Shiffman, Dr. Gary

Gary M. Shiffman, PhD, is an expert in the economics of organized violence. He brings passion and energy to the mission of making the world more difficult for illicit actors, networks, and behaviors. He is the Founder and CEO of Giant Oak, a software company supporting federal law enforcement and compliance professionals in regulated industries.

Dr. Shiffman created Giant Oak to automate many time consuming screening and monitoring tasks such as investigative support and clearing large numbers of alerts through open sources and social media. Giant Oak software brings the craft of behavioral science together with computer science and subject matter expertise to meet the challenges of big data analytics. Dr. Shiffman created Giant Oak in 2009 to support DARPA-funded research and development on counter illicit finance, counter-insurgency, and counter-terrorism, and has grown it into an innovative RegTech firm.

His previous corporate positions include: Managing Director of the Chertoff Group and Senior Vice President and General Manager of Risk Management Solutions at L-3 Communications.

A Gulf War veteran, Dr. Shiffman served operational, policy, and planning positions in the U.S. Navy. In his last government role, he served as the Chief of Staff at U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security. He has also spent four years in the US Senate as a National Security to the US Senate Leadership.

Dr. Shiffman teaches at Georgetown University and is widely published in academic literature. He is the author of Economic Instruments of Security Policy, and the forthcoming, Economics of Organized Violence.