Overview
Matt Galvin is a partner in Steptoe’s Investigations & White-Collar Defense practice. He advises multinational corporations, boards, and international regulatory bodies on complex compliance, regulatory risk, and governance matters. With more than two decades of experience across government, in-house, and private practice, Matt offers a global perspective and deep technical insight and proficiency to his work.
Matt has significant experience managing emerging market risks and is widely recognized as a leading figure in the deployment of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies in compliance and risk management. He also frequently helps complex organizations address the unintended consequences of burgeoning technologies and guides them in navigating digital innovation at scale.
Prior to joining Steptoe, Matt served as the first-ever counsel for Compliance and Data Analytics for the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Fraud Section. In this role, he oversaw corporate compliance reviews during corporate resolutions, contributed to policy updates governing compliance and artificial intelligence, and developed data analytics platforms to detect fraud and potential violations of securities laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and the False Claims Act. While in government service, Matt led teams responsible for using technology to generate and expedite investigations and played a key role in helping assess corporate compliance programs and remedial efforts as part of the resolution process for numerous corporate investigations. He also oversaw compliance monitorships and organizations managing ongoing disclosure requirements in post-resolution matters.
Before his government service, Matt was the global vice president and chief ethics & compliance officer at AB InBev, where he led a team of over 120 professionals across 70+ markets. At AB InBev, he spearheaded the development of BrewRIGHT, an award-winning AI-powered compliance analytics platform that leveraged data analytics and artificial intelligence to model risk across the organization and its value chain.
Matt advises clients across diverse sectors — including engineering, aerospace, financial services, technology, energy, and consumer products—on internal investigations, compliance monitorships, FCPA matters, and supply chain risk. He has led investigations in over forty countries and brings a multidisciplinary perspective to his work, drawing on his experience as a government prosecutor, chief ethics and compliance officer, technologist, and globalist.
In addition to his law firm practice, Matt also co-founded Gentic Global Advisors and Transforming Legal, consultancies focused on legal technology and compliance transformation, as well as Integrity Distributed, an award-winning non-profit committed to democratizing compliance technology.
Matt regularly speaks and publishes on topics related to ethics, compliance, and emerging technologies. He has held academic appointments at MIT, Harvard Business School, Sorbonne Law School, and Fordham Law School.
- Admitted in New York and practicing under the supervision of an active member of the Washington DC Bar.
- Hong Kong (S.A.R.) (inactive)
- US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- US District Court, Southern District of New York
- US District Court, Eastern District of New York
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2005, cum laude; Staff Member, International Law Journal
- B.A., Boston University, 1999, cum laude, Chinese Studies and Creative Writing
- Certificate in Reputation Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2018
Areas of Work
Representative Matters
- Oversaw compliance reviews for dozens of organizations operating in the financial services, technology, consumer goods, and energy sectors during government service.
- Spearheaded case generation using "big data" strategies in FCPA, securities and market manipulation, and False Claims Act cases.
- Led international cooperation efforts on the use of data analytics to enhance corporate crime detection and prosecution and has been invited by regulators and prosecutorial bodies in multiple countries (e.g., United Kingdom, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador) to advise on data analytics and compliance strategies.
- Developed an integration strategy for an enhanced compliance monitoring system that leveraged cutting-edge federated learning technology for a Swiss-based engineering firm under investigation by multiple government agencies.
- Conducted a risk assessment and overhaul of the global compliance program for a leading AI company.
- Advised a US-based aerospace conglomerate on technology-forward solutions for supply chain risk management.
- Managed a complex multi-jurisdictional investigation into allegations of channel stuffing, price-fixing and securities violations.
- Resolved one of the most significant parallel trade investigations ever conducted by the European Commission.
- Oversaw the resolution of a long-running investigation by the SEC and DOJ into past alleged violations of the FCPA by a consumer goods company's in India.
- Managed compliance integration across 24 distinct countries and operations and incorporated AB InBev following their $100 billion acquisition of SABMiller.
- Advised compliance monitor for an international financial services business, overseeing monitoring activities across the Asia-Pacific Program and the implementation of the anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance program.
- Guided compliance change under scrutiny from regulators in six different jurisdictions while functioning as a monitor-whisperer.
- Managed several FCPA investigations across the technology and pharmaceutical sectors in China and Southeast Asia.
- Advised a multinational financial institution on civil and regulatory inquiries into alleged price-fixing in precious metals markets.
- Oversaw anti-corruption, sanctions, and antitrust due diligence during strategic acquisitions in high-risk markets.
- Led a complex investigation under US, PRC, and Hong Kong law into allegations of corruption by a medical devices company, including liaising with Hong Kong regulatory agencies as part of the investigation.
- Advised multinational companies on corruption and sanctions risks tied to potential investigations in China and Myanmar.
- Advised a UK telecommunications company on US litigation strategy related to the governance of scientific research, corporate structure, and document retention.
- Represented a Chinese drywall manufacturer in multidistrict litigation involving a complex product liability action.
