David Dezso
Founder & CEO
David Dezso is an expert in geopolitical analysis and operations. With a background as a former Green Beret and Special Operations soldier, he brings a unique perspective to understanding global crises. As the CEO of Banyan Risk Group (Banyan), David has leveraged his extensive operational experience across diverse regions, including the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, North and East Africa, Asia, and the Caucuses. David has shared his geopolitical and military insights with several news outlets including FoxNews, Nasdaq, NewsNation, Inside Edition, and Newsweek.
Before founding Banyan, David held executive positions at a prominent global energy company, where he served as Director of Operations and Sales. In this role, he witnessed firsthand how crucial decision-making processes could be hindered by a lack of critical information during key moments.
David's decade-long tenure in Special Operations was primarily focused on counterterrorism and intelligence missions, answering national requirements on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and President. He deployed numerous times, gaining invaluable insights into complex global challenges.
By merging his mission-oriented military training with a deep understanding of the commercial world, David established Banyan to seamlessly integrate various risk management disciplines. This integration empowers Banyan's clients to make informed decisions at the critical juncture of business opportunities and risk mitigation.
David is a dedicated lifelong learner, holding an MBA from Rice University, a JD from South Texas College of Law, and a BS from The Citadel. Additionally, he has earned certificates from Harvard Law School and the Buckley School.
Fran Muhrer
Chief of Staff
As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, Fran leads business planning and operations across the company, in support of Banyan’s own priorities and that of our customers and partners. On behalf of the CEO, Fran drives alignment across Banyan executives and their functions through forums focused on strategy, innovation and leadership. Additionally, she focuses on driving optimization with efficient execution for the Banyan organization.
Previously, Fran served as an Intelligence Manager responsible for developing and implementing business intelligence strategies tailored to our clients’ specific requirements. She also managed the Banyan proprietary data platform that enables our team to provide detailed analysis from over 12,000 global data sets.
Prior to joining Banyan Risk Group, Fran served as an analyst for the U.S. government for seven years in several different roles, including at the Department of the Treasury. Her areas of regional expertise are Latin America, Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Fran graduated summa cum laude from American University with a BA double major in Philosophy, and Spanish and Latin American Studies. She speaks fluent Spanish.
Josh Kiluk
Managing Director, Operations
As an integral part of the Executive Leadership Team, Josh leads operational strategy with an unwavering commitment to our corporate mission and our clients' objectives. Josh fosters operational excellence across Banyan's functional landscape, while spearheading strategic innovation initiatives. His mission is to ensure seamless, efficient execution within all operations, always striving to elevate performance and promote sustainable growth within the organization.
Bringing nearly 20 years of experience from both public and private sectors, Josh's tenure as an Operative and Foreign Service Officer within the U.S. Special Operations Forces and State Department has equipped him with the leadership acumen and strategic insight necessary to navigate complex geopolitical scenarios. In his previous role as a Foreign Service Officer, Josh deftly managed a large, diverse workforce, leading critical national defense programs that furthered National Security Council objectives.
During his time at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Josh was entrusted with directing critical global Special Operations programs on behalf of the Secretary of Defense and the President. His track record includes the development of operational strategies for interagency crisis response and the successful execution of sensitive operations.
Presently an Executive MBA candidate at Kellogg's School of Management, Josh also holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Purdue University and a National Security Leadership Program Certificate from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business. His pursuit of Arabic language studies at Georgetown University and Middlebury College further attests to his commitment to continuous learning. He has been published in Nasdaq.
Tim Jones, PhD
Managing Director, Intelligence
Tim Jones is Banyan Risk Group’s Managing Director for Intelligence. Tim leads our team of diverse and skilled analysts to provide impactful insight and empower our clients around the world. Whether it be geopolitical analysis, country risk, travel risk intelligence or protective intelligence the team is ready.
Tim brings to Banyan significant and rigorous analytic expertise and leadership, conducting innovative research and analysis in the U.S. government. He has vast regional expertise from the Middle East, Southwest Asia, Central Eurasia to Africa.
An avid scholar, Tim earned his doctorate, coupling quantitative methods and statistical analysis to research the causes and dynamics of conflict and peace, at the University of Michigan. Tim also holds a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University and a Master of International Affairs from the University of California San Diego’s School of Global Policy & Strategy. Tim speaks German, Chinese (Mandarin) and Farsi.
Vincent "Vinny" Buccigrossi
Managing Director, Cybersecurity
Vinny serves as the senior technical director of Banyan Cyber where he is responsible for the global coordination & delivery of the firm’s cybersecurity services and solutions.
A published security researcher and reverse engineer – with extensive experience supporting and working across the U.S. Intelligence Community – Vinny previously led a specialized technical team at a leading vulnerability research firm where he was responsible for delivering customized cyber capabilities.
Before joining Banyan Cyber, Vinny served on the executive team of a cybersecurity company providing managed security services. Vinny studied Information Security and Forensics at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).
Marisa Tugultschinow
Director, Integrated Security Intelligence
Marisa manages the team's intelligence services for several high net worth Banyan clients. Her expert knowledge of our clients' physical, cyber, and reputation vulnerabilities combined with today's evolving threats allow the team to anticipate critical security requirements, and ultimately, deter risks to our clients' personal safety, finances, intellectual property, and brand reputation.
Marisa served 15 years as a civilian in the Intelligence Community and U.S. Department of Defense specialized in countering terrorism and the Middle East. In her last position in the Pentagon, Marisa was selected by the White House to be a political appointee in the Office of the Secretary of Defense working in a Chief of Staff capacity overseeing a 150-person office that managed ~$2B of the Defense Department's programming and resources for special operations, counternarcotics, and support to the United Nations.
After her tenure with the federal government, Marisa relocated to the New York metropolitan area to transition to social service initiatives in New York City's Office of the Mayor and the State of New Jersey developing and implementing strategies on homelessness, immigration, food security, as well as many emergency programs dealing with the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Marisa has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a double minor in English and History from the University of Delaware. Through her former areas of work, Marisa has trained in counterintelligence and countersurveillance detection and interrogation. She has been published in Newsweek.
Brad Bryson
Director, Investigations & Special Projects
Brad is charged with leading our investigations and special projects programs and managing our efforts to design corporate security risk management programs for our clients.
Prior to joining Banyan Risk Group, Brad spent 14 years conducting and managing global investigations programs for both NXP/Freescale Semiconductors, Inc. and Dell, Inc. Before that, he managed the executive protection program for Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell, Inc. for 5 years.
Brad also served in the U.S. Government for 13 years, including as a Special Agent for the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.
During his wide-ranging career, Brad has employed his skills while living and working in East Asia for 3 years, and has experience in a large number of countries throughout Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.