WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cohen Group announced today that Ambassador Craig Kelly, former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, has joined the firm as a Vice President.

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"Ambassador Kelly is a widely respected professional and gifted diplomat who will help us serve our clients and expand our work in the Americas," said Secretary William Cohen, chairman of The Cohen Group.

As Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs for the past three years, he was the United States' senior-most professional diplomat for policy and management issues related to U.S. diplomacy in 34 countries from Canada to Chile and second-ranking State Department official responsible for these matters.  He led his bureau's economic and commercial diplomacy and was point person on sensitive issues such as Honduras and Cuba. 

From 2004 to 2007, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Chile, where he was a strong advocate for American business and launched several initiatives in science and technology, education and sports.

Prior to this, he was the Executive Assistant to Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2001-2004, supervising Secretary Powell's staff and traveling with him to more than ninety countries.  Before this position, he was Chief of Staff to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Pickering from 1999-2001.  He also served as Chief of the Political-Military Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, was the acting director of Western European Affairs at the National Security Council, and also served in U.S. Embassies in Rome, Italy, and Bogota, Colombia.

Ambassador Kelly speaks Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.  A native of the Los Angeles area, he received both his Ph.D. and undergraduate degree from UCLA, studied at the National War College, and earned a degree from France's Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) in Paris.

The Cohen Group is a global strategic advisory firm led by former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen.  Founded in 2001 to help multinational business clients accelerate growth, pursue major initiatives, and overcome problems, The Cohen Group has offices in the U.S., United Kingdom, China and India and serves clients in North America, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa and Latin America.

The addition of Ambassador  Kelly elevates The Cohen Group's Latin America practice to foremost among advisory firms, as well as strengthening its capabilities globally.  He joins a deep roster of senior talent at The Cohen Group which includes, among others:

• General Joseph Ralston, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
• Ambassador Marc Grossman, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey;
• Ambassador Nicholas Burns, who succeeded Ambassador Grossman as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and also served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO and to Greece;
• Lord George Robertson, who served as NATO Secretary General and the UK Defense Minister;
• Admiral James Loy, who served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Commandant of the US Coast Guard, Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, and Under Secretary of Transportation;
• General Paul Kern, who served as the Commander of the Army Materiel Command and the Secretary of the Army's Senior Adviser for Research, Development and Acquisition;
• Lt. General Joe Yakovac, who served as Director of the Army Acquisition Corps and Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology;
• Lt. General Harry Raduege, who served as Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, Commander of the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations.

The Cohen Group is comprised of 45 professionals with many centuries of combined experience working in top-level positions in Congress, the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community, other federal agencies, European and Asian governments, and international organizations. The Cohen Group assists its clients to better understand and shape the business, political, legal, regulatory, and media environments in which they operate. This includes developing strategic business plans to help clients achieve their objectives and actively participating with clients in the execution of those plans. The Cohen Group practice groups include Aerospace & Defense; Homeland Security; Information Technology & Telecommunications; Energy & Resources; Transportation & Logistics; Financial Services & Investment; Real Estate; China; and India. The Cohen Group also has a strong strategic partnership with DLA Piper, an international law firm with over 3,700 lawyers and 68 offices in 30 countries throughout the world.

SOURCE The Cohen Group