CALVIN CHRUSTIE, BA, BA (Honors), LLM

Calvin is a senior partner and critical risk consultant.  He combines a background in resolving critical risk for governments, corporations, families, and individuals. He has managed crises, security operations and complex investigations in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia over the last three decades.   Calvin is a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police senior operations officer and United Nations veteran. As a former Senior Ops Officer for Transnational Organized Crime within the RCMP, Calvin led complex international investigations and intelligence operations throughout the world.  Calvin was also the Team Leader of Canada’s ‘International Negotiators Team’, which specialized in negotiating with terrorist and transnational organized crime networks relative to kidnaps and extortions. He has led complex negotiations, representing C-suites, corporations, governments, and NGOs throughout the world, navigating armed conflict, community conflicts, terrorists, cyber and resolving hostage situations.  He is a graduate of the FBI’s and Scotland Yard’s Hostage Negotiation Program. His experience includes working with Indigenous groups and other community groups. Calvin holds a BA in Justice and Law Enforcement, a second BA (Honors in Law), a Master’s in Laws – LLM, in Dispute Resolution and Negotiations, and recently completed Harvard University’s Executive Program for Cyber Security.  Due to his expertise in the field of conflict management and negotiations, Calvin was seconded to the Federal Government for several years to assist in managing numerous volatile disputes across Canada.  This included being requested to advise and consult on other international intractable conflicts. After 33 years of exemplary service, he received the 2016 ‘International Police Award’ from the Canadian Association of Police Chiefs for his work in transnational crime and crisis responses involving terrorist kidnaps.  

As a founder of the Critical Risk Team, he has been working with clients and enhancing their awareness of the world’s most acute and contemporary threat actors and activities.  This includes building solutions and resilience through integrating expertise, technology, and global networks to support clients’ needs. This includes focusing on threats and the changing threat activities clients face currently and in the coming years.  In addition, his unique exposure to asymmetrical and wicked problems in the security and risk space for three decades facilitated Calvin’s unique skills, networks, and ‘out of the box’ capacity in identifying solutions and strategies for mitigating these acute threats and risks.  He also possesses a significant international network of associates in the security and intelligence profession that are often part of the solutions CRT offers clients.  He often has accepted advisory board positions, including as a current Director of the Steering Committee for Project Seshat, an NGO-based entity focused on building leadership capacity to meet the challenges of global conflict and its security issues facing Western democracies.  Calvin continues to support clients worldwide, operating and residing in Vancouver, Canada.