Business partners and investments
Who’s really behind a deal, what they’ve done before, and what they haven’t told you.
Chicago Headquarters · Washington, DC Engagement Teams
You make the call. We make sure you have the full picture.
Private intelligence and due diligence for individuals and families who can’t afford to be wrong about who they hire, trust, or invest with.
Chicago
Headquarters
DC
Engagement Teams
5+
Client Sectors
Individuals & Families
For Private Clients
Every major decision rests on someone else’s word. We check it.
Personal relationships
Discreet research on people who are about to become part of your financial life.
Reputation and privacy
What the internet shows about you and your family, and how to lock it down.
Major purchases and acquisitions
Before you buy property, a business, or a significant asset, we research the seller, the ownership, and what you’re really getting.
- 25+ Years in Federal Law Enforcement & Intelligence
- Former Counterintelligence Special Agent
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
Founder
Meet the Founder
Brian Fennema Founder & Principal
For more than 25 years, from combat operations in Iraq to investigating federal crimes, my job has been to find out who people really are, as a federal Special Agent, a counterintelligence officer, and an Army intelligence officer. I’ve worked alongside the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and spent nearly a decade on assignments overseas. Along the way, I built a wide network of trusted professionals across intelligence and law enforcement, so when a matter calls for specialized expertise, I know who to call.
Today I bring that same discipline to individuals and families facing their most important decisions. In the Army, the senior intelligence officer’s job is to give the commander what they need to decide well. That’s the job I do for my clients now. You make the call. I make sure you have the full picture.
About the Firm
Decision-grade intelligence for leaders who cannot afford to be wrong
Raven Oak Consulting provides executive-level strategic insights and reputational risk management for those in high-visibility, high-stakes, and high-risk roles. We turn complex data into clear insights, so leaders can protect assets and reputations and seize opportunities confidently.
Operating from our Chicago headquarters with Washington, DC-based engagement teams, our practitioners integrate financial, digital, and reputational intelligence into a single operational picture — defensible for legal, regulatory, and executive use.
Founded By
Career Intelligence and Law Enforcement professionals with decades of operational experience across domestic and international environments.
Clients Served
Individuals and families, family offices, and their advisors, as well as law firms, private equity firms, corporate and institutional clients, and government agencies.
Engagement Options
A single investigation, or an ongoing retainer for families who want a standing advisor.
What We Do
Integrated Intelligence Services
Five practice areas — forensic, digital, investigative, and advisory — fused into a single operational picture for your most critical decisions.
Forensic Financial Analysis
Trace illicit flows, reconstruct transactions, and quantify losses for legal readiness. Support for litigation, regulatory inquiries, and asset recovery.
- Forensic accounting & asset tracing
- Transactional reconstruction & source-of-fund analysis
- Fraud pattern detection & loss quantification
- Litigation & regulatory inquiry support
Advanced Due Diligence
Enhanced due diligence for transactions, M&A, and onboarding. Ownership mapping and AML/sanctions compliance advisory.
- Enhanced due diligence (EDD) for M&A & onboarding
- PEP screening & risk scoring
- Beneficial ownership & shell entity mapping
- AML, sanctions & vendor risk compliance advisory
Digital Footprint & OSINT
Map online personas, accounts, and connections to attribute digital risk. Dark web monitoring and evidence capture for legal remediation.
- Comprehensive digital asset mapping (social, domain, technical)
- Persona link analysis
- Dark web & threat actor monitoring
- Evidence capture for legal & reputational remediation
Reputation Risk & Strategic Advisory
Design proactive communications and remediation to preserve long-term stakeholder trust. Board-level briefings for executive decision support.
- Reputation impact assessment & crisis playbooks
- Media & stakeholder sentiment analysis
- Communications strategy & reputation restoration
- Board-level briefings & executive counsel
Threat & Sentiment Analytics
Real-time monitoring for adverse narratives, NLP-driven sentiment scoring, and scenario modeling to identify and neutralize emerging risks.
- Real-time monitoring & alerts for adverse narratives
- NLP sentiment & influence scoring
- Social network analysis — amplifiers & emergent risks
- Scenario modeling & response simulations
Why Raven Oak
The integrated advantage others cannot replicate
Our practitioners have operated in the environments they now advise on: federal law enforcement, the intelligence community, and the military.
Clients We Serve
Decision-Grade Outputs
Forensic-level evidence and defensible intelligence suitable for legal, regulatory, and executive use — not summaries, but substance.
Integrated Approach
Financial, digital, and reputational signals fused into a single operational picture — eliminating blind spots between disciplines.
Rapid Response
Standby roster of highly experienced investigators and analysts for time-sensitive matters. We mobilize at the speed of your risk.
Discreet & Ethical
Privacy-preserving investigation techniques and rigorous compliance controls. Every engagement is handled discreetly, from the first call to the final brief.
Evidence-Ready Reporting
Briefings for senior decision-makers, and reporting structured for board, legal, and regulatory audiences.
How We Engage
Selected Engagement Types
Raven Oak deploys across the full lifecycle of risk — from pre-transaction diligence to post-crisis remediation.
Pre- & Post-Deal Integrity Assessments
Reputational and financial integrity reviews before and after M&A transactions, partnerships, and investment close.
Crisis Response & Reputational Containment
Rapid deployment for active reputational crises — narrative assessment, stakeholder strategy, and remediation execution.
Cross-Border Asset Tracing & Sanctions Screening
Identification and tracing of assets across jurisdictions with AML and OFAC sanctions compliance review.
Litigation Support & Forensic Data Analysis
Forensic data analysis and evidence-ready reporting for civil and regulatory proceedings.
Ongoing Retainer & Advisory Support
Standing advisory arrangements providing continuous intelligence monitoring, risk briefings, and on-call counsel for executive teams.
Get In Touch
Engage Raven Oak
Whether you are evaluating a transaction, managing a crisis, or building a standing intelligence capability, our senior practitioners are ready to engage. All inquiries handled discreetly.
How an engagement works
- A discreet first call. Tell us the decision you’re facing, and we’ll tell you plainly whether we can help.
- Scope and fees, in writing. You approve a written scope and price before any work begins.
- The research. Our team gets to work, keeping you updated as the matter requires.
- Your brief. A clear written report covering what we found, what it means, and how confident we are, followed by a call to walk you through it.