W1 Global was formed in 2020.
Since then, we have earned the trust of high-profile clients throughout the world, in the public and private sectors, for our ability to resolve even the most complex challenges quickly, strategically and with complete discretion.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
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Mr. McMurry serves as the CEO of W1 Global. Mr. McMurry is a career law enforcement and intelligence professional and a recognized authority on international corruption, transnational crime, and financial investigations. With a distinguished 24-year tenure with the FBI in both the New York Field Office and at FBI Headquarters, Mr. McMurry was the inaugural Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI’s International Corruption Squad, leading global investigations into Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations, complex money laundering, and anti-trust matters. He later served as Unit Chief of the FBI’s International Corruption Unit in Washington, D.C., overseeing hundreds of cases and supervising teams of agents, analysts, and forensic accountants. Mr. McMurry led U.S. investigations into two of the most consequential international corruption cases in recent history – 1MDB, a case that exposed a multibillion-dollar embezzlement scheme involving a Malaysian government fund and resulted in $1.8 billion in recovered assets— the largest civil forfeiture in DOJ Kleptocracy Initiative history and the Odebrecht case, conducted with U.S. and Brazilian prosecutors, uncovered over $700 million in bribes paid to officials across 13 countries, leading to a $3.5 billion global settlement and dozens of indictments. Mr. McMurry also led transnational organized crime investigations across Asia and the Middle East, advised DOJ on national strategy, and briefed the U.S. National Security Council on evolving threats. Earlier, Mr. McMurry served as a Special Agent in the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, deploying to Egypt and Somalia.
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Prior to joining W1, Mr. Bonavolonta was a Managing Partner at a global security firm specializing in solving complex risk-based challenges for multinational corporations, critical institutions, and high-net-worth clients. Mr. Bonavolonta previously served for more than 27 years in the FBI, culminating in his role as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Boston Field Office where he oversaw high-profile criminal and national security investigations and led coordination across federal, state, and local law enforcement in a four-state region through multiple terrorism and violent crime task forces. He also served as the regional lead for the Domestic Director of National Intelligence Program (DDNI) in New England. Additional FBI leadership roles include Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division in Washington, D.C. and Chief of the Cyber and Counterintelligence Branch in Boston. Mr. Bonavolonta received the Attorney General’s Director’s Award for his role in the Bonanno La Cosa Nostra investigations in New York and led an international organized crime initiative in partnership with the Italian National Police targeting cooperation between U.S.-based LCN families and the Sicilian Mafia. Mr. Bonavolonta is the recipient of the Law Enforcement Distinguished Community Service Award, the Director’s Award for Excellence to the Intelligence Community, and the National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation.
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Mr. Penza is a seasoned professional with over 27 years of experience in law enforcement and national security. As the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Violent Crime Threat Branch at the FBI’s New York Office, Mr. Penza managed a substantial annual operating budget of over $5 million and led a team of more than 200 law enforcement professionals. Mr. Penza’s expertise in tactical operations was exemplified during his tenure with the FBI, where he played critical roles in numerous high-risk enforcement operations. As an on-scene commander for SWAT deployments and law enforcement officer-involved shootings, Mr. Penza’s strategic oversight and decisive action were instrumental in the successful resolution of these critical incidents. His collaborative efforts with the New York City Police Department led to the strategic targeting and federal prosecution of over 120 violent offenders, significantly reducing gun violence within an 18-month period. Mr. Penza also gained substantial international experience during his assignment in the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Rome, Italy, focusing on transnational organized crime investigations with significant U.S. and Italian connections. Mr. Penza’s leadership and operational acumen have been recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including the US Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service and the Federal Executive Board Award for Outstanding Investigation.
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Mr. DeStefano is a 25-year veteran of the FBI where he led teams in Crisis Management, Transnational Organized Crime, and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) in the New York Field Office (NYO). He served as Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of a Special Operations Branch within the FBI’s New York Field Office, overseeing crisis preparedness, response, and recovery across both domestic and international areas of responsibility—including Western Europe and Africa. Following his retirement from the FBI, Mr. DeStefano led a team of former law enforcement and security professionals in conducting detailed threat and risk assessments and security planning for private firms and high-net-worth individuals. Mr. DeStefano also provided clients with security planning, design, and implementation support for the construction of several high-profile Manhattan towers. During this period, he earned the Certified Protection Professional (CPP) designation from ASIS International, an internationally recognized authority in private safety and security.
