. Brian successfully developed and implemented the firm’s corporate security and crisis management programs on a global basis. During his tenure, Brian designed the firm’s programs specifically related to crisis management, workplace safety and active shooter planning/training, threat and breach management, travel security, and intelligence, reducing the firm’s risk exposure. He authored and successfully implemented the firm’s active shooter program, to include the design of training modules and drills. Brian also authored the firm’s threat assessment team, the mechanism by which internal threats were successfully mitigated and addressed. As part of travel security, he designed the specific travel briefings afforded travelers related to security, safety, and counterintelligence matters, the latter of which dealt with the risks posed by state-sponsored intelligence agencies. Brian also designed Security Command Center operations across the enterprise, providing the capability to identify, analyze, assess and respond to security and safety incidents in a more efficient and effective manner, thereby reducing overall risk exposure to the firm and its employees.

Prior to working at Vanguard, Brian was a Special Agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, retiring in 2009, after having served over 22 years. He was promoted to the Senior Executive Service, having served as both the Chief of the Terrorist Financing Operations Section, and as Deputy Director of Operations for the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center. During his tenure, Brian was Supervisory Special Agent leading a squad of agents addressing white collar crime and civil rights matters, as well as Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge, leading division programs related to counterterrorism, counterintelligence and civil rights. He has extensive investigative experience, successfully addressing criminal and terrorism matters. Brian was also a primary member of the FBI’s SWAT team.

Brian has a B.S. degree in Accounting from Penn State University and is both a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Global Management Accountant. He received numerous awards during his career in the FBI as well as from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Brian was selected to attend numerous executive leadership opportunities, to include: Leading Through Organizational Change at the Kellogg School, Northwestern University; Leading in Counterterrorism Matters at the Center for Counterterrorism, United States Military Academy at West Point; and the Executive Leadership in Counterterrorism, a four-week curriculum at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, UCLA, and the Australian Institute of Police Management in Canberra and Sydney, Australia.