To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. LEADERSHIP PROFILE BY DAVID SILVERBERG MICHAEL CHERTOFF HAS BEEN A LAWYER, PROSECUTOR, JUDGE AND SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY. NOW HE’S ADDING A NEW CREDIT: ENTREPRENEUR. That’s because after leaving government service with the change in administrations in January, Chertoff decided to form his own firm: The Chertoff Group. And what a firm it is—in addition to Chertoff himself, there are currently five other principals: Michael Hayden, former director of both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA); Paul Schneider, former deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and former NSA acquisition director; Jay Cohen, a retired admiral and former head of DHS Science & Technology; Charles Allen, former head of DHS Intelligence and CIA collections; and Chad Sweet, a former Goldman Sachs banker and government official. “The idea is that we wanted to bring together a really unparalleled team of experienced homeland security architects and people who could look at the issue of homeland security as broadly as possible, including the intelligence side, the acquisition side, the technology side, the policy side and the operations side,” said Chertoff. “And among the six of us, we pretty much have all of those things.” know, you’re looking at this, but you’re not looking at this.’” That’s where The Chertoff Group can contribute: “Because of the breadth of our experience and skill set in the area, I think we bring a special perspective to those kinds of problems.” Private life Chertoff seems genuinely relieved and somewhat liberated to be a private citizen again, and during this interview he was animated and very talkative. We met without handlers or an entourage — just the two of us in a conference room at the offices of the law firm of Covington & Burling inWashington, DC, where Chertoff is “of counsel,” having worked for the firm prior to resuming government service in 2001. Asked if there was anything he missed about being out of government, Chertoff replied: “Well,I used to be able to cut through the White House to be able to get from 17th Street over to 14th Street, and I can’t do that any more—I can’t do it in my car.” But then he became serious: “Less facetiously, it was a great privilege serving the country.We got to work on enormously consequential things with really bright, committed people, and I treasure that experience. “I’m a believer that turnover is a good thing. It’s good for the individual because you get to recharge your batteries, and it’s good for the government because you get fresh perspectives. So, from my perspective, I felt fulfilled in my four years as Cabinet secretary, and I was in the right place to move on to do something else.” But history is not at an end and neither is the need for homeland security. “I get asked the question sometimes: ‘Don’t you think that people are not going to want to invest in homeland security because it doesn’t go to the bottom line?’” he noted, observing, “Nothing wipes out the bottom line more quickly than a disaster, whether it’s an act of terror or a significant criminal event, a cyber attack, or an actual disaster or a medical disaster. So it’s like putting your money in the bank and getting an insurance policy. If you want to protect your assets, which I think goes very much to the bottom line, you’ve got to make sure you have your security protected.” HST Editor’s note: To read the full transcript of the interview with Michael Chertoff, go to www.HSToday.us. MICHAEL CHERTOFF Chairman and Founding Principal The Chertoff Group “The idea is that we wanted to bring together a really unparalleled team of experienced homeland security architects and people who could look at the issue of homeland security as broadly as possible…” have a pretty good feel for how to look at problems end-to-end and then to anticipate problems,” he said. Chertoff Group principals can evaluate technologies in the context of the overall mission and an integrated scheme. They will be working with investors and contractors who want to either expand their homeland security business or make acquisitions. At the same time, Chertoff Group principals will be able to advise clients about potential threats and hazards. “I was talking to someone today, potential clients, about how they look at setting up their business, a particular global business,” he recalled. “There are certain obvious things they need to think about, but there are certain things that aren’t obvious and often people who are experts in particular areas focus on the threat to the area of their expertise, but no one stands back and looks at the entire enterprise and says: ‘You Market uncertainty Since leaving government service in January, Chertoff said he discovered a great deal of uncertainty about the nature of homeland security in the private sector—and not only in the private sector but abroad, as well. While people recognize that homeland security is neither military defense nor law enforcement, they are sure their companies or countries need it. “People feel the need to have clear doctrine and an understanding of what the nature of homeland security is, and they haven’t got that in the private sector and they’re looking to get that,” he observed. On a practical level, that meant he perceived a need to help guide individuals and companies as they consider investments in the homeland security space. “As many of the principal architects of homeland security and the doctrine, we 52 June 2009 | Homeland Security Today Magazine This month’s issue is now available online at…