Cara Abercrombie has joined The Cohen Group

Former Department of Defense senior official Cara Abercrombie has joined The Cohen Group as a Senior Advisor. 

“Cara is a trusted leader whose outstanding career in national security and defense and acquisition policy will be of immediate value to our clients and our firm,” said former Defense Secretary Bill Cohen, Chairman of The Cohen Group. 

Cara Abercrombie recently concluded a two-decade civil service career in the Department of Defense and White House as a member of the Senior Executive Service. She most recently served as Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, advising the Secretary of Defense on national security policy and leading the 1,000-person policy office in the formulation, coordination, and integration of national security policy and plans across the Department. She was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition in 2024, responsible for overseeing Pentagon policy for an acquisition workforce of 150,000 personnel. 

Previously, Cara served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for Defense Policy and Arms Control at the White House National Security Council, driving the development and implementation of policy initiatives across the interagency, including nuclear and military space policy as well as conventional arms transfer and security assistance. Prior to that, she was the founding President of the Defense Security Cooperation University and concurrently the Acting Deputy Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, managing an 800-person agency and overseeing execution of more than $600 billion in U.S. government foreign military sales as well as $14 billion in foreign military assistance programs. 

She has held numerous positions within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia, where she played a significant role in expanding bilateral defense ties with India; Principal Director for East Asia Policy; and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. She has served as a visiting Fellow with the South Asia program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.  

Cara received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive as well as numerous Defense Meritorious Civilian Service Awards and the Department of State Meritorious Honor Award. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University. 

Cara joins a distinguished group of senior leaders at The Cohen Group who provide strategic advice and practical assistance to the firm’s business clients. Those leaders include:

  • General Joseph Ralston, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
  • Ambassador Marc Grossman, former US Ambassador to Turkey, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and a Career Ambassador;
  • Ambassador Nicholas Burns, former US Ambassador to China, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former US Ambassador to NATO;
  • General Jim Mattis, former US Secretary of Defense, former Commander of US Central Command and US Joint Forces Command, and former Supreme Allied Commander Transformation;
  • Ambassador Jeff Davidow, former US Ambassador to Mexico, Venezuela, and Zambia and a Career Ambassador;
  • General Paul Kern, former Commander of the Army Materiel Command and former Senior Advisor for Army Research, Development, and Acquisition;
  • Ambassador Mike McKinley, former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, former US Ambassador to Brazil, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Peru and a Career Ambassador;
  • General Tim Radford, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and UK Ministry of Defence Head of Overseas Operations;
  • General Mike Scaparrotti, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander of US European Command, and former Commander of US Forces Korea UNC, CFC;
  • Ambassador Arun Singh, former Indian Ambassador to the United States, France, and Israel;
  • Lieutenant General David Bassett, former Director of the Defense Contract Management Agency and former Army Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical and Ground Combat Systems;
  • Lieutenant General Edward Cardon, former director of the U.S. Army of Business Transformation and former Head of the Army Cyber Command;
  • Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, former Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, former US Defense Attaché to China, and former Director of Strategy, Plans, and Programs at US Africa Command;
  • Air Chief Marshall Sir Angus Houston, former Chief of the Australian Defense Forces and former Chief of the Australian Air Force;
  • Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler, former Director of Naval Intelligence and former Deputy Department of Navy Chief Information Officer and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare;
  • Lieutenant General Harry Raduege, former Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and former Manager of the National Communications System;
  • Major General Kim Crider, former Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for the United States Space Force and former Chief Data Officer for the United States Air Force;
  • Ambassador Craig Allen, former President of the US-China Business Council and former US Ambassador to Brunei;
  • Ambassador Paul Myler, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Washington and former Australian Ambassador to Russia and the Countries of Central Asia;
  • Ellen Embrey, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness;
  • Jennifer Gavito, former Ambassador-Nominee to Libya and former Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs;
  • Dave Rank, former Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Beijing; 
  • Frederick “Jay” Stefany, former Program Manager for the US Navy Maritime Industrial Base and former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition; and
  • Pete Verga, former Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security.

Formed in 2001, The Cohen Group is comprised of more than 90 professionals with many decades of combined experience working in top-level positions in Congress, the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, the intelligence community, and other federal agencies and in European and Asian governments, international organizations, and the private sector.

With a presence in Washington, London, Beijing, New Delhi, and Brisbane, The Cohen Group provides its business clients the insights needed to better understand and shape the business, political, legal, regulatory, and media environments in which they operate. This includes both developing strategic business plans to help clients achieve their objectives and actively participating with clients in the execution of those plans.

The Cohen Group also has a strong strategic partnership with DLA Piper, a global law firm with lawyers located in more than 40 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific.