LEADERSHIP
As an industry leading security provider, Brosnan® focuses on ways to continuously improve our operational structure, our people and the processes surrounding service delivery
Patrick J. Brosnan
FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Patrick J. Brosnan is a former NYPD detective with extensive field experience in the Robbery/Gun Squad and the Organized Crime Control Bureau. He was selected as the New York State Police Officer of the Year for investigative skills that led to the arrests of over 900 violent criminals during his career and was heralded by the Governor as a “one-man war on crime in New York City.” He was injured in a line-of-duty shooting and retired from the NYPD as one of the most highly-decorated detectives in the history of the department. Mr. Brosnan has honed his extensive government experience in fraud detection and prosecution into a unique investigative resource for the private sector. As CEO of Brosnan® Risk Consultants, he oversees all protective and investigative operations for Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, large law firms and high-net worth individuals. Mr. Brosnan holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He presently serves as a security analyst on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and Inside Edition. He is a subject matter expert on a range of topics that include terrorism, active shooter and criminal investigations and has authored numerous articles in the national media on a wide range of public safety subjects.
Our Executive Team
John O'Connor
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
John O’Connor provides insight and advice relative to company operations, infrastructure and growth strategies. He has over 30 years of experience in senior leadership roles at several Fortune 500 companies. In those roles he has provided proactive innovation and achieved profitable growth in highly competitive and dynamic business environments. Mr. O’Connor was most recently a Partner with KPMG, where he ran the U.S. insurance transformation practice. Prior to joining KPMG, he was the Chief Operations Officer of Endurance Specialty Insurance where he supported the company’s growth from a start-up to a multi-billion dollar global company. Prior to Endurance, he was a Partner with Accenture and was responsible for senior client relationships and large-scale transformation programs. Mr. O’Connor received his BS in Accounting from Fairfield University.
Eric White
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Eric White began his career catching shoplifters and unloading trucks for Walmart. In his 17-year career with the world’s largest retailer he advanced to run several key security programs, including executive protection, crisis management, global readiness, enterprise risk management, aviation security, and homeland security. Eric worked in a similar capacity at The Home Depot for two years, owned his own consulting firm, and has worked for Tyco in the security and retail performance technology space for almost 5 years. Eric has been a law enforcement professional certified in the State of Arkansas and has trained in counterterrorism and active shooter response. He served on numerous local and national academic and professional boards. He currently holds a publicly elected office on the Bentonville Public School Board of Education in addition to his work for Tyco. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from Northern Illinois University, a Graduate Certificate from Georgetown University in Global Security Management, and completed the Northwestern University Executive Development Course.
Tom Varian
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Tom Varian has held several senior leadership roles including Founder/ Chief Executive Officer, Regional Vice President for Sales and Regional Operations Manager for several public and private companies, including Riva Payment Solutions, JPMorgan Chase Bank and Party City Holdings, Inc. He is an expert on a range of topics that include: developing powerful sales strategies, the art of networking, and interpreting and utilizing financial data to drive operational efficiencies across all functional business units of an organization.
Patrick Brosnan, Jr.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, OPERATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
Patrick Brosnan, Jr. runs the day to day operations in Brosnan’s 24/7 Command Center. His role ensures the monitoring of all GPS locations of security officers and supervising patrol vehicles via Brosnan’s smart technology. The BCC also manages the collection and organization of all incident reports and metrics submitted by Smart Guards. The proactive mandate of his role at the BCC is monitoring social media, police scanner feeds, and news sources in real time to ensure the appropriate proactive notification to Smart Guards in the field and relevant clients. His knowledge and connections within the technology sector keep Brosnan’s Command Center, Smart Guards, and Security Solutions on the cutting edge.
Gerry Creagh
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
Gerry Creagh has over 30 years of executive and leadership experience in building and operating Financial Advisory practices within the Big 4 and public markets. Mr. Creagh ran PwC's Valuation Services practice in North America, and subsequently transitioned the practice to Standard & Poors' where he executed a global expansion into real state, litigation, tax, portfolio valuation and solvency opinions. Mr. Creagh led a leverage buyout from Standard & Poors' into Duff & Phelps in 2005. As President of Duff & Phelps, he expanded the operation into investment banking and concentrated sector expertise. He retired as President and a Board Member from Duff & Phelps in 2010. At that time, Duff & Phelps had grown to $400 million in revenue and 1200 professionals throughout the world.
