Key Personnel

Our key personnel include:

Gavin Sinclair

Gavin Sinclair is a UK-based former corporate lawyer who has been the in-house counsel for one of the world's largest oil service companies, and who now specialises in anti-corruption compliance. Before becoming an independent consultant, Gavin also spent three years with a US multinational as Vice President of Compliance.

Gavin has practical experience of the design and implementation of ethics and compliance programs, including risk assessment, dealing with agents and joint ventures, delivering effective training, and reporting and investigation in many countries.

Before specialising in anti-corruption compliance, Gavin worked for over 20 years as an international company lawyer gaining wide experience of cross border mergers and acquisitions, international joint ventures, contracting, litigation and dispute resolution. He has worked in Europe, the Former Soviet Union, Africa, the US, Latin America, India and the Far East.

Charles Gurdon

Charles Gurdon is the managing director of Menas Associates. He joined the company as a researcher in 1980, and later oversaw the restructuring of the company, its stable of publications and consulting portfolio. He has a BA, MSc and PhD from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) where he specialised in the Middle East and Africa.

For over 20 years, Charles has managed Menas' numerous due diligence investigations – an integral part of MACCS portfolio of services - on both companies and individuals in emerging markets for multinational companies. He has supervised in-country individuals, as well as teams of external experts on projects ranging from simply biographical sketches to detailed analysis of local companies' ownership, senior executives and corporate reputation.

Christopher Melville

Christopher Melville joined Menas Associates in July 2010, assuming developing and managing our consulting work in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chris has been working in and on Sub-Saharan Africa for the past ten years, during which time he has carried out, contributed to and managed numerous due diligence investigations on companies and individuals active in high-risk destinations across the continent.

Prior to joining Menas, Chris served as the head of the Sub-Saharan Africa desk with Control Risks and as Senior West and Central Africa analyst with the economic and political forecasting firm Global Insight. Chris has an MA in African Studies (with distinction) from SOAS in London and a degree in Modern History from Balliol College, Oxford. He speaks French and basic Portuguese.