Beacon Global Strategies (BGS) today announced that Maida Furnia has joined the firm as a Vice President in its Indo-Pacific Practice. Maida brings more than sixteen years of national security experience, spanning economic statecraft, sanctions, and efforts to counter illicit finance across the Indo-Pacific.
Most recently, Maida served as Director for Asia and the Pacific in the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, the department’s national security policy arm. There she directed strategies and engaged international partners to disrupt the financing of national security threats and protect the international financial system from illicit actors, with responsibility spanning China, Taiwan, North Korea, and Afghanistan. She also served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Middle East, and represented the United States as Head of Delegation to MONEYVAL and to the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG).
Earlier in her career, as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Maida served as an Economic Officer in Rio de Janeiro, reporting on energy issues and working with U.S. and Brazilian petroleum companies, and as a Consular Officer in Tijuana. In Washington, she taught at the Foreign Service Institute and worked in the Office of Visa Security Screening and the Bureau of Counterterrorism.
“Maida has spent her career at the sharp end of economic and financial statecraft, from Treasury’s fight against illicit finance across the Indo-Pacific to the frontlines of U.S. diplomacy,” said Eric Sayers, Managing Director of BGS’ Indo-Pacific Practice. “As economic security and national security become inseparable, her experience will be invaluable to clients navigating sanctions, financial risk, and strategic competition in the region.”
Maida holds a Master of International Studies (hons) from North Carolina State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Northern Arizona University. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
About Beacon Global Strategies
Founded in 2013, Beacon Global Strategies is a strategic advisory firm specializing in geopolitical risk analysis, national security, and defense advisory services. BGS helps clients navigate global security challenges through tailored solutions that operate at the intersection of policy, technology, and defense.