Neil Shaw is an agent of U.N.S.A.D.
That acronym stands for the United Nations Special Activities Division, a covert department inside the behemoth U.N. which employs espionage and, as one review puts it, 'quasi-ethical tactics' to help maintain peach and international cooperation.
Shaw, an African-American male in his late 30's, has worked for this organization for some time based on the way that he interacts with his superiors and fellow operatives. He is definitely liked and respected but at the same time his predilection for doing things his way has gotten him into considerable trouble in the past and that is highly unlikely to change.
Shaw is a ruggedly handsome, charismatic man of action who is a student of and believer in Sun Tzu's famous treatise on the best ways to conduct international affairs up to and including armed combat to achieve the desired goal of victory; much of the tactics that Sun Tzu preached and which Shaw personally follows is studying the enemy well before taking action and then striking quickly and decisively when the opponent is not expecting it.
Since this swift and unexpected action is also often done without his own people knowing what he is planning, his successes are often congratulated even as his methods are not.
We learn virtually nothing about Shaw's background as well as none about his personal life except for the chances that with his constant stream of missions, it is unlikely he has much of a chance to enjoy one. That looks to be about to change at the end of his first recorded adventure when he fakes his own death to start a life with a reporter that he meets during the activity. Since he is brought back for more missions, however, how long or well that relationship lasts is questionable.