Press Releases

General Michael Hayden, who has led both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Agency (NSA), is joining the security advisory firm The Chertoff Group as a principal, the firm announced today. Former Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security Paul Schneider, Former Undersecretaries of Homeland Security Charles Allen and Admiral Jay Cohen are also joining The Chertoff Group as principals.

The Chertoff Group advises corporate and government clients on security and risk management issues. In March, The Chertoff Group announced its formation and an alliance with strategic communications firm Burson-Marsteller. The firm, which was founded by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, helps clients at each stage of the security process with a focus on prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

“General Hayden, Paul Schneider, Charles Allen and Admiral Cohen are among the most respected and renowned security and intelligence experts working today and we are pleased and honored each will be joining The Chertoff Group,” said former Secretary Chertoff. “The steady stream of news around topics such as suicide bombings, computer viruses, sea piracy and cross-border violence demonstrates that security challenges continue to multiply at an unforgiving rate. I believe adding these respected security professionals demonstrate that the Chertoff Group offers our clients unrivaled strategic risk management.”

General Hayden is a retired United States Air Force four-star general, former Director of the CIA and former Director of the National Security Agency. General Hayden served as Director of the CIA from 2006-2009 and was director of NSA from 1999–2005, marking the longest tenure of any director in that agency’s history.

“After serving for decades at the highest levels of the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence services, I grew accustomed to working alongside remarkably talented and dedicated professionals,” said General Hayden. “I wanted an opportunity to recreate that experience in the private sector. The Chertoff Group will afford me that opportunity.” Prior to becoming Director of the CIA, General Hayden was principal deputy director of national intelligence, the first person to serve in that position. He has also served in senior staff positions at the Pentagon, U.S. European Command, the National Security Council and the U.S. Embassy in the People’s Republic of Bulgaria. General Hayden has served as Commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and as Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center.

General Hayden entered active duty in 1969 after earning a bachelor’s degree in history in 1967 and a master’s degree in modern American history in 1969, both from Duquesne University. He is a distinguished graduate of the university’s ROTC program. Paul Schneider served as Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security from 2007 to 2009, culminating decades of defense and homeland security experience. As Deputy Secretary, Schneider served as the Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations of the department, which had approximately 218,000 employees and an annual budget of more $50 billion.

Prior to coming to the Department of Homeland Security, Schneider served as a defense and aerospace consultant where he led a congressionally directed study for NASA on the costs, risks and benefits of human space flight and a study of open architectures for the U.S. Navy. Schneider served as the senior acquisition executive of the National Security Agency from 2002-2003, where he was responsible for oversight and execution of signals intelligence and information security development and acquisition programs. Schneider served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition from 1998-2002.

Schneider has also served as the Executive Director and Senior Civilian of the Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy’s largest shore organization. Schneider began his career in 1965 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a Project Engineer in the Submarine Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery systems branch. Schneider holds a degree in nuclear engineering and is a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Association of Scientists and Engineers (ASE), Navy League, Association of Old Crows and the Naval Institute.

A veteran senior CIA officer, Charles Allen has served in government executive positions for over 25 years. From 2005-2009, he served on Presidential appointment as Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis at the Department of Homeland Security, reporting directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security. In this capacity, he defined and established the Department’s intelligence architecture, integrated the intelligence activities of the Department, and ensured that the Department’s intelligence activities were aligned with the goals and priorities of the Secretary.

Prior to this assignment, Allen served as the Assistant Director of Central Intelligence for Collection, from 1998 -2005. Allen has held other senior intelligence positions, serving as the National Intelligence Officer for Warning and Director of the National Warning Staff. He also served as the National Intelligence Officer for Counterterrorism and as Deputy Chief for Intelligence of the DCI’s Counterterrorism Center. During this period, he directed for 14 months the DCI Hostage Location Task Force which focused on locating American hostages held by Hizballah in Lebanon.

Allen is the recipient of numerous awards, including the intelligence community’s Distinguished National Intelligence Service Medal, which he received twice and the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal. Allen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, a distinguished graduate of the Air War College, and did graduate studies at Auburn University.

Admiral Jay M. Cohen served as Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security from 2006-2009. Prior to serving in that post, Admiral Cohen was the Chief of Naval Research. He served as the Department of the Navy Chief Technology Officer, where he reported directly to the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps. Admiral Cohen coordinated investments with other U.S. and international Science and Technology (S&T) providers to rapidly meet war fighter combat needs, where he was responsible for the Navy and Marine Corps S&T Program.

Admiral Cohen has commanded the USS Hyman G. Rickover and the USS L.Y. Spear, which was deployed in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Desert Storm. Cohen was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in October 1997 and reported to the Joint Staff as Deputy Director for Operations responsible to the President and Department of Defense leaders for strategic weapons release authority.

Admiral Cohen was commissioned in 1968 as an ensign upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy. He holds a joint Ocean Engineering degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Master of Science in Marine Engineering and Naval Architecture from MIT.