WESTEXEC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Former Chief of Naval Personnel
- Principal / Former Vice Chief of Naval Operations and Former Chief of Naval Personnel, U.S. Navy
- Retired Four - Star Officer
The front-end of Bill's career was spent in the cockpit on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrols above the Atlantic and Mediterranean as well as in numerous instructor pilot assignments. After a tour in personnel management, he operated in the Pacific and Middle East theaters conducting ASW and supporting ground forces during OEF and OIF. As a flag officer he served in a variety of positions including Director of Air Warfare and Chief of Naval Personnel prior to becoming the 39th Vice Chief of Naval Operations (VCNO).
He is known for his extensive experience in developing effective leaders and leading teams operating in dynamic and complex environments. His transformative approach to changing the Navy's human resource structure and policies as Chief of Naval Personnel paved the way for a larger department of defense effort to modernize its talent management policies. And as VCNO he focused on fleet readiness, modernization, education and building service budgets.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Science degree in National Security Studies from the National War College.
As a strategic advisor for several companies, a board member at the US Naval Institute and as the founder and president of WFM Advisors, LLC, Bill continually seeks opportunities to serve where his interests, experience and the nation's security needs intersect.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar and Former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Ambassador Dana Shell Smith is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at Georgetown University and the CEO of Decibel Strategy, an international strategy firm she founded to advance business and professional ties between the United States and the Middle East. Before founding Decibel Strategy, Ambassador Smith spent 25 years as a diplomat, working throughout the Middle East and in Asia.
Dana served as the U.S. Ambassador to the State of Qatar from 2014-2017. During her tenure, Dana successfully advocated for billions of dollars in U.S. business and investment opportunities in Qatar, and Qatari investment in the U.S. to over $70 billion. She negotiated base access for the international coalition fighting ISIS and furthered partnerships in the fields of education and culture. She stepped down from the Foreign Service upon departure from Qatar in June 2017.
As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs from 2011 to 2014, Dana managed State Department strategic communications, global media relations and crisis communications for Secretaries Clinton and Kerry.
In a career spanning the tenures of Secretaries Christopher, Albright, Powell, Rice, Clinton, Kerry and Tillerson, Dana served as a spokesperson and public affairs officer in Dubai, Taipei, Amman, Gaza, Tel Aviv and Cairo.
She speaks fluent Arabic and was proficient in Chinese, Hebrew and Spanish. A mother of two, wife of a Diplomatic Security Special Agent, and mentor to many, Dana published her thoughts on work and life in "How to Have an Insanely Demanding Job and Two Happy Kids", for The Atlantic, June 2012.
Dana has a degree in Political Science, Middle East Studies and Women's Studies from the University of California, San Diego and an honorary doctorate from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on the boards of Hostage US, Foreign Policy for America, and LA2028, among other pursuits.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Senior Advisor
- Senior Advisor / Former Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse / Ambassador Dennis Ross
Ambassador Dennis Ross is counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Senior Advisor at WestExec Advisors.
Prior to returning to the Washington Institute in 2011, he served two years as special assistant to President Obama and National Security Council senior director for the Central Region, and a year as special advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
For more than twelve years, Dennis played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process and dealing directly with the parties in negotiations. A highly skilled diplomat, Dennis was U.S. point man on the peace process in both the George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. He was instrumental in assisting Israelis and Palestinians to reach the 1995 Interim Agreement; he also successfully brokered the 1997 Hebron Accord, facilitated the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, and intensively worked to bring Israel and Syria together.
A scholar and diplomat with more than two decades of experience in Soviet and Middle East policy, Dennis worked closely with Secretaries of State James Baker, Warren Christopher, and Madeleine Albright. Prior to his service as special Middle East coordinator under President Clinton, Dennis served as director of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff in the first Bush administration. In that capacity, he played a prominent role in U.S. policy toward the former Soviet Union, the unification of Germany and its integration into NATO, arms control negotiations, and the 1991 Gulf War coalition.
During the Reagan administration, he served as director of Near East and South Asian affairs on the National Security Council staff and deputy director of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment. Dennis was awarded the Presidential Medal for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President Clinton, and Secretaries Baker and Albright presented him with the State Department's highest award.
A 1970 graduate of UCLA, Dennis wrote his doctoral dissertation on Soviet decisionmaking, and from 1984 to 1986 served as executive director of the Berkeley-Stanford program on Soviet International Behavior. He received UCLA's highest medal and has been named UCLA alumnus of the year. He has also received honorary doctorates from Brandeis, Amherst, Jewish Theological Seminary, and Syracuse University. Dennis was named a 2016-2017 senior fellow by Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Senior Advisor
- President of the Middle East Policy Council
Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley is the President of the Middle East Policy Council, a think tank that contributes to American understanding of the political, economic and cultural issues that affect U.S. interests in the Middle East, and a Senior Non-Resident Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Before her current appointments, she held a series of senior positions that included Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander of U.S. cyber forces, Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism for the Department of State where she negotiated the establishment of the International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law, and Country Director for Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Gina was the first woman to lead a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia as the Principal Officer in Jeddah after taking on the position of Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for the Middle East and Africa. In addition to the State Department, she held senior positions at the Defense Department and on the National Security Council staff. Prior to that, she was a Professional Staff Member for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Gina is the recipient of numerous awards including the Maltese Order of Merit, Department of State Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards, including "For acts of courage during an attack on the U.S. Consulate General, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 6, 2004 by al-Qa'ida terrorists", Foreign Policy for America's Community Leadership Award, and Peace Corps Women of Achievement.
During her break in public service, 2018-2021, she ran Abercrombie-Winstanley Consulting and advised on issues ranging from U.S. policy in the Mid-East, how diversity and inclusion improve U.S. foreign policy making, cyber security challenges, and counterterrorism. She served in 2020 as co-chair of the Diversity in National Security Working Group for the Biden campaign before being recalled to service by Secretary of State Blinken.
Gina, a Cleveland native, has degrees from The George Washington University and The Johns Hopkins University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Women of Color Advancing Peace And Security. She was a co-Founder of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security-LCWINS, and has been an active Board member for several organizations committed to excellence in professional development and leadership including the Forum for Education Abroad, College Now Greater Cleveland, and the International Career Advancement Association. She also served on the boards of the Cleveland Museum of Contemporary Art. She sings with the Washington Performing Arts Society and has been published in the New York Times Opinion and The Foreign Service Journal. She is the co-author of two papers published in the New York Review of Science Fiction on "Diplomacy in Star Trek" and "The Representation of Disability in Star Trek", and wrote the Forward for "The Young Black Leaders Guide to a Successful Career in International Affairs". In 2019, she was voted into the American Academy of Diplomacy.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy National Security Advisor
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Former Special Envoy to the Coalition to Defeat ISIS
Ambassador James F. Jeffrey retired from the Foreign Service with the rank of Career Ambassador in June 2012. His most recent positions at the State Department were as Special Representative for Syria and Special Envoy to the Coalition to Defeat ISIS. He retired from those positions in November 2020.
Previously, Jim held a series of senior posts in Washington, D.C., and abroad. Prior to his service as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2008-2010) and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (2010-2012), he served as Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor in the George W, Bush Administration (2007-2008). Earlier assignments included serving as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the Department of State, Senior Advisor on Iraq to the Secretary of State, Chargé d'affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Baghdad, Ambassador to Albania, Deputy Chief of Mission in Ankara and Kuwait, and Deputy Coordinator for Bosnia.
