Kreller Companies

Last updated
Kreller, Inc.
Kreller Companies
Type Private
Industry Business Intelligence
Founded1989;34 years ago (1989)
FounderJoseph "Joe" Davidoski
Headquarters
Cincinnati, Ohio
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Joseph "Joe" Davidoski
(President)
Harvey Rosen
(Chief Operating Officer) [1]
Scott Shaffer
(Managing Director, Global Due Diligence) [2]
Services
Divisions
  • Kreller Consulting
  • Kreller Credit
  • Kreller Group
Subsidiaries Smith Brandon International
Website

Kreller Companies is an American corporate investigations and risk management firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio. [3] Since its founding in the late 1980s, it has advised clients on their use of third-party business information vendors. [4] Today the firm offers a range of business intelligence services, including custom due diligence and investigations. [3]

Contents

Kreller Companies employs licensed investigators and analysts with experience in federal, state and local law enforcement. [5] Its corporate offices are located in the United States, and the company has official representation in Mexico, Brazil, China, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia. [6]

The firm operates globally across a number of industries, including health care, telecommunications, defense, energy, manufacturing, and finance. [2] [7] [8] [9] [10] Clients include companies, academic institutions, and government agencies. [7] [11]

In January 2020, Kreller Companies announced that it had acquired D.C.-based Smith Brandon International. [3]

History

From 1982 to 1988, Joe Davidoski worked in sales for Dun & Bradstreet, a publicly traded company that, at the time, had a 90% market share of the credit-check market. [12] Davidoski was recognized as one of the company's top salesmen. [4] [13] After raising concerns internally for several years, in June 1988, a day after the enactment of Ohio's Whistleblower Statute, Davidoski sent a letter to management detailing the misleading and unethical nature of the company's selling practices. [12] The story of his employer's alleged misconduct made front-page news, and Davidoski was featured on American news programs, including 20/20. [12] [13] [14] Davidoski's complaints led to several lawsuits and inquiries, including one by the United States Postal Service. In June 1989, Dun & Bradstreet agreed to settle a number of these for $18 million. [15] [16]

In 1989, Davidoski left and formed Kreller, Inc., today known as Kreller Companies. [12] One of the company's initial services was to work with customers to reduce their spend on third-party data providers, including Dun & Bradstreet. [4]

In 1991, Kreller Companies began offering international credit reports. [7] In the mid-1990s, Kreller Companies began offering international due diligence services. [10] In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the company's profile rose and its business doubled as Fortune 500 companies sought to sever any possible links to Al Qaeda. [11]

In January 2020, Kreller Companies announced its acquisition of Smith Brandon International (SBI), a boutique corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. [3] [17]

Companies

Kreller Companies offers services across four associated companies: Kreller Group, Kreller Credit, Kreller Consulting, and Smith Brandon International.

Kreller Group

Kreller Group provides international due diligence and background research using local investigators for on-the-ground intel on entities around the globe. [5] [11] [18] Kreller Group conducts investigations into both companies and individuals with whom clients are considering business dealings, such as joint ventures or mergers and acquisitions. [5] Kreller Group also provides advice on how to select international business partners. [19]

In addition, Kreller Group provides guidance on adherence to anti-corruption acts, such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. [2] In 2012, Kreller Group launched Kreller Online, an online portal to assist clients with ongoing regulatory compliance with anti-corruption acts. [20]

Kreller Credit

Kreller Credit conducts international credit queries, credit reporting, and in-country risk evaluations and provides assurances that certain credit transactions are authentic. [5] [21] [22] It also assists with collection efforts and asset recovery. [5] [7] [22]

Kreller Consulting

Kreller Consulting offers clients strategies to reduce their expense on information products sold by third-party vendors, particularly those related to credit, law, insurance, real estate, and debt collections. [12] [22] [23] It also advises clients on best practices when purchasing information service subscriptions. [23]

Smith Brandon International

In January 2020, Kreller Companies announced that it had acquired Smith Brandon International (SBI). [3] SBI is a boutique corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The firm offers a range of services, including high-level political analysis, global due diligence, risk avoidance, corporate investigations, financial investigations, political risk assessments and business intelligence services. [17] [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernst & Young</span> Multinational professional services network headquartered in London, England

Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), it is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms. It primarily provides assurance, tax, consulting and advisory services to its clients. Like many of the larger accounting firms in recent years, EY has expanded into markets adjacent to accounting, including strategy, operations, HR, technology, and financial services consulting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PwC</span> Multinational professional services brand

PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG.

Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by underwriting or acting as the client's agent in the issuance of debt or equity securities. An investment bank may also assist companies involved in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and provide ancillary services such as market making, trading of derivatives and equity securities, FICC services or research. Most investment banks maintain prime brokerage and asset management departments in conjunction with their investment research businesses. As an industry, it is broken up into the Bulge Bracket, Middle Market, and boutique market.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professionals in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms along with EY, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Cognizant is an American multinational information technology services and consulting company. It is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, United States. Cognizant is part of the NASDAQ-100 and trades under CTSH. It was founded as an in-house technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet in 1994, and started serving external clients in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moody's Corporation</span> American business and financial services company

Moody's Corporation, often referred to as Moody's, is an American business and financial services company. It is the holding company for Moody's Investors Service (MIS), an American credit rating agency, and Moody's Analytics (MA), an American provider of financial analysis software and services.

The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation is an American company that provides commercial data, analytics, and insights for businesses. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the company offers a wide range of products and services for risk and financial analysis, operations and supply, and sales and marketing professionals, as well as research and insights on global business issues. It serves customers in government and industries such as communications, technology, strategic financial services, and retail, telecommunications, and manufacturing markets. Often referred to as D&B, the company's database contains over 500 million business records worldwide.

Moody's Investors Service, often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its historical name. Moody's Investors Service provides international financial research on bonds issued by commercial and government entities. Moody's, along with Standard & Poor's and Fitch Group, is considered one of the Big Three credit rating agencies. It is also included in the Fortune 500 list of 2021.

Harry B. "Skip" Brandon founded Smith Brandon International, Inc. with Gene M. Smith in 1996. Smith Brandon International is a boutique corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Brandon is currently company COO. He is a former deputy assistant director of national security and counterterrorism for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He retired from the FBI in 1993 after 23 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh McLennan</span> Global professional services firm

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., doing business as Marsh McLennan, is a global professional services firm, headquartered in New York City with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management, reinsurance services, talent management, investment advisory, and management consulting. Its four main operating companies are Marsh, Guy Carpenter, Mercer, and Oliver Wyman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lam</span>

James Lam is a corporate director, management consultant, best-selling author, and keynote speaker. He is President of James Lam & Associates, a risk management consulting firm he founded in early 2002. Lam currently serves as chair of the risk oversight committee and a member of the audit committee on the board of E*TRADE Financial Corporation. He also serves as an independent director and chair of the audit committee of RiskLens, Inc.

Risk and strategic consulting refers to the provision of information, analysis and associated services in the field of international politics and economics, with the aim of providing a better understanding of the risks and opportunities facing businesses, governments and other groups.

Jules B. Kroll is an American businessman whose company, Kroll, Inc., is credited with founding the modern corporate investigations industry in 1972. In 2004, Kroll was sold to Marsh & McLennan Companies for $1.9 billion.

Kroll, LLC, formerly Duff & Phelps LLC, is an American multinational financial consultancy firm based in New York City. It was founded as Duff & Phelps in 1932 by William Duff and George Phelps. Since then, the firm has added more than 30 complementary companies to its portfolio, including the acquisition of Kroll Inc. in 2018. Duff & Phelps decided to start rebranding itself using the Kroll name in 2021, and it completed the renaming process in February 2022.

Altegrity Risk International (ARI) was a New York City-based global risk consulting and information services company. A subsidiary of Altegrity, Inc. of Falls Church, VA, ARI provided investigations, business intelligence, forensic accounting, compliance and monitoring and security services to businesses and government agencies around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MNP LLP</span>

MNP is one of the largest full-service chartered professional accountancy and business advisory firms in Canada. MNP's head office is in Calgary, Alberta, and has offices from Vancouver Island to St. John's. MNP's 117 offices span across 9 out of 13 of the provinces and territories of Canada, as it does not have locations in Prince Edward Island, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. With almost 8,000 employees, MNP is one of the largest professional service firms in Canada.

Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was founded in 1973 by former Group Vice President of Boston Consulting Group Bill Bain and his colleagues, including Patrick F. Graham. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the firm grew rapidly. Bill Bain later spun off the alternative investment business into Bain Capital in 1984 and appointed Mitt Romney as its first CEO. Bain experienced several setbacks and financial troubles from 1987 to the early 1990s. Romney and Orit Gadiesh are credited with returning the firm to profitability and growth in their sequential roles as the firm's CEO and chairman respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith Brandon International</span>

Smith Brandon International, Inc. (SBI) is an American boutique corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1996 by Gene M. Smith and Harry "Skip" Brandon and today employs a worldwide network of investigators, including former heads of law enforcement agencies, political figures and professionals with legal, financial and intelligence backgrounds. SBI offers a range of services, including high-level political analysis, global due diligence, risk avoidance, corporate investigations, financial investigations, political risk assessments and business intelligence services.

Global Commercial Credit LLC is an American trade credit and political risk insurance broker.

Canback Consulting was a global management consulting firm headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The firm provided advisory services for senior management of global corporations.

References

  1. ↑ "Key Leadership". Kreller Companies. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Johnson, Heather R. (October 25, 1989). "FCPA Continues to Keep a Sharp Eye on Medtech". MDDI Qmed. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Caproni, Erin (January 29, 2020). "Cincinnati Firm Acquires D.C. Competitor". Cincinnati Business Courier. Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 Wolf, Barnet D. (May 12, 1989). "Letter Calls Dun & Bradstreet Practices Misleading". The Columbus Dispatch.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Investigators: Compliance, M&A, JV, Due Diligence And More". Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. May 1, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  6. ↑ "History". Kreller Group. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Braykovich, Mark (October 15, 1991). "Kreller can get scoop on foreign companies". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  8. ↑ "NXT Energy Solutions Announces $8.9 Million USD SFD® Survey Contract in Nigeria" (Press release). Calgary, Alberta: NXT Energy. GlobeNewswire. March 28, 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  9. ↑ Barth, Steve (September 1998). "An ounce of prevention". World Trade. Troy: BNP Media. 11 (9): 40–43.
  10. 1 2 Kreller Business Information Group, Inc. Hoover's Company Records (Report). Fort Mill: Mergent. April 1, 2020. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  11. 1 2 3 Callison, Jenny (September 11, 2002). "Tristate Businesses Adapt". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Bohman, Jim (May 1, 1989). "Davidoski vs. Goliath". Dayton Daily News.
  13. 1 2 "Episode 919". 20/20. Season 1989. Episode 919. New York. May 12, 1989. ABC News.
  14. ↑ Roberts, Johnnie L. (March 2, 1989). "Credit Squeeze: Dun & Bradstreet Faces Flap Over How It Sells Reports on Business". The Wall Street Journal.
  15. ↑ Peers, Alexandra (October 25, 1989). "Six of D&B's Top Aides Sell Some Shares". The Wall Street Journal.
  16. ↑ Roberts, Johnnie L. (March 17, 1989). "Big Bank Demands Dun & Bradstreet Refund Up to $2.5 Million in Charges". The Wall Street Journal.
  17. 1 2 "Frequently Asked Questions". Smith Brandon International. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  18. ↑ Mazero, Joyce (February 14, 2019). "International Franchising: Getting the Information You Need – and Why". Franchising.com. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Advice on International Deals". Akron Beacon Journal. September 24, 2015. p. B6.
  20. ↑ "Announcing Kreller Online, a Risk Based Due Diligence Approach Addressing Requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" (Press release). Cincinnati: Kreller Group. PR.com. March 28, 2019. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  21. ↑ Schaeffer, Mary S. (April 26, 2001). International Credit and Collections: A Guide to Extending Credit Worldwide. Wiley. p. 30. ISBN   978-0471406754.
  22. 1 2 3 "Key Leadership". Kreller Companies Services. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  23. 1 2 Kreller Group Inc v. WFS Financial Inc(Ohio App.October 10, 2003). Text
  24. ↑ Larsen, Peter Thal (April 11, 2002). "Insecurity and fear feed a once secretive industry". Financial Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.