Karen Modena - Chief Financial Officer

 Karen Modena serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Global Defense, Inc., bringing over 25 years of executive-level experience in governance, risk management, internal audit, internal controls, compliance, and regulatory advisory services. A former Partner at Ernst & Young for 12 years, Karen advised Fortune 500 financial institutions across banking, capital markets, asset management, and private equity sectors. She has deep regulatory experience working with bodies such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, OCC, NYSE, and SEC.

Karen’s core expertise includes enterprise risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, U.S. banking regulations, and board-level advisory. She has led numerous outsourced and co-sourced internal audit engagements, managed multi-million-dollar client portfolios, and exceeded firm performance benchmarks in profitability and utilization. In addition to her client work, Karen held leadership roles in Ernst & Young’s diversity and strategic talent initiatives, including Advancing Women Executives and the Pan Asian Executive Network.

At GDI, Karen plays a critical role in helping to build the company’s financial infrastructure and compliance readiness, bringing operational discipline and investor-grade rigor to support GDI’s growth into a government-contract-ready and commercially scalable enterprise.

Karen earned her Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from De La Salle University in the Philippines, where she also became a CPA, ranking 13th nationally. She later received her MBA from Georgetown University and holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation.

Beyond her corporate achievements, Karen serves on the Board of Advisors for Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, is the Treasurer of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate International, and actively mentors students through programs at Baruch College and Georgetown.