Julie Myers Wood has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sector working on regulatory and enforcement issues from many perspectives, including as federal prosecutor, defense counsel, government investigator and compliance consultant. Key highlights include leading 15,000 special agents, lawyers, and officers at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS); helping the President choose cabinet members to serve in his administration; and co-founding a compliance software and consulting startup, which was later acquired by Guidepost Solutions. Ms. Wood is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Guidepost Solutions, a leading investigations, compliance, monitoring, and security firm with offices throughout the United States, as well as England, Colombia, and Singapore.
At Guidepost, Ms. Wood provides practical advice to help transform companies. She focuses on regulatory compliance and investigative work and regularly serves as an independent monitor/consultant appointed by the U.S. government.
Significant engagements include:
- Led independent investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s response to sexual abuse at the leadership level, including the development of proposed comprehensive reforms to prevent abuse.
- Court-appointed four times, upon the recommendation of the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, to serve as a Monitoring or Divestiture Trustee responsible for evaluating divestiture of various business units for a global security firm, major defense contractor, global health care corporation, and manufacturing company.
- Appointed by the Federal Reserve to serve as an Independent Consultant for a global bank’s OFAC remediation.
- Served as Deputy and then Independent Consultant for a global bank’s AML, KYC and OFAC remediation upon approval of the New York Department of Financial Services.
- Served as the third-party auditor for a global security firm and was responsible for evaluating the firm’s compliance with EAR and OFAC for the U.S. Department of Commerce.
- Appointed as an Independent Consultant by the U.S. Department of Justice for a global energy services firm relating to OFAC issues and the company’s compliance culture.
Ms. Wood has a particular interest in how technology and artificial intelligence is transforming compliance.
- Co-founded a compliance software startup that was acquired by Guidepost Solutions.
- Regularly provides strategic advice and assists in development of compliance programs for crypto and FinTech firms.
- Has served on the board of two cybersecurity companies; a cryptocurrency infrastructure firm and a drone company.
Ms. Wood also frequently assists in a proactive matter with compliance, internal controls, culture and process changes across a wide range of global organizations and industries.
- Helps startups, cybersecurity firms, and FinTech/RegTech companies scale consistent with a compliance-based culture while addressing a changing and complex regulatory environment.
- Provides unmatched immigration compliance expertise across verticals and visa types.
- Recently led a trauma-informed review and cultural assessment for both a media organization and large nonprofit organization.
- Successfully manages and navigates high-stakes crisis situations, demonstrating effective communication skills to mitigate reputational damage, maintain stakeholder trust, and strategically position companies during challenging times.
Before joining the private sector, Ms. Wood held several high-level positions with the U.S. government at four government agencies (DOJ, DHS, Treasury and Commerce), as well as the White House.
- White House: Helped former President George W. Bush identify key cabinet and sub-cabinet officials to serve in his administration, including at DOJ, DHS, and DOD.
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Led 15,000 special agents, lawyers and officers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for DHS, the largest investigative component and the second largest investigative agency in the federal government. The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division at ICE prosecutes violations of trade compliance and customs laws, among other laws and regulations. While serving in that role, Ms. Wood oversaw the agency’s initiatives to combat human trafficking as well as its investigative work to prevent child exploitation.
- U.S. Department of Commerce: Responsible for all dual-use export enforcement and special agents when serving as Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Commerce, overseeing the enforcement of criminal and civil violations of export enforcement laws, including violations involving telecommunications companies and encryption issues.
- U.S. Department of Justice: Worked as Chief of Staff for Michael Chertoff, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Wood also prosecuted cases as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, including securities fraud, organized crime, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud.
- U.S. Department of Treasury: Developed policy and ran a team overseeing money laundering and customs enforcement matters while working as Deputy Assistant Secretary.
Career beginnings: Ms. Wood began her legal career at the law firm of Mayer, Brown & Platt in Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate of Baylor University and Cornell Law School.
Ms. Wood serves on several nonprofit boards and advisory boards relating to national security and immigration.
