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Admiral James Winnefeld

Admiral James Winnefeld graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served for thirty-seven years in the US Navy. He instructed at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as Topgun, and served as senior aide-de-camp to General Colin L. Powell. He commanded a fighter squadron, the amphibious ship USS Cleveland, and the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. As a flag officer, he commanded a carrier strike group, two NATO commands, the United States Sixth Fleet, United States Northern Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). He retired in 2015 after serving as the ninth vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the United States’ number two ranking military officer. Admiral Winnefeld is a frequently published author and a director or advisory board member for companies operating in a broad spectrum of business sectors. He was appointed in 2020 to serve as a member of the congressionally mandated National Commission on Synthetic Opioid Trafficking. Winnefeld currently serves as distinguished professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, where he is also a member of the Engineering Hall of Fame. He is a senior nonresident fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and is chairman of the Georgia Tech Advisory Board.