Washington, District of Columbia, United States
In Jan 2024, I became a Partner at The Carlye Group. In June of 2021, I became Managing Director and Vice Chairman, Global Affairs at the International Private Equity firm, The Carlyle Group. I originally joined The Carlyle Group in the summer 2018 to advise on geopolitical and international financial opportunities, work with senior leadership at the firm, and specific advice on business opportunities, in cybersecurity, aerospace, maritime, transportation, and other key sectors. I also serve as the 14th Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation. Previously, I was Chair of the Board of Counselors at McLarty Global Associates from 2018-2021, resigning to focus on my work at The Carlyle Group. From 2013 to 2018, I was the Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The Fletcher School is the oldest school of international relations in the United States, and will be celebrating its 80th year of continuous operation this fall. I was the 12th Dean in the school's history, and greatly enjoyed my five year voyage there. I was the Chair of the Board of the US Naval Institute, the professional organization for the sea services -- Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine for six years, finishing in 2019. I remain Chairman Emeritus. Our Flagship publication is "Proceedings" the leading maritime journal in the world. Prior to taking on these new endeavors, I was Supreme Allied Commander at NATO after serving as a Navy officer since graduating from Annapolis in 1976. Along the way, I have commanded ships at sea and served many tours in the Pentagon as a strategic and long range planner. My PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University has been very helpful in understanding the complex global security environment. Specialties: International business and finance, strategic and long-range planning; significant operational and international experience; diplomatic engagement; interagency activity with all organizations in the US government associated with defense and international activity; major writing and speaking activity, including publishing twelve books and hundreds of articles. I am also a weekly columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, as well as Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News.
I am available to speak on a variety of topics, but the most popular subjects are 21st Century Security, an overview of the challenges and opportunities facing the world today; Leadership and Innovation, drawing on my long career in the military; Sailing the Cyber Seas, a look at the specific challenges in the cyber world; Latin America and the Caribbean; NATO; maritime issues and concerns. Details can be found on my website at: http://www.washingtonspeakers.com/speakers/speaker.cfm?SpeakerID=8638 A sample of my speaking, from my 2012 TED talk, is at: http://www.ted.com/talks/james_stavridis_how_nato_s_supreme_commander_thinks_about_global_security?language=en#
I have taken on new responsibilities for The Carlyle Group as Vice Chairman, Global Affairs. I joined The Carlyle Group originally as an Operating Executive in the summer of 2018 after five wonderful years as the Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. My job at The Carlyle Group is to provide geopolitical context for our potential global investments, work with officers of the firm on international issues, and provide specific advice on individual financial deals.
I departed Fletcher in the summer of 2018 after five terrific years as Dean. I was the 12th Dean in the 80+ year history of The Fletcher School. We strive to be the top school of international relations in the world, offering our nearly 600 students a broad array of degrees with a focus on the global world. Our programs are broad based but permit specialization in international law, global business, security studies, development, diplomatic history, international organizations, and many other facets of global studies. We strive everyday to "know the world." As Dean, I present school-wide lectures annually (leadership, global security, and innovation); individual lectures within courses offered by professors (as invited -- roughly six a year); and conduct frequent brown-bag breakfasts with students (micro-seminars)
With well over 100,000 US Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Department of Defense Civilians under my command, I was busy working on military-to-military relations with 51 countries of Europe and the Levant. We normally had 15,000 or so forward deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and continue to work with our allies and friends throughout the region on everything from cyber to missile defense.
As the NATO Commander, I led 160,000 active duty military in combat operations on three continents -- Afghanistan, Libya, the Balkans, and at sea on piracy. There are 3 million men and women under arms in the Alliance today.