Mr. Brian McKnight, Chief Innovation Officer

Brian M. McKnight is the Chief Innovation Officer for 5 Stones intelligence. Mr. McKnight also serves as the Director of the Project Management Office (PMO) to ensure comprehensive execution of Government and Commercial Contracts.

Mr. McKnight served as a career United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Senior Executive with a total of 34 years combined Law Enforcement and Intelligence experience. Over 25 of those years were spent as a Special Agent in Charge, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Supervisory Special Agent and Special Agent in DEA Field Offices and at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Mr. McKnight successfully worked in concert with federal, state, local and international partners to thwart criminal networks globally. Over his career, Mr. McKnight managed multi-million-dollar budgets, and pioneered undercover initiatives to augment operational efficiency.

Mr. McKnight served as the Special Agent in Charge (SAC) leading the Chicago Field Division, which spanned over 650 personnel in thirteen (13) offices in three (3) states, including Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Mr. McKnight led numerous Multi-Agency Strike Force Groups of Federal Agents as well as Task Force Officers investigating transnational criminal organizations and “Cartel Heads” that were identified as shipping multi-ton quantities of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine into the Midwest region of the United States.

Mr. McKnight also served in key field leadership positions in the DEA Miami as the Assistant Special Agent in Charge and Supervisory Special Agent where he spearheaded Attorney General Exempt Operations (AGEO) investigating money laundering components and transnational criminal organizations operating in Central and South America as well as the Middle East and Europe. As a result, global criminal networks were dismantled and hundreds of millions of dollars in assets were seized.

Mr. McKnight served as the Chief of Global Financial Operations at DEA Headquarters where he oversaw Undercover Money Laundering Operations and Financial Programs. In this capacity, he coordinated US Treasury, OFAC designations against criminal networks responsible for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit money world-wide. Over his career, Mr. McKnight led global teams of Special Agents who were responsible for extraditions of top-tier international drug traffickers and money launderers.
Mr. McKnight is highly skilled and has extensive experience in Anti-Money Laundering Investigations, Trade Based Money Laundering and Compliance matters.

More recently, Mr. McKnight served as DEA’s Chief Inspector overseeing sensitive programs and four (4) hundred DEA employees and contractors. He also led DEA’s “Insider Threat Program”, and Three (3) offices at DEA Headquarters including the Office of Inspections, Office of Professional Responsibility, and the Office of Security Programs. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing all employee integrity matters, inspection processes, building security processes, and security matters for over 220 DEA Domestic Offices and 93 Foreign Offices and over ten thousand DEA employees.

Mr. McKnight is the recipient of numerous law enforcement awards including the United States Attorney General’s Law Enforcement Excellence Award, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Law Enforcement Award, United States Attorney’s Law Enforcement Excellence Awards, Department of Justice, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Awards and 25 DEA Excellence of Performance Awards, Special Act of Service Awards, and the DEA Administrators Award.

Mr. McKnight is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Executive Institute (NEI), and has attended Executive Leadership Training courses at Harvard University. He also received a certificate in leadership training from the University of Notre Dame, Mendoza School of Business. Mr. McKnight attended Specialized Training Schools in Financial Investigations, Special Weapons and Tactics Training and Special Training Sessions in Communication Exploitation.
Mr. McKnight holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administration of Justice, and Post-Graduate studies Criminal Justice.

As the Chief Innovation Officer, Mr. McKnight is responsible for leading new processes and technologies, while developing strategies for the benefit of 5 Stones’ Clients. Mr. McKnight possesses the qualities of innovation, drive and relentless work ethic for which DEA Special Agents have achieved international renown. Mr. McKnight is committed to leveraging those capabilities and his vast experience on behalf of 5 Stones’ Clients.