Principal, Strategic Operations and Risk
Stephen‑Michael Besinaiz
Strategic Operations and Risk
Senior advisory for complex planning, multi-party partnerships, risk and resilience, and leadership under pressure. Built on 28 years of U.S. Army service across special operations, influence operations, and intelligence.
Background
Stephen‑Michael Besinaiz is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. He served for more than 28 years in leadership and staff roles across special operations, influence operations, and intelligence.
His combat deployment experience spans four continents, including Africa and the Middle East, with Special Operations Forces operations in Europe and South America. He worked with interagency, international, joint, and coalition partners to achieve critical mission objectives, and was recognized as a Special Operations Forces subject matter expert within the Department of Defense and Other Government Agencies. His areas of expertise include counterterrorism, countering malign influence, and the development of strategic and operational level campaign plans.
He now advises boards, executive teams, and risk officers facing complex planning, multi-party coordination, or high-stakes operational decisions. Each engagement draws on his command of high-performance organizations in austere environments with minimal operational support.
Credentials
The paper and the pedigree.
- 01Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, 28+ years in Special Operations Forces
- 02Leadership and staff service across special operations, influence operations, and intelligence
- 03Combat deployments on four continents, including Africa and the Middle East
- 04Special Operations Forces operations in Europe and South America
- 05Special Operations Forces subject matter expert, Department of Defense and Other Government Agencies
- 06Expertise in counterterrorism, countering malign influence, and strategic and operational campaign planning
- 07Experience with interagency, international, joint, and coalition partners
Areas of expertise
What Stephen‑Michael actually does.
Click any area of expertise to see what it covers and who it is for.
A repeatable planning method for complex, multi-phase initiatives. Define the end state, identify the decisive points, sequence the work, and build measures of effectiveness that show whether the plan is working. Adapted from military campaign planning for the boardroom and the operations floor.
- End state and decisive point definition
- Phased sequencing across workstreams
- Governance and decision rights design
- Measures of effectiveness and performance
- Risk-informed branches and contingency plans
Who it is for
Executive teams running market entries, integrations, large change initiatives, or crisis responses where failure is expensive.
Work with Stephen‑Michael