Our Leadership Team

Andreea is the Founder and CEO of The Search Group (TSG), a company that was established in 2010 to meet the increasing demand for due diligence in difficult-to-research jurisdictions.

Andreea has led the company to develop expertise and a well-integrated associates’ network in Eastern Europe and East Asia. Under her leadership TSG has developed the capability to work across a variety of industry sectors from the mining and extractive industries, energy, property, telecommunications to the financial services sector.

Having been born and brought up in Romania, TSG grew out of Andreea’s intimate knowledge of the Eastern European region which has continued to be one of TSG’s core specialties.

After completing her studies overseas, Andreea moved to Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) where she has lived for over a decade. TSG operates from its two hubs in Belgrade and in Hong Kong which Andreea and her long-time business partner, Ivana Minic, have grown from the ground up. TSG now covers more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries.

Andreea is leading the company’s global growth strategy, developing new products, services and markets. She remains actively involved in strengthening and developing client relationships which is essential to TSG’s client centric ethos. Under Andreea’s leadership TSG has developed strategic partnerships with individual industry players and within industry networks. TSG also partners with think tanks and NGOs with the aim of furthering TSG’s advocacy of sustainable business practices.

Andreea completed her high-school years in the United States, before going to university in the UK where she earned her master’s degree in Diplomacy and International Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS - University of London). Prior to setting-up TSG Andreea has worked and trained with media and NGOs including BBC Language Section, Parliamentary Sustainable Waste Group (PSWG), Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Action Asia and Real Estate, Facilities and Projects (RFP) magazines

Ivana is a Partner and Operations Director at The Search Group. She joined the company in 2011 as the Head of Research and has since managed the growth of the department from 2 to 30 full time staff based in Belgrade and Hong Kong.

Under her leadership the department has expanded its capabilities to cover over 100 countries, with feet on the ground in more than 50 jurisdictions. Over the years products and services offered have been developed to meet an increasing range of client needs, though there has always been an emphasis on delivering quality within client budgets. Ivana achieved this through dedication to operational efficiency, quality control, and IT in support of human research.

Thanks to Ivana’s deliberate cultivation of CEE regional specialist knowledge, TSG’s clients have received invaluable assistance navigating the complex post-communist era political and economic environment in Eastern Europe. At the same time, however, expertise in East Asia has also been developed, thus linking two key trading regions.

Prior to joining TSG Ivana developed a first-hand understanding of high-risk locations and situations whilst working as an HSEC manager for Rio Tinto. She has also worked in the insurance industry as Compensation and Benefits Officer for Delta Generali Osiguranje. These two positions gave her key insights into management practices, and into the industries within which she was working.

Throughout her life Ivana has experienced a wide range of international cultures and traditions, having lived in Myanmar, Sri Lanka and India (where she lived for 15 years). Coming from a diplomatic family Ivana brings a range of unique and valuable perspectives to TSG.

Ivana holds a degree in Business Administration, Marketing and Management from the Hult International Business School, London, and is a member of the Serbian Association of Managers. She is fluent in English and Serbian.

Douglas has worked as an entrepreneur and executive team leader in the risk and compliance sector for more than 15 years. His most recent post was as Chief Executive Officer of Dataflow Group, where he served for seven years, leading the successful sale of the business to EQT Partners. Douglas was previously the global Head of Due Diligence for World-Check and Managing Director of IntegraScreen.

Before to his career in risk and compliance Doug was a journalist and he served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Douglas holds an MBA from Northwestern University and a master’s Degree in Journalism from Hong Kong University.

He has lived and worked in Hong Kong since 2000. He serves as a board member and advisor to several businesses.

Jean-Louis has a career specializing in economic crimes going back over 30 years, roughly half of which has been with law enforcement, and the other half in the global banking sector.

As well as holding senior and global legal risk and compliance department positions in a number of banks (including as global and group-wide function head), Jean-Louis has devoted himself in many other ways to the cause of clean financial systems. This has included : being a delegate to Wolfsberg; co-chairing a financial crimes related advisory committee under the auspices of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority; six year membership of the ABS (Association of Banks in Singapore) annual Financial Crimes Conference organizing committee; co-founding and being a director of the Singapore Chapter of ACAMS; working as a volunteer for the FSVC, advising central banks and other industry participants (notably in Russia and Indonesia) on ways to strengthen defences against financial crime; representing Hong Kong’s FIU in the drafting and implementation of Hong Kong’s money laundering legislation (OSCO); representing ABS in its advisory meetings with OFAC on the Korean Sanctions programme; and training police forces throughout Asia on money laundering.

In his time with both Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC Jean-Louis experienced first-hand the effects of DPAs and worked on aspects of both post-DPA monitorships. Whilst with the Development Bank of Singapore he was intimately involved in post-Lehman Bros. collapse efforts to contain fallout from CDOs (mini bonds), and the response to regulators. He has also managed several complex and high-profile investigations both within the public and banking sectors.

Throughout his career he has been involved in the development, implementation and management of systems technology. This has included case management and knowledge & records management systems for the public sector, as well as case management, screening, transaction surveillance (monitoring), and automated dynamic risk profiling systems for banks. He was also trained by the FBI in Quantico on the investigation of cybercrimes.

