FCPA Compliance Report

In this episode, Tom Fox cross-posts an episode of Red Flag Rising featuring U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania David Metcalf, joined by co-hosts Mike Huneke and Brent Carlson.

David Metcalf, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, brings a practical, business-aware perspective on fraud enforcement and corporate compliance, shaped by experience both in government and as in-house counsel. He notes that white-collar enforcement in his district centers heavily on healthcare fraud but also extends to cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, export controls, and other complex investigations. Metcalf strongly encourages companies to consider self-disclosure in their self-interest, warning that the DOJ will be especially aggressive toward those that do not come forward. At the same time, he stresses that early engagement is the most effective approach, because trust and candid discussion at the outset can create meaningful benefits, including even unpublicized declinations.

 Key highlights:

Resources:

More about U.S. Attorney David Metcalf

The Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s White Collar Justice Program

The DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division

More about the 1950 classic Japanese film “Rashomon”

Contact Brent: [email protected]

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Connect with Brent on LinkedIn

Contact Mike: [email protected]

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Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

Tom interviews John Capodice, Executive Vice President at Sterling Site Access Solutions, about Sterling’s role in disaster recovery when utilities face anomalous events and need to restore power rapidly.

Capodice previews his Disaster Expo presentation on quickly deploying safe temporary roads, bridges, and man-camp platforms, explaining Sterling’s capabilities as the world’s largest manufacturer of matting and access products to create stable access when storm-damaged ground or unsafe crossings prevent entry. He emphasizes a common “blind spot” in disaster recovery: access is often the first victim of a storm, and planning reduces time lost and costs. Sterling offers pre-incident consulting to identify weak spots, establish MSAs, and support utilities, co-ops, and other sectors, including wind, solar, and civil projects, with safe, efficient work platforms.

Resources:

Natural Disasters Expo USA

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In this episode, Tom Fox welcomes back his friend and colleague Steph Holmes of EQS Group. They take a deep dive into the “long tail” of hotline/whistleblower reports and why retaliation risk persists after an investigation closes, serving as a key indicator of organizational culture.

Holmes recommends starting with a retaliation-specific risk assessment, especially as EU whistleblower rules shift the burden to employers to prove they did not retaliate. They discuss creating scalable, risk-based visibility into significant post-complaint employment actions (e.g., termination, demotion, compensation, RIF selection) while sharing only minimum necessary context, emphasizing timing, decision-maker involvement, prior retaliation concerns, and strong documentation. Holmes highlights less obvious retaliation signals (negative review shifts, exclusion, increased scrutiny, unfavorable assignments) and suggests periodic check-ins, pulse surveys, and potential AI-enabled trend detection. They also stress training managers to “listen up,” respond appropriately, and escalate concerns, and to use feedback to improve speak-up confidence.

Key highlights:

Resources:

Steph Holmes on LinkedIn

EQS Group

 Tom Fox

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My first work of general non-fiction is now out: Deluge Before Dawn, the story of the 2025 flood in Kerr County, Texas, which killed 119 people and devastated a county. It is a story of tragedy, heartbreak, survival, and resilience.

It is available on the following sites:

Amazon.com

Stoney Creek Publishing

Barnes and Noble

Texas A&M University Press

Bookshop.org

Google.Books

Walmart

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Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

Tom interviews Rob Borse about his talk “Artificial Intelligence & Emergency Management: Hype, Reality, and the Road Ahead.”

Borse has recently retired from Dallas Fire Rescue and the City of Dallas. He has 26+ years of experience in operations and executive strategy and now serves as an independent advisor on public safety strategy, technology, data, and predictive analytics. Borse previews his conference session, aiming to separate AI hype from practical use cases and highlight under-discussed risks. He outlines potential applications in planning, intelligence, situational awareness, public information, damage assessment, and resource management, while emphasizing concerns including hallucinations, bias, privacy, cybersecurity, and overreliance on algorithms. He also raises resilience issues tied to AI infrastructure, such as data centers’ power and water demands, fire protection, supply chains, and continuity planning, and urges multidisciplinary, cross-jurisdictional dialogue. He hopes to learn, connect, and contribute at the conference.

Resources:

Connect with RobBorse on LinkedIn

Natural Disasters Expo USA

Get your Ticket

Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

Tom Fox interviews Susan Anderson, Senior Director of Disaster Response at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), about integrating animals into emergency management throughout the disaster life cycle.

Anderson explains how her team supports local, state, and national agencies with animal-inclusive planning and provides resources when communities are overwhelmed by events such as severe weather and wildfires. She notes animal inclusion still varies widely by jurisdiction and cites Hurricane Katrina as a turning point that highlighted the human-animal bond and the consequences of excluding pets. Anderson argues that human and animal survival are interdependent and that an all-hazards, all-species approach improves public safety and responder safety, increases shelter capacity, and reduces secondary public health risks. She discusses shelter overcrowding limiting evacuation “safe harbor” options and urges local engagement through fostering, donating supplies, and legislative outreach. She previews advancing these topics at Disasters Expo.

Resources:

Connect with Susan Anderson on LinkedIn

Natural Disasters Expo USA

Get your Ticket

Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

In this speaker series, Tom Fox interviews guest Adam Lee, Director of Emergency Management & Organizational Resilience at Memorial Hermann Health System.

Lee describes overseeing emergency management preparedness, business continuity, and operational continuity and shares highlights from his talk, “Making the Case for Resilience in Healthcare.” He argues resilience is no longer about if but when, especially as health systems with small margins must still function during disasters to serve their communities and fulfill their mission. Lee notes resilience requires cross-functional collaboration and extends beyond IT into operations, workforce, facilities, and overall organizational functioning, with evolving threats including hurricanes, cyber risks, and mass casualty events. He hopes to learn from other speakers, gain new perspectives, and expand professional networks.

Resources:

Connect to Adam Lee on LinkedIn

Natural Disasters Expo USA

Get your Ticket

Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

In this speaker series, Tom Fox interviews retired US Navy Reserve officer Amy Forsythe ahead of her Disaster Expo keynote, “When Crisis Calls: Leadership, Communication & Community in the Moments That Matter.”

Forsythe describes her 33 years of service, beginning as a Marine Corps combat photographer and later retiring as a Navy public affairs officer, with extensive experience coaching senior leaders on media engagement and crisis response. She and co-presenter Mandy Feindt will combine Feindt’s firsthand experience from the Red Hill fuel spill crisis in Hawaii with Forsythe’s lessons on building trust, honest communication, humility, and effective interagency coordination during disasters. Forsythe notes these principles apply to businesses and leaders whose viability can be impacted by crisis communication, including the risk of “one bad interview.” She aims to share hard-learned lessons, including from the 2017 Santa Rosa, California, fires, and to connect with practitioners in Houston.

Resources:

Connect with Amy Forsythe on LinkedIn

Natural Disasters Expo USA

Get your Ticket

Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from front-line experts, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

In this speaker series, Tom Fox interviews Dr. Joseph Colaco about Reducing Hurricane Damage in Houston’s Expanding High-Rise Environment.

Dr. Colaco is a tenured University of Houston architecture professor and president of Dr. Colaco Engineers. He visits with Tom about his upcoming presentation on reducing hurricane damage in Houston’s growing high-rise environment. Dr. Colaco describes assessing building performance during Hurricane Alicia in 1983, including firsthand observations downtown, documentation of facade damage, and visits to the Galleria area and Galveston. He explains that Houston’s increased density and taller buildings create new wind-flow conditions, making some older wind-tunnel results less applicable; he notes Houston began wind-tunnel and window-wall facade testing in the 1970s to inform design and construction. Dr. Colaco values conferences for networking and for transferring lessons learned across generations and cites Chicago’s periodic inspection requirements for tall buildings as a model for improving building safety and living conditions in Houston.

Resources:

Natural Disasters Expo USA

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Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

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In this episode, Tom Fox welcomes Anthony Pugliese, President and CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors Inc.

We begin with the IIA’s global footprint, with boards in 122 countries; its role in setting internal audit standards; certifications, including the Certified Internal Auditor credential with about 225,000 holders; and education. Pugliese describes how internal audit is shifting from primarily financial controls to a broader focus on non-financial risks, including cybersecurity, AI and disruptive technologies, sustainability reporting, business resilience, and geopolitical risk. He emphasizes internal audit’s growing prospective/advisory role, particularly in assessing whether AI governance is keeping pace with rapid adoption and in communicating complex risks to boards and audit committees. Cybersecurity is cited as chief audit executives’ top concern and increasingly requires continuous monitoring. Pugliese notes members want more industry-specific guidance and expanded GRC resources relevant to compliance and directs listeners to iia.org and the free annual Risk in Focus report.

Key highlights:

Resources:

Anthony Pugliese on LinkedIn

Institute of Internal Auditors

 Tom Fox

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My first work of general non-fiction is now out: Deluge Before Dawn, the story of the 2025 flood in Kerr County, Texas, which killed 119 people and devastated a county. It is a story of tragedy, heartbreak, survival, and resilience.

It is available on the following sites:

Amazon.com

Stoney Creek Publishing

Barnes and Noble

Texas A&M University Press

Bookshop.org

Google.Books

Walmart

This week only, the Kindle e-book version is available for $0.99 on Amazon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Natural Disasters Expo Houston! For its fifth year, Natural Disasters Expo USA comes back to Houston on October 14–15, 2026, at the George R. Brown Convention Center. And there’s no better place. This city knows what it takes to prepare for disasters, respond, and rebuild afterward.

For two days, industry leaders, government agencies, first responders, and resilience professionals will come together with one shared goal: helping communities weather the next storm stronger than the last. Explore new solutions and technology, learn from experts on the front lines, and meet the partners who will help you turn preparedness into action. Whether you’re here to learn, share, or collaborate, you’re part of the effort to build a more resilient nation.

In this speaker series, Tom Fox interviews James Caron on Lessons from Winter Storm Uri and Business Risk Preparedness.

James Caron is the director of weather operations for North America at Atmospheric G2 and owner of Caron Weather Consultancy. He discusses his upcoming Disaster Expo 2026 presentation in Houston, “Storm Ready: Analyzing Winter Storm Uri and Preparing for Future Winter Hazards.” Caron explains forensic meteorology as expert witness work in litigation involving weather-related incidents, then outlines how a displaced polar vortex during Uri placed all 254 Texas counties under winter storm warnings, drove Dallas–Fort Worth to -2°F, nearly collapsed ERCOT, cut power to about 4.5 million customers, and spiked natural gas prices above 1,000 MMBTU. He will use his financial institution lead-time forecasting experience as a case study and offer practical preparedness guidance for emergency management, grid and energy operators, and businesses, noting that Uri broadened business awareness of winter risk and that a strong El Niño could elevate winter 2026/27 threats.

Resources:

Connect with James Caron on LinkedIn

Natural Disasters Expo USA

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Conference Agenda

Speakers 2026

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