- Developed compliance program policy documents and implementation strategies for the African operations of a UK-based non-profit organization.
Speaking Engagements
- Building and Scaling an Advanced Analytics Function in Internal Audit, National Conference of Internal Auditors 2025, Instituto Mexicano de Auditores Internos A.C., September 29, 2025
- Beyond Third-Party Due Diligence: What Can (and Should) Be Continuously Monitored, SCEE & HCCA Compliance Auditing & Monitoring Conference, Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics and the Health Care Compliance Association, September 25, 2025
News & Publications
Noteworthy
- Financial Times, Top 20 Most Innovative In-House Lawyers in the past ten years (2025)
- Financial Times, Digital Innovation (for Integrity Distributed) (2022)
- New York Law Journal, Innovation Award (2020)
- Financial Times, Innovation Award (Department Award) (2020)
- Compliance Week, Short-listed for Compliance Innovator of the Year (2020)
- American Lawyer/Corporate Counsel, Compliance Department of the Year (2018)
- Financial Times, Intelligent Business – Compliance Department awards for Innovation, Best Use of Data (2018)
- Financial Times, Leading Innovative Lawyer in North America (2018)
- Financial Times, Innovative Lawyers – Digital Innovation (2017)
- Global Investigations Review, Leading In-House Investigative Lawyer (2016)
- Legal 500 Asia Pacific, Investigations (2014)
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Guide to Corporate Compliance, Embracing Technology (1st-3rd editions), Latin Lawyer (2020, 2021, 2022) (with Vincent Walden)
- Driving Transparency in Corporate Compliance, International In-House Law Journal, Cambridge University Press (2019) (with Hui Chen), available at https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/iihcj12&div=44&id=&page=
- A Collaboration Framework for Democratizing Compliance Analytics, 14 International Review of Compliance and Business Ethics 9 (with Ivy Munoko and Miklos Vasarelhi) (October 2020)
- Overview of Data Analytics Network: AB InBev White Paper for Potential Tech Partner 2 (March 26, 2020)
- How to fix a long-standing gap in corporate compliance programs, Acuris (2019)
- KYC Technology for screening, verification, and monitoring, Financier Worldwide (July 1, 2018)
- You can’t monitor what you can’t measure, Fraud Magazine (2018)
- Corporate Tort Liability Post Kiobel, 21 U Miami Bus L Review 281 (2014) (with Marc Gottridge)
- Why multinationals must be wary of China’s anti-corruption authorities, International Finance Law Review (Feb 2, 2013) (with multiple authors)
- Product Liability Risks for the Chemicals Industry – Recent Developments in China and the United States Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, StoffR 04/2011 (Aug 1, 2011) (with multiple authors)
- Antitrust Aspects of Settling Intellectual Property Litigation, Intellectual Property Antitrust 2006, published by the Practicing Law Institute, 2006, republished in The Licensing Journal Volume 26 Number 8 (September 2006) (with Elaine Johnston)
PODCASTS AND WEBINARS
- FCPA Compliance Report Matt Galvin and Dan Kahn, reflections on the Monaco Speech, available at https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fcpa-compliance-report-matt-galvin-and-54358/ (April 18, 2022)
- Building and Implementing a Culture of Compliance, Inhousefocus.com (June 2021)
- FCPA Flash Podcast, A Conversation with Matthew Galvin on AB InBev’s BrewRIGHT platform, available at https://fcpaprofessor.com/fcpa-flash-podcast-conversation-matthew-galvin-regarding-abinbevs-brewright-compliance-system/ (May 11, 2021)
- How Technology Can Be Used in Business to Catch Potential Crimes Before They Happen, Walton
- College of Business, University of Arkansas (March 4, 2021) available at https://walton.uark.edu/business-integrity/blog/matt-galvin.php
- Digitizing Legal and Compliance Functions, FTLive/Digital Legal Exchange (Spring 2021)
- The New Compliance Toolkit, WSJ Virtual Event (October 2020) available at https://www.wsj.com/video/events/ab-inbev-matt-galvin-on-the-new-compliance-toolkit/779AA034-C925-49ED-AEB4-49ED5EC4CDFA.html
- Compliance Training to Influence Behavior, FCPA Compliance Report-Episode 441, Compliance Training to Influence Behavior, available at https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/fcpa-compliance-report-episode-441-comp-89217/ (2019)
- How $132 billion brewery giant AB InBev is using AI to fight corruption and spot business risk around the world, Business Insider, available at https://www.businessinsider.com/ab-inbev-brewing-artificial-intelligence-to-spot-fraud# (December 13, 2019)
- Talking Compliance Analytics at AB InBev, Radical Compliance, available at http://www.radicalcompliance.com/2019/01/10/podcast-compliance-analytics-ab-inbev/ (2019)
- Replacing the Abstract with Data, Leftfoot, available at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/episode-117-replacing-abstract-data-nicole-giantonio/?trackingId=ewE%2BuLVewxOxpuRJOV%2BCuQ%3D%3D (November 6, 2018)