General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.)
Advisory Board Chairman
General Jones retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in February 2007 after a distinguished forty-year career. From July 1999 to January 2003, General Jones served as the 32nd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. In 2003, General Jones was nominated to serve as Commander, United States European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. As Commander of U.S. European Command, General Jones’ area of responsibility included 92 countries from Europe, Eurasia, and Africa. In his capacity as Commander of all NATO forces, General Jones led the Alliance into overall command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, the largest combat mission in NATO’s history.
After retiring from the Marine Corps, General Jones served as president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy, then as the State Department’s Special Envoy for Middle East Regional Security. In 2009 was appointed National Security Advisor to President Barak Obama.
General William E. (Kip) Ward, USA (Ret.)
Advisory Board Member
As the inaugural Commander of U.S. Africa Command, General Ward oversaw the establishment of the nation’s newest geographic command responsible for all U.S. defense and security activities on the African continent and its island nations. Prior to taking this position, General Ward was the Deputy Commander of U.S. European Command, U.S. Security Coordinator for the Israel-Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and NATO Force Commander in Bosnia.
Since retirement from the United States Army, General ward has served as the President, SENTEL Corporation, Strategic Adviser, Vectrus Systems Corporation, and permanent member, Council on Foreign Relations.
Major General George F. Close, USA (Ret.)
Advisory Board Member
General Close’s career spans both the private and public sectors. In addition to serving on Redwood Global’s Board of Advisors, General Close is currently the president of the Spectrum Group. Previously, the General has served as CEO and president of multiple companies in the security, consulting, and construction sectors and was the General Manager of DynCorp’s largest strategic business unit.
Prior to his corporate experience, General Close served a 30-year career with the U.S. Army. He retired from the Joint Staff as the J-7, responsible to the CJCS for the integration of all deliberate war plans, joint training and doctrine, and education of the Armed Services. He also served as the executive agent for the DoD-wide program entitled Joint Vision 2020, leading the development of and strategic planning for military transformational activities to support the future U.S. joint forces.