Born and brought up in Serbia, Milan is a Czech language and literature graduate of Belgrade University. Milan has lived and worked in the Czech Republic for more than four years – some of which was as an employee of the Department of Czech for Foreigners. He is fluent in the local language and has a network of invaluable contacts from his time in the country.

Milan joined TSG upon his return to Serbia in 2015 as an external associate, shortly thereafter becoming an in-house analyst. Thanks to his fresh perspectives he was instrumental in developing TSG’s regional capabilities and processes, whilst also increasing efficiency and the quality of products.

In 2017 joined TSG’s client management team, and in 2019 was appointed to head the department. As such he now has responsibility for global Client Management.
Milan is a key member of TSG’s management team, overseeing all client relationships. He works closely with our clients to ensure TSG fulfils its promises and delivers client satisfaction.

As the TSG Operations Manager Radomir heads the research teams in the two TSG Regional hubs, Hong Kong and Serbia.

He joined TSG as an Analyst in 2011 – a role he held until 2016. His main area of responsibility was the Czech Republic. However, he quickly demonstrated his management potential, and was asked to oversee client research in Serbia. By 2016 he was supervising the work of all jurisdictions in the CEE region. In 2016 Radomir moved to Hong Kong temporarily to work on expanding the Asia operations, particularly for TSG’s South East Asian countries.

Having successfully completed the Asian expansion project, Radomir returned to Serbia where he became the global lead for the research teams, managing the teams in both the Asian and European hubs on a day-to-day basis.
Throughout this period he has been involved in a number of projects that have enhanced TSG’s operational capabilities. A large part of his work has been the focus on continuous improvement of products and services. In this capacity he has worked closely with TSG’s clients to ensure that TSG is meeting and delivering upon client expectations. Thanks to his leadership TSG has achieved substantial upgrades in its research methodology, workflows, and the management of client engagements.
Radomir has continued to direct client projects, manging cross-border investigative due diligence, pre-transaction & reputational business intelligence, asset tracing, on-the-ground and public domain work.

Radomir is a graduate of University of Belgrade where he read Czech Language and Literature, then continued his post-graduate studies in Journalism. The course entailed living and studying in the Czech Republic for part of the time.
In 2017, Radomir became a certified member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a member of the Serbian Association of Managers. He speaks fluent English, Serbian and Czech.

Currently heading up TSG Research from their European operations in Serbia, Nina has been in the due diligence industry for over 7 years. Her experience working across Hong Kong and Belgrade has seen her oversee and manage complex projects all over the world including in the Balkans, Scandinavia and East Asia.

Under her leadership and guidance, TSG has successfully completed hundreds of due diligence engagements across multiple regions in a variety of industries and sectors including, but not limited to, Construction, Logistics, Energy, Oil & Gas and as a result of the pandemic, Pharmaceutical and BioTechnology. She is now responsible for overseeing a team of 24 research analysts who cover EMEA.

A graduate in Language and Literature from the University of Belgrade, Nina has always had a passion for research and linguistics and speaks 3 languages. Nina joined TSG as a Junior Analyst in 2014 and has been instrumental in the company's growth and research expansion in the region.

Nikola heads TSG’s IT Operations Department. He is responsible for ensuring that TSG has at its disposal reliable, secure and up-to-date information technology.

Nikola joined TSG as an Analyst in 2012, a role that gave him valuable insight into TSG’s operations and research from a user perspective. Nevertheless, given his IT background Nikola became involved in many of TSG’s ad-hoc IT projects. Then, as the company’s operations expanded and new technology became essential to TSG’s growth, a full time IT manager was needed. Nikola was asked to take the role. He has since developed the division he leads to meet its increasing responsibilities.
He is a key member of TSG’s leadership team, working in partnership with colleagues to optimize business processes, and plan, then develop, IT initiatives. He and his department provide specialist advice to TSG globally, his mission being to drive effective and efficient business strategies through the deployment of technology.

As the IT “gatekeeper” responsible for security of systems and data, he plays an essential role in delivering and assuring best practices across the digital environment. His other key function is to assist all departments in the consistent and seamless delivery of quality TSG products.

Nikola completed his post-graduate studies at the Faculty of Organisational Studies in Belgrade, Serbia.

An Executive-in-Residence at Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), Mark’s career as an international security researcher, analyst and practitioner spans the public and private sectors. Following twenty-one years as an officer in the Royal Air Force, he spent a couple of years in academic research and lecturing, publishing on NATO-Russian relations. He then moved to the banking sector in London, before finally transferring to Geneva in 2014 as Head of Intelligence for HSBC’s Global Private Bank. His research interests reflect the breadth and depth of his international experience as a practitioner, and focus inter alia on: the impact of geopolitical risk on international businesses; the politics of Russia and Eastern Europe; global and regional (especially European and Middle Eastern) security challenges; and the politics of the European Union.

Mark has worked in Switzerland, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Falkland Islands, Hong Kong, Germany, Netherlands, Russia and throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He has travelled extensively, throughout the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Turkey, Qatar,) United States, Balkans (Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria) and Europe/Central Asia (France, Germany, Luxembourg, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan). Mark has an honours degree in Russian and Political Science from Queen’s University Belfast, and a Master of Philosophy by research in International Relations from Loughborough University. He researches in English, Russian, French and Italian.