Leading Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Expert Richard Falkenrath Joins Chertoff Group

WASHINGTON, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chertoff Group, a strategic security and risk management advisory firm, today announced Richard Falkenrath will join the firm and their expert team of professionals helping to advise clients on today's most pressing security challenges.  The firm helps clients at each stage of the security process with a focus on prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

"We are delighted Dr. Falkenrath has joined our team as a Principal. Richard has unparalleled operational and policy expertise, having played a leadership role in national and homeland security in the U.S. Government and the New York City Police Department," said former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Dr. Falkenrath joins a highly seasoned leadership team that includes General Michael V. Hayden, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency; Paul A. Schneider, former DHS Deputy Secretary; Charles E. Allen, former DHS Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis; Rear Admiral Jay M. Cohen, former DHS Undersecretary for Science & Technology; Jayson Ahern, former Acting Commissioner for Customs and Border Protection at DHS; Jeffrey Runge, DHS's first Chief Medical Officer; Sir David Veness, the former United Nations Undersecretary General for Safety & Security and former Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations at Scotland Yard; and Graham Love, former Chief Executive Officer of QinetiQ.

"Dr. Falkenrath's knowledge of policy and hands-on experience with designing and implementing measures targeted specifically to combat terrorism is exactly what sets the Chertoff Group apart from any other firm," said Chad Sweet, co-founder and managing principal of the Chertoff Group. "We are excited to have him join our team."

From 2001 to 2004, Dr. Falkenrath held several leadership positions within the White House advising the President and his senior team on the most significant dangers facing our homeland.  In January 2001, Dr. Falkenrath served as Director for Proliferation Strategy within the National Security Council, where he was responsible for biological weapons proliferation and preparedness, missile defense, and Asian proliferation issues. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Dr. Falkenrath was named Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Policy and Plans within the Office of Homeland Security. In January 2003, he was promoted to Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor.

In these capacities, Dr. Falkenrath was responsible for developing and coordinating all aspects of U.S. homeland security policy and law, as well as counterterrorism threat assessment and response at all levels. He was the principal author of the National Strategy for Homeland Security and was centrally involved in the stand-up of the Department of Homeland Security, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (the predecessor to today's National Counterterrorism Center), and the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center.

After departing the White House, Dr. Falkenrath served as the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution, a private nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and innovative policy solutions in Washington, D.C. At that time, he was also an analyst with the Cable News Network (CNN).

Most recently, Dr. Falkenrath served as the New York City Police Department's Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism where he strengthened the city's overall effort to prevent, prepare for and respond to a terrorist attack.  During this time, Dr. Falkenrath implemented new security measures through the use of enhanced technologies which resulted in better detection systems, hardened infrastructure and a more coordinated response among law enforcement agencies should an attack occur.  

During his career, Dr. Falkenrath has also worked at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.  He was the founder and co-Principal Investigator of the Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness; a member of the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction (the "Gilmore Commission"); a member of the Board of Visitors of the National Emergency Management Institute; a member of the Director of Central Intelligence's Nonproliferation Advisory Panel; a Visiting Research Fellow at the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Auswartige Politik; and a consultant to the Defense Science Board and the RAND Corporation.

Dr. Falkenrath is a summa cum laude graduate of Occidental College, earning degrees in economics and international relations.  He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of War Studies at King's College London, where he was a British Marshall Scholar.

About The Chertoff Group

The Chertoff Group is a security and risk management advisory firm with corporate and government clients. The firm, which is led by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, assists clients with addressing threats related to terrorism, fraud, cyber security, border protection and supply chain security, and also provides mergers and acquisitions advisory services for clients in the security industry. The firm is based in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York and London.

SOURCE The Chertoff Group