Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler has joined The Cohen Group as a Senior Counselor following a distinguished 36-year career as a US Navy intelligence officer and information warfare professional.
“Vice Admiral Kohler’s Navy career and expertise across cyber, IT, intelligence, and space domains will be of immediate and tremendous value to our clients and our team,” said Defense Secretary Bill Cohen, Chairman of The Cohen Group. “We are confident the additions of Vice Admiral Kohler and Jay Stefany will significantly enhance our firm’s capabilities.”
Vice Admiral Kohler most recently served as the Navy’s Director of Naval Intelligence, directing global intelligence operations, leading one of the Intelligence Community’s member organizations, and working closely with international partners. He concurrently served as Deputy Department of Navy Chief Information Officer, implementing sweeping cloud and global and tactical network advances; and as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, directing a $10 billion portfolio across intelligence, cyber, communications, IT, SIGINT, and meteorology and oceanography.
Prior to that, Vice Admiral Kohler established and commanded Naval Information Forces, the Navy’s newest Type Command in over 60 years, implementing some of the most significant changes in Navy warfighting in decades.
Vice Admiral Kohler led the National Security Agency’s Tailored Access Operations, directing the United States’ most advanced global cyber operations. As Deputy Commander of Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet, he led global cyber operations as a component of US Cyber Command, operated and defended the Navy’s global 700,000 person classified and unclassified networks, and conducted global SIGINT and communications operations in support of the US Navy, Department of Defense, and interagency. As Director of Intelligence for US Africa Command, Vice Admiral Kohler coordinated counterterrorism and ISR operations with interagency organizations while conducting partnership engagement for the region. Other significant assignments included Director of Intelligence for Joint Interagency Task Force South and Director of the Joint Intelligence Center for Special Operations Command.
Vice Admiral Kohler deployed worldwide supporting combat operations in numerous aircraft carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups, including serving as the senior intelligence officer for Fighter Squadron 102 on USS American, Amphibious Squadron One on USS Pelelui, and Cruiser Destroyer Group 2 on USS George Washington Carrier Battle Group. He was commissioned as a naval intelligence officer in 1984. He received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and US Army Command and Staff College.
Vice Admiral Kohler joins a distinguished group of senior leaders at the firm who provide strategic advice and practical assistance to the firm’s clients. In addition to Secretary Cohen, 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;
- General Paul Kern, former Commander of the Army Materiel Command and former Senior Advisor for Army Research, Development, and Acquisition;
- Ambassador Arun Singh, former Indian Ambassador to the United States, France, and Israel;
- Air Chief Marshall Sir Angus Houston, former Chief of the Australian Defense Forces and former Chief of the Australian Air Force;
- Ambassador Jeff Davidow, former US Ambassador to Mexico, Venezuela, and Zambia and a Career Ambassador;
- 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 Mike Scaparrotti, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander of US European Command, and former Commander of US Forces Korea UNC, CFC;
- General Tim Radford, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and UK Ministry of Defence Head of Overseas Operations;
- Lieutenant General Harry Raduege, former Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and former Manager of the National Communications System;
- 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;
- 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 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;
- Ambassador Craig Allen, former President of the US-China Business Council and former US Ambassador to Brunei;
- Ellen Embrey, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness;
- Dave Rank, former Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Beijing;
- Jennifer Gavito, former Ambassador-Nominee to Libya and former Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; 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 80 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.