Jim is currently the Chair of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center. Between 2012 and 2018, he was the Philip Solondz Distinguished Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Visiting Instructor at George Washington University, an energy consultant, and a member of the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board and the CIA Director's External Advisory Board.
A former infantry officer in the U.S. Army, Jim served in Germany and Vietnam from 1969 to 1976. He and his wife Gudrun have two children, Julia, and Jahn.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University 's School of Foreign Service
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia, National Intelligence Council, and Former Senior Analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
- Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center
Andrea Kendall-Taylor is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). She works on national security challenges facing the United States and Europe, focusing on Russia, authoritarianism and threats to democracy, and the state of the Transatlantic alliance.
Prior to joining CNAS, Andrea served for nine years as a senior intelligence officer, including as Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council (NIC) and senior analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Andrea is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and her work has been published in numerous political science and policy journals. Andrea received her B.A. in politics from Princeton University and her Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Vice Admiral Bob Sharp, USN (Ret.) served as the Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, one of our nation's premier intelligence agencies, from February 2019 until June 2022.
As Director, he and his team were responsible for delivering world-class geospatial intelligence to provide a decisive advantage to policy makers, military service members, intelligence professionals, first responders, and international partners. He was accountable for over 14,000 civilian, military and contractor employees working around the clock and around the globe in over 120 locations world-wide.
Bob served as a Naval Intelligence Officer for over 34 years, and as a leader within the Navy's Information Warfare Community since its inception. He has decades of leadership experience in the Intelligence, Defense, and National Security arenas.
He is known for his extensive experience developing and motivating cohesive teams to solve complex problems in dynamic situations. He leveraged the global pandemic challenges as an opportunity to reimagine and improve business processes, helping his agency emerge stronger, more agile, and more human from the experience.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
First as a Marine Corps Major General and then as NASA Administrator, Charles F. Bolden Jr. has dedicated his life to the service of the United States, working to secure our nation's security, prosperity, and guiding efforts to explore our universe and better understand our fragile planet.
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Charlie to be the 12th NASA Administrator, making him only the second astronaut to hold that position. While heading NASA, Charlie oversaw the transition from the space shuttle system to a new era of exploration, fully focused on the International Space Station (ISS) and aeronautics technology development.
Charlie led the development of the Space Launch System and the Orion Crew Capsule. Charlie also oversaw the shift toward commercial space initiatives handling resupply of the ISS. He created NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, responsible for developing the technology that will make future exploration missions successful. Charlie's tenure included the triumph of the Mars Curiosity Rover landing, the success of the Juno mission that is helping us understand the planet Jupiter more completely, increasing the number of satellites tasked with Earth observation tasks, and continuing progress toward the expected 2021 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. Not forgetting that the first "A" in NASA stands for Aeronautics, Charlie also focused his attention on NASA's aeronautics programs and the agency's goal of developing airplanes that can travel faster, farther, quieter, and greener than ever before.
During his career as a NASA astronaut, Charlie flew on four space shuttle missions, logging over 680 hours in space. He piloted Space Shuttle Columbia in 1986 (STS-61C) and Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990 (STS-31) - the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. He also served as Mission Commander on Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1992 (STS-45), and Space Shuttle Discovery in 1994 (STS-60). Charlie also served as Chief of NASA's Safety Division at the Johnson Space Center in the wake of 1986's Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Charlie also had a long and distinguished military career. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Charlie flew over 100 combat missions during the Vietnam War. He later served as a test pilot for the Naval Air Test Center's Systems Engineering and Strike Aircraft Test Directorates. After completing his service as an astronaut in 1994, he served as the Assistant Commandant of Midshipmen at the Naval Academy, and in 1998 as the Commanding General of the Marine expeditionary force attached to Operation Desert Thunder in Kuwait. He last served as Commanding General of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, prior to his retirement from the Marine Corps.
Charlie holds a Master of Science Degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. His past honors include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, three NASA Exceptional Service Medals and four NASA Space Flight Medals. He received the Rotary National Space Trophy in 2014 and holds Honorary Doctorate degrees from numerous institutions of higher education. He was inducted into the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame in 2006 and the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2016. He served as a U.S. Department of State Science Envoy for Space from 2018-2019.
Charlie is married to the former Alexis Walker of Columbia, SC. They have two children, A. Che' Bolden, Colonel, USMC (retired), Dr. Kelly Bolden, MD, and four grandchildren - granddaughters Mikaley, Kyra and Talia and grandson Walker Elias. He serves today as CEO Emeritus of The Charles F. Bolden Group, a veteran-owned small business specializing in aerospace, national security, leadership, and education.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee
Christopher is an accomplished investor, economist and former senior policymaker, with demonstrated success in portfolio management and investment strategy, complemented by senior roles at the U.S. Treasury and the White House. Currently, he is the founder and managing partner of the Arbroath Group and Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute.
From 2018 to 2023, Christopher was Chief Global Strategist at Barings, where he also founded, built and led the Barings Investment Institute, which focused on the investment opportunities shaped by macroeconomic and political dynamics and explored the forces driving long-term capital allocation decisions.
Before that, he served as Special Assistant to the President at the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, where he was principal advisor on trade, investment and global economic issues. Christopher also spent four years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, where he led the response to the European financial crisis and led U.S. engagement on financial policy across Europe, Russia and Central Asia.
Prior to his government service, he worked as the Director of International Investments at Pioneer Investments where he managed top-performing Emerging Markets and International portfolios. Early in his career, he was an advisor to the Russian Finance Ministry following the collapse of the Soviet Union and a journalist in Florida and France.
Christopher has also served as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, at the Harvard Kennedy School's Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, and at the Chatham House Royal Institute of International Affairs where he explored issues at the intersection of financial markets, international relations and national security.
Christopher writes regular columns on global markets and international relations that have appeared in Barron's, Bloomberg Opinion and Foreign Policy, and he is also a frequent guest on CNBC, Bloomberg News and other major media.
Christopher holds a B.A. in History from Yale University and a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. Fluent in French and Russian, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Principal / Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Former Senior Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council
Danny Russel is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New York.
A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he served until March, 2017 as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Danny served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama's strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region.
During his 33 year diplomatic career, Danny is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the 2017 Presidential Rank Award.
He served in East Asia, Western Europe, at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, and in Washington, DC as Chief of Staff to then Under Secretary of State Thomas R. Pickering.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Senior Advisor / Former Senior Advisor
David Skilling is the founding Director of Landfall Strategy Group, an economic and policy advisory firm that provides insights on global economic, political, and policy developments to governments, firms, and financial institutions. David serves clients in Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, with a specific focus on small advanced economies.
David served as Senior Advisor to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand between 2011 and 2015, providing insight on emerging global economic and political developments. David has also served as a Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, and was a Fellow at Singapore's Civil Service College.
Prior to founding Landfall Strategy Group in 2011, David was an Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company in Singapore, as well as being a Senior Fellow with the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey's in-house economic think-tank. Before joining McKinsey, David was the founding Chief Executive of the New Zealand Institute, a privately-funded, non-partisan think-tank. Until 2003, David was a Principal Advisor at the New Zealand Treasury, advising on various strategic economic policy issues.
David writes a widely read note on global economic and political issues, and has written op-eds in publications such as the Straits Times, the Wall Street Journal, Project Syndicate, The Times, Foreign Affairs, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and the Nikkei Asian Review.
David has a Ph.D. in Public Policy, and a Master in Public Policy degree, from Harvard University, as well as a Master of Commerce degree in Economics from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. David was named as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of the Emerging Technologies Institute at the National Defense Industrial Association
- Senior Advisor / Former Professional Staff Member, U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services
Dr. Arun A. Seraphin is the Deputy Director of the Emerging Technologies Institute at the National Defense Industrial Association. In this role, he helps lead a nonpartisan institute focused on technologies that are critical to the future of national defense, and provides research and analyses to inform the development and integration of emerging technologies and policies to support defense missions.
Between 2021 and 2014, Dr. Seraphin was a Professional Staff Member on the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. His areas of responsibility included acquisition policy, funding and policies for the Department of Defense's science and technology programs and information technology systems, technology transition issues, defense laboratories and test ranges, Small Business Innovation Research program, manufacturing programs, test and evaluation programs, and Pentagon management issues. As such he assisted Senators in their oversight of DOD policies and programs, including in the authorization of budgets, civilian nominations, legislative initiatives, and hearings, and worked on policies and funding issues related to artificial intelligence, quantum computing, additive manufacturing, cloud computing, and robotics, among other areas. He also worked on policies to expand Pentagon partnerships with Silicon Valley technology companies, small businesses, and universities. He rejoined the committee staff in 2014, after previously serving there between 2001 and 2010.
From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Seraphin served as the Principal Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). During this time, he both led (in an Acting capacity) and served as the deputy director of the OSTP National Security and International Affairs division. He was on detail to OSTP from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where he was the Special Assistant for Policy Initiatives to the Director of DARPA.
Dr. Seraphin has worked on the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science's Subcommittee on Research as a professional staff member. He has also worked in the Science and Technology Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses, where his research included work on defense technology transition, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), export controls, technology forecasting, and international research cooperation.
Dr. Seraphin earned a Ph.D. in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he performed research on silicon nanotechnology. His research focused on the development of novel silicon nanostructures and tailoring their optical properties. He also holds bachelor's degrees in Political Science with a concentration in American Government and Engineering Science with a concentration in Materials Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He currently resides in Virginia with his wife and five children.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director and Senior Fellow With the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Principal / Former Deputy Staff Director, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Emily Harding is deputy director and senior fellow with the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She joined CSIS from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), where she was deputy staff director. In her nearly 20 years of government service, she has served in a series of high-profile national security positions at critical moments. While working for SSCI, she led the Committee's multiyear investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The five-volume, 1,300-page report reshaped the way the United States defends itself against foreign adversaries seeking to manipulate elections, and it was lauded for its rigor, its thoroughness, and as the only bipartisan effort on election interference. During her tenure on the Committee, she also served as the subject matter expert on election security, counterintelligence and associated cybersecurity issues, and the Middle East. She oversaw the activities of 18 intelligence agencies and led SSCI staff in drafting legislation, conducting oversight of the intelligence community, and developing their expertise in intelligence community matters.
She began her career as a leadership analyst at CIA, and then became a manager of analysts and analytic programs. She led the Iraq Group during the attempted Islamic State takeover of Iraq and Syria and led a multidisciplinary group of analysts working crises worldwide, drawing from many perspectives to provide rich analysis to policymakers. During a tour at the National Security Council, she served as executive assistant to the deputy national security adviser for global democracy strategy and then as director for Iran, where she led interagency efforts to create innovative policies drawing on all elements of national power. After leaving the White House, she served on a team running the first Office of the Director of National Intelligence-led presidential transition, where she was responsible for liaising with both campaigns and briefing the incoming administration on a wide range of intelligence topics. Harding holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor's degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Communications and National Security Strategist
Emily Horne is a communications and national security strategist who has served in senior U.S. government, tech, and academic roles for over 15 years. She is the founder of Allegro Public Affairs LLC, a boutique strategic communications, public affairs, and public relations firm in Washington DC.
Emily served as the first Special Assistant to the President, Spokesperson, and Senior Director for Press at the National Security Council (NSC) in the Biden Administration, where she led White House and interagency communications strategies and media engagement on all foreign policy and national security issues. Emily joined the NSC from the Biden-Harris transition team, where she led communications for the successful confirmations for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Emily was previously Vice President of Communications at the Brookings Institution, where she also oversaw the Brookings Press. Emily joined Brookings from Twitter, where she led global policy communications.
Emily spent nearly a decade as a career civil servant at the State Department, where she held a variety of roles including communications director for the Obama Administration's counter-ISIS efforts and spokesperson for South and Central Asian Affairs. She has been an adjunct professor of media and foreign policy at American University and is a frequent public speaker on media and politics, disinformation, social media and emerging technology, and national security issues.
A native of Ann Arbor, MI, Emily holds a BA and MA in History from The George Washington University. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and their two young sons.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia, National Security Council
Eric Green is a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 2023, he completed a 32-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service, reaching the rank of Minister-Counselor. From 2021-23 he served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russia and Central Asia in the National Security Council, where he helped design and execute U.S. policy before and during the war in Ukraine. Eric's previous assignments included service as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, Poland from 2018-19. From 2015-17, he was Director of the Office of Russian Affairs in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in the U.S. Department of State. From 2013-15 he directed the office of Policy, Plans and Coordination in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.
Eric's previous assignments include Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate in Adana, Turkey and Chief of Staff for the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Office. He worked for five years helping to devise and implement U.S. strategy on the Northern Ireland Peace Process, both in Belfast and Washington. Eric holds a B.A. from Grinnell College and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Assistant Director for Near East, Central Intelligence Agency
Eric Traupe is a former Intelligence Community executive who amassed 30 years of combined experience in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Marine Corps. Eric's career focused on responding to trends impacting the global landscape, from his early years in the CIA's paramilitary ranks up through the senior enterprise level. This included directing traditional intelligence activities focused on-Iran's nuclear and regional ambitions, CIA's foreign partnerships across the Middle East and North Africa, and global competition with China and Russia-and pursuing innovative cyber, technology, and data exploitation solutions to address complex national security issues.
Eric most recently served as the CIA's Assistant Director for the Near East where he led thousands of officers from different career disciplines and US agencies, developed and executed multi-billion dollar budgets, and tackled acute intelligence and foreign policy challenges. As a member of CIA's senior leadership team, he served on the Expanded Corporate Board and cultivated enduring partnerships across the U.S. interagency and with foreign partners to ensure U.S. national objectives were achieved. Throughout his career he was a trusted advisor to CIA Directors, Presidents, Cabinet and military officials, and members of Congress and participated in a range of White House strategic, policy, and resource decisions.
He held various leadership roles in CIA's Near East, Counterterrorism, East Asia, and Special Activities Centers where he integrated operational, analytic, cyber, data, and support components to address US national security interests at home and abroad. As a senior Operations Officer, he served overseas as a Chief of Station in two Middle Eastern countries and other senior positions in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and three conflict zones. Eric is a trusted expert across the US interagency in Middle East-related intelligence, security, defense, and geopolitical challenges.
At CIA, he received several honors including-the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, CIA's Director Award (two-time recipient), Intelligence Medal of Merit, ODNI's National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, Clandestine Service Career Award, Directorate of Operations Excellence in Leadership Award, George W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, and SAC's Leadership Award. Eric holds an MBA in International Business from American University and a BA in Communications from the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, he played Division I football as an inside linebacker participating in two Rose Bowls and a Gator Bowl.
After leaving the public sector, Eric founded Azimuth Global LLC, a consulting firm that provides strategic advisory services to Fortune 500 companies in the technology, national security, and strategic risk sectors. He serves as an operating partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners. He sits on the Board of Advisors for Intel Corporation and serves as an advisor to Anduril Industries Inc. and other emerging technology companies. Eric is also a Senior Advisor at WestExec, on the Board of Advisors for the Center for a New American Security, a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, and a panel member for the Special Competitive Studies Project focused on geopolitical rivalries associated with China and Russia. Eric is an active speaker with Leading Authorities Inc. on topics related to geopolitics, leadership, and risk management. He was previously the President of Capella Federal Inc., a subsidiary of Capella Space Corp. Eric is also an Ambassador for the Third Option Foundation and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Senior Advisor for Blackstone Investment Group
General David Goldfein served a 37-year career as a pilot in the United States Air Force (USAF), where he commanded at every level and finished his career as the 21st Chief of Staff of the Air Force. During his time as Chief, General Goldfein developed and championed the Department of Defense's signature joint warfighting initiative, Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). Central to his vision was the creation of the Department's first Information Warfare Command, which brought together the capabilities of Cyber, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Information Operations. He also developed and executed the largest overhaul of the officer development and promotion system in the Air Force in over thirty years.
Prior to serving as the USAF Chief of Staff, he was the USAF Vice Chief of Staff, the second highest-ranking officer, where he presided over the Air Staff and served as a member of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Advisory Working Group, advising on high-interest acquisitions, and assessing joint military capabilities for the Department of Defense. As Vice Chief, he pioneered a new and aggressive approach to supporting warriors with invisible wounds, as well as their caregivers.
General Goldfein held numerous command positions, notably the deployed Air Component Commander for US Central Command from 2011-2013, where he directed all air and space operations across 20 countries spanning the broader Middle East. An effective coalition-builder, General Goldfein traveled extensively as a military "ambassador," working with stakeholders across the region and building crucial inter-disciplinary relationships. He successfully envisioned and built the first-ever Gulf Air Operations Center, with representation from all six Gulf Cooperation Council countries inside his headquarters. He was also the 49 th Fighter Wing Commander where he was the final operational Pilot trained in the F-117 and led the retirement of the aircraft.
General Goldfein currently serves as a Senior Advisor for Blackstone Investment Group, where he helps senior Blackstone leaders formulate and execute optimal courses of action based on an informed global risk assessment. In this role, he is Chairman of the Board of Draken International LLC, a Blackstone-owned company focused on US and foreign military training. Dave Goldfein is Chair of the Board for Google Public Sector, a subsidiary of Google focused on bringing Google Cloud technology to solve complex problems for U.S. public sector institutions.
Goldfein has been named a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institute and Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he maintains a focus on their Air and Space portfolios. An equally important part of his portfolio, Goldfein dedicates a significant portion of his time serving in Pro Bono positions which includes Chairman-elect of the National Board of the USO.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Ambassador to NATO and Former Director for European Affairs, National Security Council
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy White House Press Secretary and Former Director of Public Affairs, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
From the West Wing of the White House to the C-Suites of Fortune 500 companies, to startups, multinational organizations and NGOs, Jamie has served over twenty years in key strategic communications, marketing, policy and government relations positions. She's worked to advance the way corporations, governments, and institutions communicate their message and lead. Smith specializes in directing large teams with aggressive mandates, integrated multi-platform MarCom strategies, crisis communications and strategy, and communicating complicated topics to key audiences in a wide range of issue areas - technology, security, executive leadership, government engagement, empowering women and advancing diversity.
Prior to joining WestExec, Jamie has served as Chief Marketing Officer and Director of Diversity, Civility and Inclusion at the Linux Foundation, Global Chief Communications Officer and Blockchain Advisor at the Bitfury Group & Co-Chair World Economic Forum's Blockchain Council, Executive Vice President at Edelman Worldwide, Special Assistant to and Spokeswoman for President Barack Obama and Deputy White House Press Secretary, Director of Public Affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and General (Ret.) James Clapper, Communications Director for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation under its then Chairman John D (Jay) Rockefeller IV, Spokeswoman and Traveling Press Director for Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 Presidential Campaign, Communications Director for former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and The Albright Group, LLC, and Policy Aide to Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY).
Jamie speaks regularly around the world - from the United Nations to the European Parliament to The World Economic Forum to SxSW and has appeared on CNBC, the BBC and Fox Business and has established relationships with influential global reporters and key decision makers. Jamie serves on advisory boards at the Capitol Area Food Bank, CoinDesk and Streambed.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Chief Information Officer, U.S. Navy
Janice Haith retired from Federal Service in February 2017 after 34 years of working in various Federal and DoD Agencies. In addition to her role at WestExec, Ms. Haith joined the Oracle Staff as Senior Director - Strategy and Business Development (Federal) in June 2018. Subsequently, she was appointed to the position of Strategic Client Director-Navy/Marine Corps. Prior to her position with Oracle, Ms. Haith was independently consulting in the Washington DC area.
Ms. Haith was appointed as a member of the Senior Executive Service in August 2004 and retired from the position of United States Navy, Chief Information Officer (CIO) (Civilian Executive), to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare. In this position, she was responsible for all CIO matters related to the US Navy. This included Cybersecurity; Governance; Enterprise Architecture; Technology Efficiencies; Commercial Enterprise/Cloud Services Hosting, and Clinger-Cohen Act Policy and Compliance.
Ms. Haith graduated from Hampton Institute with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, University of Maryland with a Master of Science in Technology Management, and the National Defense University Program for CIOs.
Ms. Haith belongs to the Sustained Mentoring Program for BEYA and mentors local High School students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Career Opportunities in Public Service. She is on the Federal Advisory Board-Intel Corporation; Board Director for the Worldwide Assurance for Employees of Public Agencies; Cyber Council - Intelligence and National Security Alliance, and the Advisory Council for the Armed Forces Communications and Electronic Association-DC Chapter. Ms. Haith is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, The Links, Incorporated and The Society, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Counselor / Former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense
Jen is the former chief of staff to the Honorable Dr. Mark T. Esper, the twenty-seventh Secretary of Defense. In this capacity, she was responsible for leading the Secretary of Defense's executive staff, working with civilian executives and senior military leaders across the Department, and providing counsel and advice to the Secretary on all matters concerning the Department.
Previously, Jen served as both the majority and minority staff director at the House Committee on Armed Services for the Honorable William M. "Mac" Thornberry. In this capacity, she was the principal staff advisor responsible for the formulation, passage, and enactment of annual defense authorization legislation, which covers all programs and activities at the Department of Defense as well as the national security programs at the Department of Energy. She was also responsible for the strategic planning and execution of all committee oversight and legislative operations.
Prior to her tenure as staff director, Jen served as senior advisor to General (ret.) Joseph F. Dunford during his first term as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this role, she was responsible for facilitating his relationships across the interagency and with Congress. She also co-led the Joint Staff's presidential transition team.
Jen started her career working in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Honorable John A. Boehner. In addition to serving as policy advisor on all national security matters for Speaker Boehner during his ten years in leadership, she also served in a similar role in assisting the Honorable Paul D. Ryan transition into his responsibilities as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Overall, she has nineteen years of public service, including over fifteen consecutive years of serving in senior national security positions at both the Department of Defense and in Congress.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Senior Fellow
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, U.S. Department of Defense
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of European and NATO Policy, U.S. Department of Defense
Jim Townsend is an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program.
After eight years as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy, Jim Townsend completed more than two decades of work on European and NATO policy in the Pentagon, at NATO and at the Atlantic Council. His work spanned the Cold War, post-Cold War political reconstruction in Europe and Europe's new challenges including Russia and terrorism. Through his work, he has helped execute US military engagement in almost every conflict from the Gulf War to the reintroduction of US forces into Europe to deter Russia. He also played critical roles in NATO enlargement, NATO reform, and helping to build bilateral defense relations with the new democracies coming from the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Before becoming DASD in 2009, Jim was a Vice President in the Atlantic Council of the United States and Director of the Council's Program on International Security. In this position, he strengthened the Council's voice and impact on transatlantic security and defense issues, making the Atlantic Council a leading player in shaping the Euro-Atlantic defense agenda.
Jim joined the Atlantic Council in 2006 after a distinguished Civil Service career at the Pentagon and at NATO. In the 1990s, Jim was the Principal Director of European and NATO Policy, the Director of NATO Policy and the Director of the Defense Plans Division at the US Mission to NATO in Brussels, Belgium.
In the 1980s, prior to working on Europe and NATO, Jim worked in Foreign Military Sales at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) as a Country Director for European security assistance and as the assistant to the DSCA Comptroller, where he worked on most of the financial aspects involved in foreign military sales. Jim's early career also included work in the Department of State, in the Office of Congressman Charles E. Bennett and in the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA).
In 1986, Mr. Townsend received a direct commission in the U.S. Navy Reserve (intelligence) leaving the Reserves as a Lieutenant Commander.
Mr. Townsend earned a B.A. from Duke University and an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in International Economics and American Foreign Policy.
Job Titles:
- Director Emeritus of the Center for Climate
- Senior Advisor / Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations, and Environment, U.S. Department of Defense
John Conger is the Director Emeritus of the Center for Climate and Security, President of Conger Strategies and Solutions, and a member of the Board of Advisors of the Association of Defense Communities.
His experience with the Center for Climate and Security and his previous tenure overseeing climate efforts at the Department of Defense during the Obama Administration have made him one of the nation's leading climate security experts.
He was confirmed by the Senate in 2015 to serve as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), serving until January 2017. As DoD's Deputy Comptroller, he helped to lead and manage DoD's financial enterprise, to include development, defense and execution of the DoD budget, conducting DoD's nascent audit efforts, and development of defense reforms and savings initiatives. For his contributions he was awarded the DoD Medal for Distinguished Public Service.
Previously, John oversaw energy, installations and environmental policy throughout DoD, performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations and Environment, as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment, and as Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment from 2009 to 2015. In these roles, Mr. Conger oversaw a diverse portfolio that included hundreds of military installations and the DoD's trillion-dollar real property footprint, Base Realignment and Closure, environmental cleanup, energy resilience, and, of course, climate change.
Prior to his appointment in DoD, John served on the staff of Representative Chet Edwards, Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, where he served as Legislative Director and principal advisor on defense, veterans, and foreign policy issues. He also served as staff for the House Army Caucus, which Edwards co-chaired. For his work in support of military service members, retirees, and their families, John received the Military Order of the Purple Heart Special Recognition Award, the Military Coalition Freedom Award, and the Military Officers Association of America Col. Paul W. Arcari Meritorious Service Award.
In his previous tenure on Capitol Hill, he served as Professional Staff for the House International Relations Committee and as defense staff for Representatives Jane Harman and Sam Gejdenson. Previously, John was employed in the private sector as an aerospace engineer and defense analyst.
He holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.A. in Science, Technology and Public Policy from the George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Senior Fellow With the Technology and National Security Program at the Center
- Principal / Former Chief of Staff and Principal Architect, Office of the National Cyber Director
John Costello is a Principal at WestExec and an Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. Mr. Costello focuses on national cybersecurity, technology policy, U.S.-China trade relationship, export controls, investment screening, and U.S. policy on information and communication technology (ICT) and emerging technologies.
Mr. Costello is the former Chief of Staff and principal architect of the Office of the National Cyber Director, the first White House component created since 1988. Prior to his time at ONCD, Mr. Costello served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, where he led the Commission's work on cybersecurity, resilience, supply chain security, and the Commissions legislative efforts. Mr. Costello served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Intelligence and Security at the Department of Commerce. In that capacity, Mr. Costello established the Commerce Department's intelligence analysis capability and led the Department's information and communications technology and service supply-chain analytical and regulatory efforts. Prior to that, Mr. Costello also served as the Director of Strategy, Policy, and Plans and Senior Advisor to the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
In 2016, Mr. Costello was selected as a Congressional Innovation Fellow, serving on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. During his time on the Hill, Mr. Costello helped investigate the 2015 cyber breach of the Office of Personnel Management and helped oversee federal IT security. Mr. Costello previously worked for a defense contracting firm, focusing on China's use of legal and extra-legal technology transfer in emerging technologies.
Mr. Costello was an enlisted U.S. Navy sailor, serving his tours of duty at the National Security Agency as an intelligence analyst and operations officer. While at the National Security Agency, John specialized in foreign adversary cyber, electronic, and information warfare. John has a working professional proficiency in Chinese Mandarin, graduating with honors from the Defense Language Institute.
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Director, Central Intelligence Agency
John O. Brennan served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from March 2013 until January 2017. As Director, he was responsible for intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign intelligence services. From January 2009 to March 2013, John was Deputy National Security Advisor and Assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, shaping and coordinating Obama administration policies on counterterrorism, homeland security, pandemics, cyberattacks, and natural disasters.
John began his government service at the CIA, where he worked from 1980 to 2005. He served as the CIA's daily intelligence briefer to President Clinton, Chief of Staff to then Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet, and Deputy Executive Director. In 2003, he led a multi-agency effort to establish the National Counterterrorism Center and served as the Center's first Director. After retiring from the CIA in 2005, he worked in the private sector for three years.
John graduated from Fordham University in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in political science, conducting field research in Indonesia in 1974 and studying at the American University in Cairo in 1975-1976. He earned a master's degree in government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1980.
John currently is a Distinguished Fellow at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Texas at Austin, a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a senior intelligence and national security analyst for NBC and MSNBC, a member of the Board of Directors of ImmunityBio Inc, and an advisor to a variety of private sector companies. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, "Undaunted: My Fight Against America's Enemies at Home and Abroad," a memoir of his career in public service.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Assistant Secretary of State, European and Eurasian Affairs
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, U.S. Department of Defense, and Former Assistant Administrator for Africa, USAID
Kate Almquist Knopf has spent nearly three decades focused on the intersection of security, development, and governance in Africa. She served most recently as Director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution within the U.S. Department of Defense, from 2014 to 2021.
From 2001 to 2009, Kate held several senior positions at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), including as Assistant Administrator for Africa, USAID/Sudan Mission Director, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Africa, and Senior Policy Advisor to the Administrator. During her tenure at USAID, she re-established the USAID mission in Sudan after 14 years of closure and was an integral member of the U.S. team mediating the end of the Sudanese civil war as well as the violence in Darfur. Kate has also served as a senior advisor for the CMI - Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and a visiting policy fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Kate holds an M.A. in international relations with concentrations in African studies, conflict management, and international economics from The Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a B.A. in international relations from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Principal / Former Chief of Staff to the Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Kevin Higgins is a former intelligence community senior executive who retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after 30 years of distinguished service.
With over three decades of global leadership experience, Kevin is a board member and trusted advisor, and has served as a senior corporate executive and a key member of CIA's C-suite leadership team. His board and advisory board roles span across tech, venture capital, private equity, critical metal elements, and non-profit sectors, including Sayari Labs, New North Ventures, TRM Labs, ReElement Technologies, and the Third Option Foundation.
Kevin was previously the Senior Vice President and General Manager for US Operations and Global Opportunities at Silicon Valley drone manufacturer and instant logistics start-up Zipline. He oversaw Zipline's US-based operational platforms, and he also leveraged his deep global network to assist Zipline in identifying new foreign markets and evaluating risk to the company's operations in several countries abroad. In 2022, Zipline was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the year's best inventions and further acclaimed in 2023 on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list of innovative companies.
After leaving public service, Kevin founded KSTK Enterprises, a boutique advisory firm that specializes in guiding clients through a range of complex challenges. He is particularly drawn to opportunities that close the divide between private industry and the national security domain, as America's challenges ahead will require whole-of-nation solutions and global partnerships.
Kevin retired from the CIA after a distinguished 30-year career, and in his last assignment served as Chief of Staff to CIA Director William J. Burns. He assisted the Director with executing the Agency's global intelligence mission and confronting the most intractable national security challenges and emerging threats. Kevin also served as the Assistant Director of CIA for Africa, where he led the CIA's Africa Mission Center. His previous senior executive roles include Chief of Base of an expeditionary site in Afghanistan, Chief of Operations of CIA's Counterterrorism Center, and four foreign field tours as Chief of Station.
Kevin's numerous awards and distinctions include the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, CIA's Excellence in Leadership Award, the George W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, the CIA Director's Award, the CIA Director's Award for Distinguished Service, and he is a three-time recipient of the most prestigious honor in federal civilian service, the Presidential Rank Award.
Married with two children, Kevin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Grambling State University, where he played NCAA Division I tennis, and holds a Master of Science - MS, National Security Strategy from the National War College.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor of International Relations at Javeriana University
- Senior Advisor / Former Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State
Lawrence J. Gumbiner is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Senior Foreign Service Officer. In his three-decade career he served as Chargé d'Affaires at U.S. Embassies in Havana and Tegucigalpa, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Lima. He was Economic Counselor in Bogotá and held attaché positions for economic and environmental matters in Tel Aviv, San José and Managua.
Ambassador Lincoln Bloomfield, Jr. has held policy positions in five previous administrations, most recently as Special Envoy for MANPADS Threat Reduction from 2008-09 (reducing the availability of shoulder-fired missiles to terrorist groups), for which President George W. Bush accorded him the rank of Ambassador. He was Assistant Secretary of State for Political Military Affairs as well as Special Representative of the President and Secretary of State for Humanitarian Mine Action from 2001-2005, responsible for diplomatic support to US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq following the 9/11 attacks, coalition management, base access agreements, and arms transfers including serving as the federal ITAR regulator. During this time he led negotiation of agreements including the 140-nation U.N. Program of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, the U.S.-Russia bilateral agreement on Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, and bilateral arrangements enabling the continued provision of fuel by Kuwait to U.S. forces, conclusion of Article 98 Agreements under the Rome Statute with Jordan and Kuwait, and cooperation on reducing availability of MANPADS in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Lincoln previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (1992-93), Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (1991-02), Member, U.S. Delegation to Philippine Bases Negotiations (1990-91), Member, U.S. Water Mediation in the Middle East (1989-90), and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs (1988-89), among other policy positions in the Department of Defense (OSD/ISA) beginning in 1981.
President of Palmer Coates LLC, he is Chairman Emeritus of the Stimson Center, the non-partisan security think tank where he served as Chairman from 2008-2016. In addition he is Principal Senior Advisor to the GCC-centered policy advisory C&O Resources, Inc.; non-Attorney Senior Advisor to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Director (pro bono) and National Executive Committee Member of the U.S. Water Partnership, a public-private entity promoting U.S. leadership in addressing future water scarcity; Director (pro bono) of the Detroit off-grid energy NGO The Last Kilometer; Senior Advisor to LkM Solutions, a woman-owned sustainable energy project management firm; co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Direct Delivery Drone Express, a Palo Alto aviation technology startup; Strategic Advisor to Seatrec, Inc., a NASA/JPL spin-off company
with technology to generate power from ocean temperature differences; and Senior Advisor at Halo Privacy, Seattle-based providers of customized communications security solutions. He previously served for six years as Chairman of the Board of Bell Pottinger Communications USA, LLC, a UK-owned company engaged in classified DoD work; Operating Advisor at Pegasus Capital Advisors; Senior Advisor to ZeroBase Energy LLC; and Partner at Armitage Associates LLC. He was a long-time board member of Landmine Survivors Network, later renamed Survivor Corps.
Educated at Harvard College (cum laude, Government, 1974) and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (M.A.L.D., 1980), where he was Director of The Fletcher Forum, the school's foreign affairs journal, Lincoln is editor or author of two books and he has written, commented and testified on a range of international security issues (full professional archive at www.palmercoates.com).
Job Titles:
- Advisor on Foreign Investments
- Principal / Former Assistant Director for Research and Technology Security, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Linda S. Lourie is an advisor on foreign investments both in the United States (CFIUS) and in China (Outbound Investments), export controls, and commercial dual-use technology looking to access the U.S. government market. She was most recently the Assistant Director for Research and Technology Security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). In this role, she served as the OSTP Assistant Secretary-equivalent member on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), advised on export controls and other foreign investments in emerging and foundational technology, intellectual property, and technology transfer matters, and led efforts to implement the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM)-33 on a National Security Strategy for U.S. Government-supported Research and Development. She also spearheaded the innovation component of the Australian-UK-U.S. security pact (AUKUS).
Prior to this position, Linda was the Associate General Counsel (Acquisitions and Logistics) in the U.S. Department of Defense. In that role, she provided legal guidance on a range of issues related to CFIUS, Defense Production Act COVID-19 response, Artificial Intelligence, 5G, and international acquisition matters.
Linda previously served as the General Counsel of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a DoD office that accelerates the procurement of commercial technology to DoD, where she advised a team of military and civilian personnel on acquisition, intellectual property, export controls, international, and ethics matters in Silicon Valley, Boston, and Austin.
Linda has also served as DoD Associate General Counsel (International Affairs), where she was responsible for international intellectual property issues and legal aspects of European and NATO Affairs, Rule of Law, and defense trade; as the first Director for Rule of Law at the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; at the White House on the Presidential Task Force on Export Control Reform; at the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq; the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva, Switzerland; private law firms; and early in her career was a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Linda recently served as a Special Government Employee (consultant) to the Department of Defense's new Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), and is a Member of the EXIM Council on China Competition.
Linda received her A.B. cum laude in Fine Arts from Harvard University, her M.A. from NYU's Institute of Fine Arts in Medieval Islamic Art History, and her J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an ex-officio member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and has received numerous awards for her government service, including the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service.
Job Titles:
- Expert
- Senior Advisor / Former Principal Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Secretary of State 's Policy Planning Staff and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Matthew Waxman is an expert in national security policy, international law, cybersecurity, and data privacy. He directs the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School, and he co-chairs the Cybersecurity Center at Columbia University's Data Science Institute.
Matthew served in senior positions at the U.S. State Department, Defense Department, and National Security Council during the George W. Bush Administration. His positions included Principal Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Secretary of State's Policy Planning Staff, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and Executive Assistant to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
Matthew is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, and he studied international relations as a Fulbright Scholar in the United Kingdom. After law school, he served as law clerk to Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Joel M. Flaum. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and earlier in his career he worked as a foreign policy and national security analyst at RAND.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Strategy and Operations
Merritt Ogle is the Associate Director of Strategy and Operations at WestExec Advisors. Prior to joining WestExec, Merritt was a Senior Associate at Markon Solutions where she supported Defense and Intelligence clients in advancing digital services initiatives within the national security community. In her role, she built interagency partnerships, supported the development and adoption of new technologies, and advanced talent transformation efforts.
Outside of WestExec, Merritt is honored to serve as the Director of Growth for #NatSecGirlSquad and as Chief of Staff for Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. At #NatSecGirlSquad, she leads coalition building for advancing competent diversity in the national security apparatus and with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy she supports in building the leaders tomorrow needs through creating networks for young people.
She has built and managed various projects with these organizations including the U.S.-China Futures Project to cultivate a cohort of the next generation of U.S. experts on China and the Emerging as a Global Leader Experience (EaGLE) program to connect exceptional and disruptive public servants. Merritt was also recognized by Out in National Security as one of 15 LGBTQIA+ new voices professionals in 2021.
Merritt graduated from The Ohio State University in 2017 with degrees in Public Affairs and International Studies.
Job Titles:
- Special Advisor at the Open Society Foundations
- Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Former Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Vice President, and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Michael Fuchs is a Special Advisor at the Open Society Foundations, where he works on a variety of domestic and foreign policy issues.
From 2021 to 2022, he served at the White House as Special Assistant to President Joe Biden and Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Kamala Harris. Previously, Mike served for seven years in the State Department during the Obama-Biden administration, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and as an advisor to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has also held roles as Foreign Policy Advisor to former President Bill Clinton, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Senior Policy Advisor at J Street, and as Deputy National Security Director on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign.
He has provided extensive commentary on U.S. foreign policy towards China, Asia, the Middle East, and beyond for print, radio, and TV media, including as a contributing opinion writer for the Guardian U.S. and U.S. News and World Report, and as a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News.
Originally from New York, Mike is a graduate of Columbia University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife, son, and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Senior Advisor / Former Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs, National Security Council
Mike Singh is the managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to advancing American interests in the Middle East. Mike was senior director for Near East and North African Affairs at the White House from 2007-2008, and director for several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran and Syria, on the NSC staff from 2005-2007. Earlier, Mike served as special assistant to Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, as well as staff aide to the US ambassador to Israel. He co-chaired Gov. Mitt Romney's State Department transition team in 2012, and served as a Middle East advisor to the Romney presidential campaign from 2011-2012. Mike has served as an adjunct fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Security at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and as an economics instructor at Harvard College. His writings have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, the Economist, International Security, and elsewhere, and he has appeared as a commentator on CNN, NBC, Fox News, and other outlets. Mike serves on the board of Callaway Capital, a Washington,DC - based investment fund. He earned his bachelor's degree in economics summa cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Managing Partner
Michèle Flournoy is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of WestExec Advisors, and a Co-Founder, former Chief Executive Officer, and now Chair of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
Michèle served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of the Department of Defense's 2012 Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress.
Prior to confirmation, Michèle co-led President Obama's transition team at the Defense Department.
In January 2007, Michèle co-founded CNAS, a bipartisan think tank dedicated to developing strong, pragmatic and principled national security policies. She served as CNAS' President until 2009, and returned as CEO in 2014. In 2017, she co-founded WestExec Advisors, a strategic advisory firm.
Previously, she was senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies for several years and, prior to that, a distinguished research professor at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University (NDU).
In the mid-1990s, she served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy.
Michèle is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including: the American Red Cross Exceptional Service Award in 2016; the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 1998, 2011, and 2012; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 2000 and 2012; the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 1996; and CARE's Global Peace, Development and Security Award in 2019. She has edited several books and authored dozens of reports and articles on a broad range of defense and national security issues. Michèle appears frequently in national and international media, including CNN's State of the Union, ABC's This Week, NBC's Meet the Press, BBC News, NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered and PBS' News Hour, and is frequently quoted in top tier newspapers.
Michèle serves on the boards of CNAS, Booz Allen Hamilton, Amida Technology Solutions, The Mission Continues, and CARE. She serves on the advisory boards of The Leadership Council for Women in National Security, Sesame Workshop, Intel, and PIMCO. She is a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affair, a current member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group, and a former member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, the CIA Director's External Advisory Board, and the Defense Policy Board.
Michèle earned a bachelor's degree in social studies from Harvard University and a master's degree in international relations from Balliol College, Oxford University, where she was a Newton-Tatum scholar.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Chief Investment Officer, Credit Suisse / Ambassador Dennis Ross
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Senior Associate
Nicholas C. Monaco is an Associate at WestExec Advisors. Before joining the team, he was a volunteer on the 2020 Biden-Harris Transition Team and held internships at the EY Geostrategic Business Group and the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.
Nicholas earned a BA in History and Politics with First Class Honors from the University of Oxford, where he was also named a Demy of Magdalen College. He is particularly interested in U.S.-China relations, the American alliance system, and the intersection of national security and economic policy.
Job Titles:
- Global Fellow to the Latin American Program 's Brazil Institute
- Senior Advisor / Former Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs, National Security Council, and Former Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Nick Zimmerman is a Global Fellow to the Latin American Program's Brazil Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Nick previously served in the Obama Administration in a variety of national security capacities as the Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, White House National Security Council Director for Brazil and Southern Cone Affairs, and Special Assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and Western Hemisphere Affairs Country Director.
Nick has been cited, interviewed, and published in an array of media outlets in Europe, Latin America, and the United States, including Americas Quarterly, BBC, BBC Brasil, CNN Brasil, El Faro, the Financial Times, Folha de São Paulo, GloboNews, the Huffington Post, the Miami Herald, New York Magazine, the New York Times, Reuters, Time, Valor Econômico, and the Washington Post.
He holds a B.A. with honors from Brown University and an M.A. from the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder
- Managing Partner
- Secretary
- Co - Chair for Ridgeline Partners
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner / Former Senior Advisor
Nitin Chadda is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at WestExec Advisors.
Prior to founding WestExec and concluding government service, Nitin Chadda served as the Senior Advisor for Strategy to former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter. He provided counsel on a range of foreign policy as well as strategic engagement and communications issues. Nitin also advised on the Administration's proactive outreach to the emerging technology community to improve and deepen ties between the U.S. national security apparatus and innovative ecosystems worldwide.
Prior to his role with the Secretary of Defense, he served at the White House on the National Security Council with a focus on the Near East, as well as on various defense and intelligence policy matters. During his time at the White House, Nitin was principally responsible for coordinating and advising on U.S. policy in support of key diplomatic and regional security initiatives impacting the broader region.
In addition to his time at the White House, Nitin has nearly a decade of experience in U.S. national security policymaking, having served in a variety of roles at the Department of State's Policy Planning Staff and within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, working on a wide range of functional and regional policy issues.
Beyond his leadership role at WestExec, Nitin serves as the investment co-chair for Ridgeline Partners, a venture capital and special situation fund focused on investing in early-stage companies that innovate technologies to support the global security arena. He also serves on the Board of Advisors of Delta Capital Partners Management, a U.S.-based, global private equity firm specializing in litigation and legal finance.
Nitin received his BS from Cornell University with high honors.
Nitin Chadda
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Former Director, National Security Council
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Assistant Director for South and Central Asia, Central Intelligence Agency
- Senior Central Intelligence Agency ( CIA ) Officer
Paul Farley is a former senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer with over 32 years of service in said Agency. His most recent position was Assistant Director of the CIA for South and Central Asia (AD/SCAMC), in charge of CIA's multi-directorate operations focused on that region. In addition to managing a budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars, Paul was responsible for over a thousand officers serving in high-risk, complex and ambiguous overseas environments, and his position required working closely with U.S. government policy and senior civilian and defense leaders on some of the most complex issues facing U.S. national security. Paul's position involved frequent engagement with foreign leaders and senior government officials while he either lived overseas or was on official travel to foreign posts. Carrying out responsibilities in a region with nuclear-armed countries, terrorist threats, war/conflict, and aggressive third country actors required active engagement with multiple CIA elements, U.S. government partners, and foreign partners. Prior to being AD/SCAMC, Paul was Assistant Director of the CIA for the Western Hemisphere (AD/WHMC). This region, on America's "doorstep," also required frequent U.S. inter-agency engagement on a host of issues pertaining to U.S. national security, as well as regular overseas engagement with foreign and U.S. government partners. In the aforementioned Assistant Director positions, Paul was part of the CIA senior leadership team that worked on strategic resource and planning issues, setting the course for CIA's ongoing and future missions.
Paul served in various other senior leadership positions in CIA's Counterterrorism Center and Special Activities Center, in addition to his various senior leadership roles in foreign field stations in Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East.
Whether serving in relatively benign overseas environments or in multiple conflict or war zones as a CIA Directorate of Operations (DO) officer, Paul greatly honed his experience in tactical and strategic planning, operating in ambiguous crisis or conflict situations, and still getting the mission done. Through proven leadership and deep experience, Paul was able to build successful teams and lead them to accomplish CIA's core mission. Due to high-stress and high-risk environments in which many officers under Paul's command lived and worked, he was an emphatic advocate for CIA officer - and family - wellbeing. As someone who was injured in a war zone, Paul's focus on officer/employee wellbeing and resiliency - in the broadest terms - was also personal.
Paul received a number of awards during his CIA career, to include the Presidential Rank Award (twice), the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the National Intelligence Award, the CIA Director's Award for Distinguished Service, and the Exceptional Service Medal.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Chief Technology Officer and Chief Architect Officer, U.S. Air Force and Space Force
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Chief of Naval Research and Former Chief Engineer, U.S. Navy
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor / Former Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor
- Founder and Principal at Stony Run Advisory
Former Special Assistant to the President and Former Chief of Staff, Development Finance Corporation
Rebecca Brocato is Founder and Principal at Stony Run Advisory. She launched Stony Run after serving as Chief of Staff of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the development finance agency of the United States. With $34B assets under management, the agency provides private equity investments, loans, and risk insurance to private sector-led developmental projects, supporting numerous frontier and emerging markets and verticals across critical infrastructure, energy, technology, and women's empowerment.
Rebecca served previously as Special Assistant to President Biden and NSC Senior Director for Legislation Affairs. In that role, she was the principal advisor to the National Security Advisor on Congress and legislation.
In the Obama Administration, Rebecca was the President's chief liaison to the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. She also served at the State Department, where she focused on foreign military sales and Middle East policy. She began her career as an aide to Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD).
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Deputy Secretary of Defense and Former under Secretary of the Navy
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics
- CEO of Spartan Strategy
- Principal / Former Deputy under Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, and Former Acting Senior Director and Director, National Security Council
Ron brings over 25 years of national security experience ranging from service as a Deputy Under Secretary, to over a half decade in the White House with two Presidents, and leadership of units in combat overseas as a Marine Corps infantry officer.
As the former U.S. Department of Homeland Security Deputy Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (renamed in 2018 as the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)), Ron led 16,000 federal law enforcement, civilian and contracted personnel operating in 50 states and four territories, with an annual budget of $3.2 billion dollars. Ron focused on the protection of critical infrastructure (public and private), cybersecurity, counterterrorism and the integration of advanced national security technologies. As the Deputy Under Secretary, he led the offices of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, Infrastructure Protection, Biometrics and Identity Management and the Federal Protective Service. He also integrated the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications to create a holistic approach to infrastructure protection.
Ron previously served in the White House for over six years with President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush. With President Obama, he served in the White House on the National Security Council as a Director and later as acting Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy from 2009 to 2014.
Ron is a retired Marine Corps infantry and force reconnaissance officer who led units ranging in size from 40 to 7,200 personnel in combat overseas. He also served as a senior advisor to the Multi-National Forces Iraq Commander and to the Commander of U.S. Central Command.
Dr. Clark is an Adjunct Professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University whose current research focus is on the pandemic and resilience of vulnerable communities. Previously, he served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia specializing in military history, leadership and ethics. Ron participated in the NYC 9/11 Search and Rescue Operation and supported the launch of a Hurricane Katrina Emergency Operations Center in New Orleans. He serves on multiple boards and is also a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Ron is the recipient of numerous awards including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star Medal and two National Security Council Outstanding Service Awards.
Ron is the CEO of Spartan Strategy and Risk Management serving U.S. private sector clients with differentiated strategic insights into business environments. Spartan Strategy focuses on solving complex problems across the threat spectrum ranging from cybersecurity, to the application of innovative technological solutions and advanced manufacturing. He is also a Senior Advisor with Adelphi Capitol focused on strategic investments.
Ron received a B.A. from the University of Rochester, as well as two M.Ed. degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. His late wife Dr. Shannon Kula was a Congressional Candidate and Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski.
Job Titles:
- Co - Founder and Managing Partner / Former Chief of Staff to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Former Director, National Security Council
Sergio Aguirre has a wide variety of experience in the national security arena, including serving at the Department of State as Chief of Staff to the US Ambassador to the United Nations, working as Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to Senator Tim Kaine in the United States Senate, serving on the National Security Council Staff at the White House as a Director for the Middle East and North Africa, as well as working at the Department of Defense on Middle East issues and as a Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
Sergio has also worked for PhRMA as an Associate Vice President for International Advocacy.
In 2015, Sergio was named one of the top 40 under 40 Latinos in foreign policy.
Sergio entered government service as a Presidential Management Fellow, and holds a BS and MS from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor for Asia at the United States Institute of Peace
- Senior Vice President / Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia
Vikram J. Singh is a Senior Advisor for Asia at the United States Institute of Peace. He is an expert on defense, aerospace, technology and Asia. Vikram has been a leader of innovation in public policy and global affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of State, and major non-profits for over 15 years. He has served five Secretaries of Defense.
From 2014 to 2017 Vikram was vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, where he established CAP's Asia program and launched work on nuclear security, a major task force on U.S - India relations, and a program on defending the internet as a force for democracy. Vikram led CAP's partnership with the American Enterprise Institute on democracy and the transatlantic alliance and continues to serve as a senior fellow for national security, democracy and technology.
From 2012 to 2014 Vikram was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia. He ran negotiations to deepen U.S. defense cooperation in the region through new access agreements with Australia, the Philippines, and Singapore. His team also developed new defense arrangements with New Zealand and Vietnam and oversaw the U.S. - India Defense Trade and Technology Initiative.
Earlier, Vikram was Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the Department of State. He developed a political-military strategy approved by the President and Secretary of State to end the war. He represented the United States alongside other countries on political, military and economic issues related to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Vikram was the first defense fellow at the Center for a New American Security in 2007. He was previously the Pentagon's first director for partnership strategy, developing and securing passage by Congress of new legal authorities for global defense cooperation. Vikram received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service in 2012 and the Department of State Superior Honor Award in 2006 and 2012.
Job Titles:
- Principal / Former Chief Economist, Congressional Budget Office