Business Unit Leaders
Bill Varian
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES
Tom Murray
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INVESTIGATIONS
Mr. Murray has more than 30 years of Law Enforcement experience. After graduating from Saint Michael’s College with a BA in Political Science, he worked in the New Haven County State Attorney's Office before beginning his career with the Connecticut State Police. There, he worked his way up to Sergeant and served as the Acting Commanding Officer of the Statewide Organized Crime Task Force. He was also Supervisor of the Aviation Section for 8 years and worked in Narcotics for 14 years, where he served on numerous State and Federal Task Forces in an undercover capacity and as a case officer. These Task Force assignments generated numerous high-profile, complex investigations resulting in his testimony being admitted as an “Expert Witness.” Since retiring from the State Police in 2012, Mr. Murray has worked extensively in the private sector as the Physical Security Manager for a major hedge fund and as a consultant, providing services related to security policies/procedures, investigation, site security, surveillance and preparation of witnesses for trial.
Dr. Michael Tobia
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CONSULTING AND TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
Dr. Michael A. Tobia has a distinguished 26-year career at the Port Authority Police Department of New York and New Jersey retiring at the rank of Full Inspector, Commanding Officer of the Bus Terminal in New York City. During his service at the PAPD, he progressed through several positions of increased scope and responsibility culminating in several key leadership roles that included; Office of Counter-Terrorism Unit- specializing in risk assessment, threat analysis and mitigation; Office of Emergency Management (OEM)-conducting preparedness exercises, drills, coordination; and Training Director of the Police Academy–overseeing recruit, basic supervision, middle management and executive development curricula. He is an accomplished Field Commander in Incident Management and Emergency Operations. Post retirement, Dr. Tobia worked as a senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for a period of 9 years. His published work includes; “Best Practices in Anti-Terrorism Security for Sporting and Entertainment Venues,” CICCADA Research Team, 2016; “Experimental Designs for Testing Metal Detectors at a Large Sports Stadium” 2015; “Public Safety Crowd Management.” 2012 National & Educational Training Division.
Division Directors
Mike DePaolis
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, EASTERN SECURITY DIVISION
Mike DePaolis was a Second Grade Homicide Detective with the NYPD for over 20 years. In that capacity, he worked on many highly sensitive assignments, developing intelligence vital to the safety and security of the city of New York. Most recently, Mr. DePaolis has managed an ongoing security detail for a National Basketball Association franchise, and managed the security of more than 80 banks in the New York Metropolitan area.
Timothy Hopper
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CENTRAL SECURITY DIVISION
Timothy Hopper has 15 years of management experience and has developed a sound security plan in many communities. During his 20 years in the banking industry, Mr. Hopper worked his way up to head one of Citibank’s largest South Florida commercial divisions. He currently oversees more than 5,000 hours of security coverage and supervises a team of six supervisory and three support services personnel to ensure our clients’ level of service are met. Mr. Hopper has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of South Florida and a Master’s Degree in Business from Nova Southeastern University.
John McCluskey
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WESTERN SECURITY DIVISION
John McCluskey is a qualified security professional with an expansive career in banking security, management, operations, staff development, and media relations within the financial industry, corporate, and law enforcement field. Mr. McCluskey has a solid record of achievements, budget management, executing major investigations, coordinating special programs, and managing sensitive business issues within extremely diverse environments. He is well-versed in risk assessment and management, security management, private and public investigations.
Business Development Team
Kacey Brosnan
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Jim Dannic
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, FINANCIAL INDUSTRY
Jim Dannic previously held senior leadership roles at several private and public companies including: Securitas Security Services, CBRE Global Corporate Services, Grubb and Ellis Management Services and Kraft Foods. Mr. Dannic is an expert on a range of topics including security access control, CCTV, property management and life safety, and utilizing data to drive operational efficiencies across all functional business units of an organization.
Richard Lava
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE LINE OPERATIONS
Richard Lava has 23 years of law-enforcement experience- 18 of which were in leadership and management positions, followed by 12 years of financial services sector senior manager experience with Citigroup. Prior to Brosnan®, Mr. Lava served as the Regional Director for Citi Security and Investigation Services for the Northeast U.S. and Canada, overseeing security and safety related programs, emergency responses and investigations for all Citibank branches, major facilities and employees within the region. Prior to working at Citi, he proudly served 23 years in the New York City Police Department, rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander of Detectives within the elite Intelligence Division and served as a platoon commander for the division’s Protective Intel Unit.
