RICK WADDELL

Rick, a Lieutenant General (R) in the US Army Reserve, served 12 years on active duty before transitioning to the US Army Reserve at the end of the Cold War and embarking on a business career. He spent 17 years in Latin America, with 12 of those years in Sao Paulo, working in the retail, energy, and mining sectors. As a Reservist, he deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan and commanded the 76th Division, which provided an All-Hazards Response Task Force for support to civil authorities.

Rick also served in the Clinton Administration as a Director for European Security Affairs and in the Trump Administration as the Deputy National Security Adviser. Most recently, he served as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (ACJCS) and Senior Military Adviser to the Secretary of State. Rick is currently a Venture Partner for New North Ventures and a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University. He has authored several publications, including Wars Then and Now (Fortis, 2011).

Rick holds a BS from the United States Military Academy (Class of 1982), an MA from Oxford earned as a Rhodes Scholar, and a PhD from Columbia.