The Cohen Group Adds Two New Colleagues

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cohen Group, an international business advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of Defense Bill Cohen,  announced today that it has added two new colleagues.

Mark Brunner joins the firm as a Vice President.  Since 2009, Mark has been the Senior Advisor to Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, focusing on national security and energy issues.  Mark also served as the Director of the Senate India Caucus during Senator Warner's tenure as the Caucus Co-Chair.  In this role, Mark helped Senator Warner double the membership in the Caucus and grow it to become the largest country caucus in the U.S. Senate.  Before working for Senator Warner, Mark had a 20 year career in the Navy, retiring in 2009 at the rank of Commander.  He began his Navy service as a pilot, and flew several types of aircraft and helicopters, deploying multiple times including on the USS CONSTELLATION (CV-64) to the Arabian Gulf, where he led the first SH-60B Seahawk armed helicopter deployment on an aircraft carrier.  During his last Arabian gulf deployment, Mark flew over 50 combat zone missions, including many low-altitude flights at night with U.S. Navy SEALS intercepting Iraqi vessels.  Later in his Navy career, he served on the staff of the NATO Military Committee, as a defense policy advisor at the EU, as the Military Legislative Assistant and legislative fellow for Senator John Warner when he was Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and as one of the Navy's senior representatives to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees covering aviation funding and all classified programs.  Mark was recently awarded the U.S. Navy's Superior Public Service Award by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.

Tom West joins the firm as an Associate Vice President after more than ten years in the State Department and the National Security Council.  Tom has worked at the White House since 2012, serving for two years on the National Security Council as Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and more recently as Special Advisor to Vice President Biden.  From 2011-2012, Tom served as the State Department's senior diplomat in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, where he managed the civilian staff of a U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Team and directed local oversight of development and reconstruction projects.  From 2008-2010, Tom was Special Assistant for South and Central Asia Affairs to the State Department's then-Under Secretary for Political Affairs Bill Burns.  From 2005-2008, Tom served in a variety of Pakistan-focused positions at the State Department, including political officer in Islamabad and Karachi, and Pakistan desk officer in Washington. 

Mark and Tom join a number of senior leaders in The Cohen Group with deep experience around the world.  In addition to Secretary Cohen, these include: 

• General Joseph Ralston, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Ambassador Marc Grossman, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
• Ambassador Nicholas Burns, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Greece
• Admiral James Loy, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
• Ambassador Jeff Davidow, former Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Venezuela, and Zambia
• Ambassador James Smith, former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Ambassador Michael Corbin, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, who also previously served in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, and Kuwait during his career in the Foreign Service
• Lord George Robertson, former NATO Secretary General and Defense Minister of the United Kingdom
• General Paul Kern, former Commander of the Army Materiel Command and the Senior Advisor for Army Research, Development, and Acquisition
• Lieutenant General Joe Yakovac, former Director of the Army Acquisition Corps and Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
• Lieutenant General Harry Raduege, former Director of the Defense Information Systems Agency and Commander of the Joint Task Force Global Network Operations

About The Cohen Group:

Formed in 2001, The Cohen Group is comprised of more than 60 professionals with many decades of combined experience working in top-level positions in Congress, the White House, the State Department, the Defense Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community, other federal agencies, and in European and Asian governments, international organizations, and the private sector.

With offices in Washington, London, Beijing, Tianjin, and New Delhi, The Cohen Group provides its clients the insights and intelligence 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 practice groups include: Aerospace & Defense; Homeland Security; Middle East; China; India; Telecommunications & Information Technology; Energy & Resources; Transportation & Logistics; Health Care & Life Sciences; Financial Services & Investment; and Real Estate; serving clients in North America, East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Russia, Australia, Africa and Latin America.

The Cohen Group also has a strong strategic partnership with DLA Piper, a global law firm with over 4,200 lawyers and 71 offices in 30 countries throughout the world.

For more information, please visit www.cohengroup.net.

SOURCE The Cohen Group

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