Charles Q. Brown Jr.

C.Q. Brown, Jr., is a strategic leader and global security expert whose nearly forty-year military career centered on leading people, strengthening alliances, and driving change. He most recently served as the 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking military officer. General Brown, USAF, Ret., also served as the 22nd Chief of Staff of the Air Force and commanded at every level, serving across the United States, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Indo-Pacific. He now draws on experience from the flight line to the White House Situation Room to help organizations and their leadership navigate uncertainty in complex and high-stakes environments. Brown serves as an executive-in-residence at Duke University, as the Hoover Institution’s Susan McCaw Distinguished Visiting Fellow, and as a member of the Shield Capital and RAND National Security Advisory boards. Brown serves on the boards of directors of Bessemer Trust, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and the Air & Space Forces Association, and is a senior advisor to McKinsey & Company. He also advises several private companies. Throughout his military career, Brown received numerous awards, including being named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and served as a National Defense Fellow at the Institute for Defense Analyses.