The Honorable Dr. John Hillen is an award-winning CEO and leadership expert, former Assistant Secretary of State, public intellectual, decorated combat veteran, and a popular business school professor. He is the CEO of EverWatch Corporation, a 500 employee national security company providing advanced technical solutions to the defense and intelligence agencies of the US government. He also serves as the James C. Wheat Professor in Leadership at historic Hampden-Sydney College and is a professor in the School of Business at George Mason University, where he teaches leadership and strategy.
He is the author of several books, most recently What Happens Now? Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You, which was recognized as one of the top business books of 2018 by several organizations.
Prior to his current roles, Hillen was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc. Hillen took the company public in 2009 in one of the few successful IPO’s in the American economy that year. He is the recipient of a number of different leadership awards in the military, government, academia, and in business. He has been named one of the 100 most influential business leaders in the DC area. He continues to serve on the Boards of several companies and a number of nonprofits and charities.
Unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2005, he served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs in the second half of the Bush administration and in that capacity spent much of his time with US and allied troops in war zones from Iraq to Afghanistan to the Southern Philippines. He has written or edited several books on international security affairs including the critically acclaimed Blue Helmets: The Strategy of UN Military Operations. He has published articles in dozens of journals and newspapers including Foreign Affairs, The NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He has appeared on every major television show and network and was an on-air commentator for ABC News for a number of years.
Dr. Hillen served for twelve years as an Army reconnaissance officer and paratrooper. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his role in the Battle of the 73 Easting during Operation Desert Storm. He recently served for nine years on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, the federal advisory committee supporting the head of the US Navy. He was awarded the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service medal in 2017. He was the military advisor on the original Call of Duty video game series set in World War II.
Dr. Hillen graduated from Duke University with degrees in Public Policy Studies and History. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship after graduation. He holds a Master’s Degree in War Studies from King’s College London, a doctorate in International Relations from Oxford, and received his MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell.