CFR Welcomes General Keith Kellogg as Distinguished Fellow and Dr. Pierre Yared as Senior Fellow 

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is pleased to welcome Joseph “Keith” Kellogg Jr. and Pierre Yared to the David Rockefeller Studies Program, CFR’s think tank.  

“As a nonpartisan institution committed to encouraging civil discourse from a wide range of perspectives, we are pleased to welcome General Kellogg and Dr. Yared to the Council,” said CFR President Michael Froman. “Their recent public service, alongside General Kellogg’s extensive military and diplomatic experience and Dr. Yared’s academic record, will play a vital role in furthering the Council’s commitment to informing U.S. engagement with the world.” 

General Kellogg joins CFR as a distinguished fellow. He is a highly decorated U.S. Army general whose career spans combat operations, senior White House leadership, and executive roles in the defense and international business sectors. He most recently served as special presidential envoy for Ukraine under President Donald Trump. 

Dr. Yared joins CFR as a senior fellow and will contribute to the work of the Maurice R. Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies. He recently served as acting chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under Trump. He is also a professor and the vice dean for executive education at Columbia Business School.  

“We are fortunate to have General Kellogg and Dr. Yared join the Studies Program,” said Senior Vice President of Studies Shannon K. O’Neil. “Both will bolster our ability to provide incisive analysis and actionable recommendations to address pressing global challenges and shape wide-reaching foreign policy debates.”  

Keith Kellogg 

General Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, most recently served as special presidential envoy for Ukraine during Trump’s second term until 2025. During the president’s first term, he was chief of staff and secretary of the National Security Council, an assistant to the president, senior national security advisor, and national security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. General Kellogg was also a senior foreign policy advisor to the 2016 presidential campaign.  

General Kellogg’s White House service built upon a thirty-six-year military career marked by operational command, strategic leadership, and technical expertise. He served two combat tours in Vietnam, rose to the rank of lieutenant general, and held critical positions including commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and director of command, control, communications, and computers (J6) for U.S. forces under the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  

In the private sector, General Kellogg was executive vice president for mission systems at CACI International and held several senior positions at Cubic Defense Applications. He was also a board member of GTSI, held senior roles at Oracle Corporation—including a period on leave during which he was chief operations officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq—and received the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service for his contributions to Iraq’s postwar stabilization. General Kellogg’s other awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, and multiple Bronze Stars. 

General Kellogg has a BA in political science from Santa Clara University and an MA in international studies from the University of Kansas. 

Pierre Yared 

Dr. Yared is the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking professor of international business and vice dean for executive education at Columbia Business School. Throughout his tenure at Columbia, he served in several senior administrative roles, including senior vice dean for faculty affairs. He is also an advisor to Rokos Capital Management. 

From 2025 to 2026, Dr. Yared served on the White House Council of Economic Advisers, first as a member and vice chairman and then as acting chairman.  

Dr. Yared’s work focuses on macroeconomic policy, including fiscal policy, central banking, and the international role of the U.S. dollar.  

Dr. Yared is a life member of CFR. He received his BA in economics from Harvard University and his PhD in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.