President and CEO, Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc.
John Hillen has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Sotera Defense Solutions, Inc. (Sotera), formerly Global Defense Technology & Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:GTEC), since 2008. He is also a member of the board of directors. The 1,600 person company provides mission-critical counterterrorism, cyber intelligence, cyber warfare, C4ISR, and force mobility and modernization systems to national security agencies and programs of the US government.
Prior to his current position, Dr Hillen served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs in the Bush administration. In that capacity he was the senior State department official responsible for coordinating America's diplomatic strategy with its military operations. He was also responsible for overseeing the department's policies in the areas of international security, security assistance, military operations, weapons removal and abatement, and defense trade. He was unanimously confirmed by the Senate. His work standing up the US's whole-of-government Counterinsurgency capability and strategy is profiled in the Wall Street Journal reporter Nathan Hodge's recent book Armed Humanitarians.
Prior to his appointment in the administration, Dr Hillen led several technology companies in both the defense and financial services space, in Washington, D.C. and New York city. Dr Hillen serves on a number of corporate, philanthropic and non-profit boards. Prior to joining the Council of the IISS, he served several terms as a Trustee of the IISS. He is also a Trustee of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Hampden-Sydney College, and the Committee on Economic Development.
Prior to his business career, Dr Hillen worked as a military policy expert and also served for twelve years as an Army officer. He is the author or editor of several books on international security and has been published in dozens of leading journals and newspapers including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. A veteran of several think-tanks including the Council on Foreign Relations and CSIS, he was for many years a contributing editor to National Review (where he still serves as President of NR's parent company) and an ABC News commentator. During his time in the army, Hillen was a reconnaissance and special operations officer in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He has been decorated for his actions in combat, one episode of which is recounted in the recent military memoir Warrior's Rage by Douglas Macgregor. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Council on Foreign Relations, and a number of other professional organizations. He currently serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel, the federal advisory committee supporting the head of the US Navy.
Dr Hillen graduated from Duke University, holds a Master's degree from King's College London, a doctorate from Oxford, and received his MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell.
