David Petraeus

General (Ret) David H. Petraeus is a Partner in the global investment firm KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute, which he established in May 2013. The Global Institute supports the KKR investment process, KKR's portfolio companies, and KKR's investors with analysis of geopolitical and security risks. He is also a member of the boards of directors of Optiv and OneStream, a Strategic Advisor of Semperis, Co-Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Advanced Navigation, a personal venture capitalist, a Visiting Fellow/Lecturer at Yale University, a speaker with the Washington Speakers Bureau, and co-author with Andrew Roberts of the forthcoming book, "Conflict." Prior to joining KKR, Gen. Petraeus served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands as a general officer, five of which were in combat, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of US Central Command, and command of NATO/US Forces in Afghanistan. Following his military service, and after confirmation by the Senate by a vote of 94-0, Gen. Petraeus served as Director of the CIA during a period of significant achievements in the Global War on Terror. Gen. Petraeus graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Academy, earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University, and has held academic appointments at six universities. He is currently Co-Chairman of the Global Advisory Council of the Woodrow Wilson Center, Sr Vice President of RUSI, and a member of the Trilateral Commission, the Aspen Strategy Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Board of the Atlantic Council, and the Executive Advisory Board of World.Minds. He has received numerous U.S. military, State Dept, NATO, and UN medals, including four Defense Distinguished Service Medals, the Bronze Star Medal for Valor, the Secretary of State's Distinguished Service Medal, the Combat Action Badge, the Ranger tab, and master parachutist wings. He has also been decorated by 14 foreign countries, sanctioned by Russia, and designated a LinkedIn Top Voice. Over the past 20 years, General Petraeus has been named one of America’s 25 Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report, the runner-up for Time magazine’s Person of the Year, the Daily Telegraph man of the year, a Time 100 selectee (twice), Princeton University’s Madison Medalist, and one of Foreign Policy magazine’s top 100 public intellectuals in three different years. He is also believed to be the only individual who, while in uniform, threw out the first pitch of a World Series game and did the coin toss for a Super Bowl.