Harm Oosten – Chief Executive Officer

Years ago, at the time the company was founded, GTAC was in need of a recognized thought leader and Harm Oosten, multilingual, became Chief Security Officer. He became the company’s CEO in 2019 and manages and directs the company toward its primary goals and objectives. However, Mr. Oosten  is not only responsible for high-level strategic decisions and those that direct the company’s overall growth.
Mr. Oosten is very hands-on, and because of his extensive expertise and experience in global investigations, export controls/compliance/sanctions-related matters, threat and vulnerability assessments, as well as with anti-corruption (FCPA),  extremism and Operational Security programs​ (he also designed and implemented various risk management and security awareness programs for a variety of organizations​), he’s also active as project manager when requested: ​he considers project management as the most complex management task of all.
 Mr. Oosten has been trained to use various interview and interrogation methods, and because of his long track record of conducting sensitive, high-profile internal investigations for organizations concerned about alleged wrongdoing or potential misconduct, he has the experience and emotional intelligence critical to investigating sensitive, nuanced situations (such as allegations of inappropriate behavior by, or made against senior leaders), fully aware of the disruption they can cause to the business and the distraction they pose from the organization’s mission.
Over the last 20 years, Mr. Oosten assisted law firms, pharmaceutical companies, investment firms, banks, high-net-worth individuals, the art market, a well-known multinational owner, operator, and franchiser of hotels, three of the ‘Big Four’, and dozens of Fortune 500 companies in different industries throughout Europe, in the Middle East, Asia, Egypt, Russia, Morocco, Israel, South Africa, the Caucasus, Turkey, Australia, and Mexico. He has also consulted with senior executives from multinational companies to resolve delicate problems, which fell outside the scope of mainstream advisers. Mr. Oosten contributed to the Professional Investigator’s Manual and to the Protection of Assets Manual (a.k.a. the “bible” for the security industry) both published by ASIS International.
He actively holds the CPP (Certified Protection Professional) certification, and is an active member of the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of the U.S. State Department where he is a member of
the Middle East & North Africa Regional Committee (MENA), the Europe Regional Committee (ERC), the Pan-Asia Regional Committee (PARC), and the Latin America Regional Committee (LARC). He’s also a member of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Chapters (UAE), the Istanbul Chapter (Turkey), the Kyiv Chapter (Ukraine), the Mission China Country Chapter, the Mexico City Country Council and the Bogotá Country Chapter (Colombia).
Mr. Oosten moved frequently throughout his career and divides his time between EMEA and the U.S. He spends most of his time in Europe and in Washington, DC.