RKA Worldwide Group announces the retirement of RKA’s co-founder Mr. Alan Siegfried, 75, as RKA’s Non-Executive Chairman, effective September 30, 2026, and remaining as an Expert/Luminary. The firm also announced the appointment of Dr. Frank Holder, 57, President and CEO of Holder Partners, and a globally renown investigations, intelligence, security and Board level senior executive, as the next Global Non-Executive Chairman, effective October 1, 2026, starting to transition today, August 31, 2026.
Alan was executive Chairman, and concurrently the first global practice leader of Risk Management and Internal Audit services and then transitioned to Non-Executive Chairman. Alan was an internationally recognized luminary in the global internal audit community. For the Global Institute of Internal Auditors (“IIA”) Alan was North American Board Chairman, Certifications Board of Regents member, Baltimore Chapter IIA President and Board of Governors member. In 2020, Alan received the prestigious IIA’s Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award, for his global service to the profession, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in research, education, publications and other developments and activities in internal auditing.
Ariel Ramirez, RKA Worldwide’s President and CEO said: “I would be remiss not to express my sadness, for me and RKA, and the huge shoes to fill – but this is very exciting for Alan, his wife Cindy, and their children and grandkids. Alan and I first formed a small firm in 2014 at my kitchen table in the Washington, DC metro area. We were simply aiming at avoiding toxic managers and employers. Given the great economy then, we decided to stay at our full-time jobs, and through 2019 essentially operated as a two-people shop. In 2019, we continued with small projects in North and Latin America. And finally late 2025, we started preparations to launch RKA full-time, which we did in the second quarter of 2026. We, and I, thank Alan for his steady friendship since we first met in 1999, loyalty, financial and equity support, participation in early 0500 AM club calls to accommodate colleagues in other countries time zones, dedication, and sound strategic advice and counsel. We wish him lots of health and even more fun on the next chapter and hope to stay in touch frequently. Also, I am unable to contain my excitement to welcome Dr. Frank Holder, as Global Chairman. Frank is, without equivocation, one of the top investigative, security and intelligence experts in the world – it is difficult to be known in concurrent regions – North America, Latin America and EMEA. Plus being trilingual with native polyglot skills. Someone who started from scratch and spun off two management consulting firms, to two of the world’s most prominent companies in this space. I look forward to Frank’s coaching and growing with him, in the next very exiting chapter of RKA.”
Concurrently with his IIA volunteer service, he held executive internal audit prominent roles. This included as Auditor General for the Inter-American Development Bank (the second largest multi-lateral bank in the world, with employees in 48 countries), with global responsibility for all internal audit functions. He was also, Chief Audit Executive at several prominent financial services organizations; also served as a partner at Ernst Young and Grant Thornton; and as a Director at Deloitte. Before and after his prior retirements, he served in prominent Boards/Audit Committees at UNICEF, PAHO, Horizon Farm Credit and Bon Secours Health System. At Horizon Farm Credit, Alan was the Board’s Audit Committee financial expert.
In addition to his corporate and institutional service, he also became assistant academic director, at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, where he was instrumental in creating the first Master of Accounting with a focus on Internal Auditing Program. A technical, academic and client services delivery IA expert, he and RKA CEO Ramirez are still two of only a handful of people worldwide, holding all original five IIA certifications: CIA, CRMA, CFSA, CGAP and CCSA, in addition to being a licensed CPA, and a CISA, CGMA, CITP and CBA. He graduated with a BS in Information Systems from King’s College and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Alan stated: “l am retiring so that I can spend more time with my family and focus on some health issues. It has been a great professional challenge and personal honor to co-lead the founding of a firm from scratch, to one with the presence of advisors in 11 countries around the world, out of three hubs in Washington, DC; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates/Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia; and delivering professional services from eight global management consulting expert platforms. Working with CEO and co-founder Ariel Ramirez, we also reached Ariel’s main goal of assembling top qualified, bilingual and/or licensed high-performing experts. I leave the firm in outstanding leadership with Ariel and his executive committee at the global helm. And with incoming well-known senior executive and investigations luminary, Global Non-Executive Chair, Dr. Frank Holder, and his team of renown experts at Holder Partners, and I wish them well. I also thank the many others who took risk with us, worked countless hours to get the firm off the ground, woke up early for 0500 AM calls to accommodate our colleagues in EMEA and other time zones, and delivered white-gloves client services, sometimes in very challenging circumstances, both from a corporate start-up perspective, to the sometimes-hair-raising nature of executing a bribery and corruption investigation or internal audit overseas. I will continue to be available to RKA as client services senior executive advisor and luminary expert.”
Incoming global chair, Frank Holder, stated: “prior to this appointment, I was already working with Alan and Ariel, and other RKA Worldwide personnel, as a Board Member and Senior Advisor, and so I am already very familiar with their start-up corporate development challenges, technical expertise, operational luminary deliverable supremacy, and real aim to be a non-toxic, all-inclusive, and diverse firm, not an easy feat to achieve given opposing views on related conversations. I wish Alan much health and fun in his retirement. And I look forward to working with Ariel, supported by very qualified RKA experts, and by Holder Partners experts, as he executes the annual strategic plan, oversees global operations, and as the firm embarks on the next expansion milestone, partly which for them is to think and plan globally, but deliver high-quality results, for clients at the local regional level, as a team of one.”
As active Senior Executive Advisor and Luminary, Alan can be reached at asiegfried@rka-worldwide.com, or siegfal@gmail.com.
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About RKA Worldwide Group:
We are sought-after experts in high-stakes forensic, integrity services and special investigation, as well as risk and internal audit, security/executive protection, forensic audit, fraud, litigation support, and compliance advisory services. Our luminaries have worked for the world’s largest, most recognized, and respected companies and law enforcement agencies. We think and plan globally but execute and deliver high-quality results for clients at the local regional level; and we believe that only as a team, we can win.
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