Michael Ball
Acting Assistant Director
Global Trade
Michael Ball manages the federal government’s response to combat global intellectual property theft, protect national security and ensure public health and safety.
As the Acting Assistant Director of the HSI Global Trade division, Mr. Ball oversees operational activities for the division’s national programs related to trade enforcement, intellectual property, wildlife and environmental crimes, government supply chain investigations, and counter proliferation investigations. In this assignment, Mr. Ball also serves as the Acting Director of the federal government’s National Intellectual Property Rights Center (IPRC), leading this whole of government center with Assistant Directors from HSI, FBI, and CBP.
Prior to this assignment, Mr. Ball served as the Deputy Assistant Director for HSI Global Trade and Division Chief of the IPRC. Mr. Ball has held various leadership positions within HSI, including Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge for HSI Philadelphia and Assistant Special Agent in Charge for HSI Baltimore . Mr. Ball has served in other key HSI leadership positions, including Division Chief for HSI’s Domestic Operations Division at HSI Headquarters in Washington, DC; HSI Domestic Operations Chief -North; and Group Supervisor for HSI SAC Detroit, where he supervised several investigative groups including the Michigan Trafficking and Transnational Crimes Task Force.
Mr. Ball began his career as a Special Agent with the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division and later served as a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. Mr. Ball holds a Bachelor of Education degree from Southern Illinois University and is a graduate of the American University Executive Leadership Program. Mr. Ball is a U.S. Army combat veteran with multiple long-term foreign postings including the countries of Panama, Korea, and Bosnia.