Our People

Amie
Chang

Managing Director & Head of the Los Angeles and San Francisco Offices

Americas | Los Angeles office

+1 424 354 8550

achang@nardelloandco.com

Headshot of Amie Chang

Amie Chang is a managing director at Nardello & Co. and head of the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, where she leads complex, multi-jurisdictional due diligence, strategic intelligence, fraud, asset tracing, litigation and arbitration support, and reputation defense investigations. 

Amie previously led the firm’s Hong Kong office. Prior to her return to the US, Amie lived and worked in Asia for over a decade.

Before joining Nardello & Co., as a director at a global risk consulting firm, Amie managed multiple engagements across the Asia-Pacific region. These included investigations into numerous Chinese companies in a wide range of industries ahead of their proposed listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; a business intelligence investigation seeking to assess the validity of allegations made against a listed Chinese company in a short seller report; and a litigation support investigation into assets of the founders of a prominent food and beverage chain in Asia and North America.

Clients quoted in Chambers say of Amie “I was extremely impressed… I would strongly recommend her to others,” and “[Amie Chang] is able to figure out who the right person is in a particular industry and has a really good grasp of the human intel network.” A final source said “Amie Chang is always asking the right questions to understand the business needs and to propose a course of action appropriate to the need.”

Amie began her career as an intelligence analyst for the US Department of Defense, where she authored analytic papers on the leadership and foreign policy of East Asian countries. She was also a political officer with the US Department of State, where she monitored political and national security matters and served as a focal point for multidisciplinary teams by providing analytic support to policy, strategic, and tactical customers.

Representative matters

  • Led a complex due diligence investigation on behalf of a global financial institution that sought to understand a high-net-worth Asian investor’s mysterious source of wealth. The investigation found that the investor, who presented himself as the owner of a small private company, maintained a complicated network of business interests and senior-level positions in companies that had not been disclosed to our client. The investor was also found to maintain overlapping business interests with the family members and close associates of senior government officials of an Asian country, some of whom had been the subjects of a government-led anti-corruption campaign.
  •  Led a strategic intelligence investigation examining the potential sanctions exposure of a multinational client that discovered it had inadvertently conducted business with a company that allegedly had ties to the North Korean regime. The investigation confirmed that the company in question, a small representative office, was, in actuality, operating as an overseas branch of a US-sanctioned trading company belonging to the North Korean military-industrial complex.
  •  Led a search-and-locate and asset tracing investigation on behalf of a multinational company that was seeking to recover debt from the chairman of a former trading partner. The chairman, who maintained a very low profile as a result of litigation and numerous bankruptcies, had kept even his employees unaware of his whereabouts. Through meticulous research in public records and a discreet site visit, the chairman was located in a jurisdiction the client had not previously associated with him. Additionally, we identified a number of business interests and various properties the chairman had recently established or acquired in that jurisdiction.
  • Led a reputational management matter on behalf of a high-profile individual who fell victim to an online harassment campaign by a former associate. The investigation, which encompassed a full background investigation of the former associate on three continents, identified inconsistencies in statements the subject had made about her background, and uncovered and documented a pattern of abusive behavior by the subject — a pattern that included sending the client harassing and vulgar email and text messages. The client’s counsel used these findings to inform their legal strategy, while the client’s public relations team used the information uncovered by Nardello & Co. to engage with media outlets, countering the adverse public narrative about the client.
  •  Led an investigation on behalf of a company that learned of historic allegations of sexual misconduct by an individual with whom the client contemplated engaging in a significant project. Interviews were conducted with individuals who were believed to have witnessed the alleged misconduct. Interestingly, many appeared to try to protect the individual by minimizing his behavior or explaining it as a product of the times. The interviews revealed a nuanced, but ultimately damning, portrayal of the conduct, which was enough for the client to abandon the transaction.

Languages spoken

  • English (Fluent)
  • Korean (Conversational)
  • Chinese Mandarin (Conversational)
  • Portuguese (Conversational)

Education

  • BA, Political Science and International Relations, Boston College

Recognition & awards

  • Chambers and Partners 2022-2026 Crisis and Risk Management: Band 2
  • Chambers and Partners 2022-2026 Litigation Support Guide: Band 2