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Mr. Heuchling has more than 15 years of complex, international investigative experience over his time in federal law enforcement and the private sector. He was most recently the Director of Investigations at a London-based investigative firm, where he led global investigations focusing on frauds and corruption, including for commercial litigation support, asset tracing, and on-the-ground intelligence and evidence collection. Prior, Mr. Heuchling spent more than 13 years in the FBI, finishing his career as the Supervisory Special Agent of the FBI’s New York International Corruption Squad, where he led investigations involving foreign corruption and the FCPA, international money laundering and anti-trust matters. He led meetings with foreign law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies across the globe and devised strategies for cooperation between foreign counterparts. He was the lead investigator of the U.S. investigation into 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund from which more than $4.5 billion was alleged to have been stolen, which resulted in the largest asset recovery in the U.S. Department of Justice history. Mr. Heuchling started his professional career in the Navy as an engineer and communications officer, and he completed three tours in support of Iraqi Freedom and the global war on terrorism.
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Mr. Bachour is a 22-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and served with distinction in various leadership positions, including the DEA Headquarters Sensitive Undercover Operations Unit, the Special Operations Division, and leadership positions within DEA’s Foreign and Domestic Field Offices. Mr. Bachour is a renowned Subject Matter Expert (SME) in Covert Operations, HUMINT, Financial investigations, and U.S. Attorney General Exempt Operations (AGEO). He served as DEA’s Country Attaché based in Paris, France and other Diplomatic positions resulting in highly successful impactful investigations in coordination with foreign counterparts and the Diplomatic community. While overseas, Mr. Bachour forged strong partnerships and alliances with European and African law enforcement and intelligence counterparts. He spearheaded numerous record-setting asset seizures from transnational criminal organizations in the United States, South America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Mr. Bachour also served as a Supervisory Special Agent in the Miami Field Division where he led a multi-agency task force of Federal Agents and Task Force Officers. He led several highly successful global undercover money laundering investigations, and worked extensively in South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the Levant. Mr. Bachour is also an SME with respect to Lebanon and the Levant region.
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Mr. Block has over 20 years of experience providing investigative and risk advisory services to clients in the financial services, defense and extractive industries. He is widely known in the risk advisory space for his ability to assemble teams with highly specialized skills (e.g., human source access, open-source research, dark web analysis, physical surveillance, etc.) to address complex, geographically diverse investigations. Prior to joining W1 Global, Mr. Block was an executive with the Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) unit of one of the largest Swiss investment banks in the world. Prior to that, he worked with several top-tier global consultancies, including KPMG. Mr. Block spent the first decade of his career in journalism, producing stories in Afghanistan, Iraq (embedded), Mali, Honduras, Nicaragua, Tierra del Fuego and elsewhere. He holds an M.S. from Columbia University and a B.A. from Vassar College.
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Mr. McMahon has over 20 years of experience in the intelligence, national security, and law enforcement communities. As the Senior Supervisory Intelligence Analyst for FBI Boston, Mr. McMahon led one of the FBI’s largest field intelligence programs comprised of analysts, linguists, and data specialists. Mr. McMahon led teams, and interagency task forces covering the criminal, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and cyber programs. Mr. McMahon has extensive experience managing crises and special events. In the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, Mr. McMahon advanced international terrorism investigations as an operations specialist, collaborating with domestic and international partners. As a tactical specialist on FBI Boston’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Mr. McMahon conducted communications, network, and threat analysis. As a strategic analyst, Mr. McMahon authored analyses of current and emerging trends, with a focus on emerging technologies. Mr. McMahon is the recipient of two Office of the Director of National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation awards for his contributions to the 2006 US/UK Aviation Threat Task Force, and the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing team. Mr. McMahon was a Recanati-Kaplan Fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Intelligence Project, where his research focused on the use of AI in intelligence analysis.
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Prior to joining W1, Mr. Coffey led a risk analysis practice at a global cybersecurity and risk management firm, advising public and private sector clients on cyber and physical security risk, threat assessment, and strategies to safeguard enterprise value against evolving threats—building on nearly 30 years of combined service in the United States Navy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He served as a Navy Radioman before beginning his FBI career as a counterterrorism analyst at FBI Headquarters, where he was on duty on September 11, 2001, and supported the Bureau’s international terrorism mission through 2004. At FBI Los Angeles, Mr. Coffey served as a Reports Officer, doubling raw intelligence output in his first year and earning promotions to line supervisor on the Joint Terrorism Task Force and for strategic analysis across multiple programs. He has extensive experience managing command posts and major investigations, including the 2015 San Bernardino terrorist attack. Following a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan to help establish an overseas intelligence program, he served as a Senior Supervisory Intelligence Analyst and Intelligence Program Manager overseeing a 50-person branch. He also managed the FBI’s Domestic DNI, DSAC, and InfraGard portfolios and is a two-time recipient of the FBI Medal of Excellence.