Management

Claire H. Irving | President

Claire Irving is president of Cranston Capital Investigations. A licensed private investigator with more than 25 years of business and investigations experience, Claire founded CCI in 2009. CCI is a worldwide risk management, intelligence and security consulting firm specializing in business investigations.

Claire has led investigations dealing with complex corporate takeover defense issues, competitive intelligence, external fraud, due diligence, asset searches and litigation support. Her clients have included domestic and international law firms, accounting firms, specialty lenders, major banks, investment banks, hedge funds, private equity and venture capital firms, leveraged buy-out firms, corporations, family offices, individuals, and government agencies.

Prior to founding CCI, Claire founded and ran her first investigations firm, Investigative Consultants International, LLC. Claire was also Managing Director for both Kroll (the world's largest investigative firm) and Bishop Services (the world's oldest investigative firm).

Prior to entering the investigations field, Claire spent more than 20 years advising on the acquisitions and divestitures side of investment banking. She was Managing Director in the Corporate Finance Division of Chase Manhattan Bank, N. A.; Senior Manager of International Mergers and Acquisitions at Arthur Andersen & Co.; Senior Manager of Corporate Financial Services at Ernst & Whinney; Director of Mergers and Acquisitions at Lepercq de Neuflize & Co., and a member of the Corporate Finance Department at Bankers Trust.

Claire is a well respected authority on investigations. She has lectured extensively on money laundering, check fraud, and background due diligence. In addition, she has been featured in many publications, including Fortune and Crain's New York Business, and has written several monographs on a variety of topics, including cross-border acquisitions and international taxation.

Claire is a member of the Association of Corporate Growth, the Turnaround Management Association and various private networking groups. She has been a past member of the Financial Women's Association of New York, The International Alliance, The American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS) and the Respect for Law Alliance. Claire received her BA from Wheaton College, Norton, MA, and a Diplome from the Sorbonne. She also completed course work at New York University Graduate School of Business Administration for an M.B. A. in taxation and finance.

Case Studies
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Sexual Harassment Investigation

Sexual Harassment Investigation The Chairman of the Board of a middle-market communications company received a letter from a female employee, who had recently been reprimanded for her performance, accusing a fellow worker of sexual harassment and accusing the company of sexual discrimination. He called CCI to uncover the truth about the situation.

CCI investigators interviewed 20 employees who were witnesses to the alleged misconduct, prepared a formal report for the Board of Directors and assisted the company in locating and retaining expert legal counsel. CCI's staff gave testimony in the court action. The matter was successfully resolved in the company's favor. In addition, CCI also provided technical assistance to the company as they developed and implemented the essential human resources policies needed to preclude similar incidents in the future.