Possibly, but only after the months are counted properly. One continuous year of qualifying employment abroad is required within the three years before filing, and time Desmond spent working for the same employer inside the United States does not count toward that year even though it does not break his continuity of employment.
Subtract the stateside months, then look at what remains
Take the thirty-six months preceding the proposed filing date and mark each one as worked abroad for the qualifying employer, worked in the United States for that employer, or neither. Continuity survives the American periods; the arithmetic does not treat them as qualifying. A director who has been shuttling back and forth to install systems or cover a launch can easily discover that his best recent year is fragmented.
Two consequences follow. First, the petition may need to wait until a further stretch of qualifying employment abroad has been completed, which is a scheduling problem rather than a disqualification. Second, the evidence has to be specific: dated payroll records, entry and exit history, and assignment letters that show where he was and for whom he worked.
A confident assertion of nine years with the company answers a question nobody asked.