Matt Helenek
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, EMERGING MARKETS AND SALES
Matthew Helenek is a graduate of Pace University’s Pforzheimer Honors College with a degree in Criminal Justice, specializing in Crime Prevention through Environmental Design. Since joining Brosnan®, Mr. Helenek has excelled in managing some of our largest security accounts in our retail and bank security sectors. His experience and knowledge in the field has given Brosnan® Risk Consultants a step above the competition.
Rick Muñoz
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ASSET PROTECTION
Rick Muñoz has over 20 years of experience in retail loss prevention, asset protection and creation & development of loss prevention programs, operations, asset protection enterprise tools, policies, and programs. He has held leadership positions in highly complex environments throughout the U.S. & Canada, protecting billions of dollars in assets for companies including Target, Party City, BCBGMaxAzria, Bed Bath & Beyond and Bloomingdales.
Bryan Paarmann
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, STRATEGY & SECURITY INNOVATION
Bryann Paarmann retired from the FBI as a Senior Executive after over 30 years in government service, including 8 years as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army with both peacetime and combat tours, and 23 years with the FBI in both domestic and international assignments. Mr. Paarmann has vast experience in multiple investigative programs overseen by the FBI, but the majority of his work was as a leader in the war on terrorism. He has also led investigations and crisis management in presidential assassination attempts as well as major terrorist attacks both in the homeland and abroad. His final role was as the head of the largest and oldest Joint Terrorism Task Force in the United States; the NY JTTF comprised of over 500 Agents, NYPD Detectives, Officers and Analysts from 53 different agencies and organizations. Mr. Paarmann brings an extraordinary range of high-level skills to BRC. He will lead Brosnan’s efforts to expand our core global security business in strategic markets. He will also be central to the Command Center’s Global Intelligence expansion.
Brosnan Leadership
Buddy Kennedy
VICE PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
Buddy (John) Kennedy has over a decade of experience in Business Relationship and Risk Management at Deutsche Bank and Raymond James within Private Wealth Management. He previously traded fixed income in addition to managing client relationships on the derivative side. He is now a part of Brosnan’s National Accounts Team where he has helped manage several retail clients. He was also part of Brosnan’s Start-Up Expectations Team. Mr. Kennedy has a degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Robert Hoyt
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, NORTHEAST REGION
Robert Hoyt is a Senior Vice President of Brosnan® Risk Consultants’ Northeast Region. Mr. Hoyt has more than 22 years of experience in law enforcement. He is a former Lieutenant Commander - Detective Squad with the Organized Crime Investigation Division in the NYPD. Prior to that, Mr. Hoyt served as the Commanding Officer of Vice Major Case Unit as a Module Commander in the Narcotics Division and as the Special Operations Lieutenant in the 42nd Precinct. As a Sergeant, Mr. Hoyt created and supervised the 50th Precinct Auto Larceny Team and served as a Squad Sergeant in the Bronx Rape Apprehension Team. As a Lieutenant Commander Detective Squad, he managed all aspects of long-term investigations relative to organized crime.
Kevin P. O'Leary
VICE PRESIDENT, EMERGENCY RESPONSE
JoAnn McNeill
VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES
JoAnn McNeill is the Vice President of Compliance and Human Resources at Brosnan® Risk Consultants. She is responsible for the implementation and monitoring of regulatory oversight for the firm. Mrs. McNeill works with in-house counsel and labor attorneys regarding State and Federal Department of Labor laws. Mrs. McNeill oversees Human Resource’s strategy and ensures compliance with all applicable state and federal laws. She is responsible for staff development and verifies all administrative due diligence. Mrs. McNeill received her BS in Finance from Fairfield University.
Edmund Hartnett
PRINCIPAL
Mr. Hartnett brings 32 years of prior police management and supervisory experience to Brosnan®, rising from NYPD police officer to the rank of Deputy Chief. Chief Hartnett commanded several NYPD units including the Drug Enforcement Task Force and the Intelligence Division. He then served as Police Commissioner of Yonkers, the fourth largest city in New York State, from 2006 through 2011. As part of The Bratton Group, Mr. Hartnett then worked with former NYPD Police Commissioner, Bill Bratton, on police consulting projects in Los Angeles, Oakland CA, Detroit and Baltimore. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fordham University, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Marist College and a Certificate in Police Management from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Mr. Hartnett has been company president since February of 2013.
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