Summary: Chris Taylor is currently the Director of the Harvard Defense and Security Initiative. He recently held the position of Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at Blackwater Worldwide, a professional security, training, peace support, and stabilization operations firm, where he was responsible for developing and leading strategic initiatives and alliances, building new business, and assisting in the development and implementation of corporate strategy. He was also responsible for the sales and marketing efforts for all business units and acted as the primary media and public relations point of contact for Blackwater. Chris has been instrumental in developing security, training, stabilization, and counterterrorism initiatives in the Middle East, Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and South America. These programs include counterterrorism strategy and training, emergency response and disaster relief programs, C4I systems design and implementation, integrated vulnerability assessments and physical security solutions, strategic force transformations, political and economic consequences consulting, and turnkey solutions for unique security challenges. With 14 years in the U. S. Marine Corps as an enlisted infantryman and Force Recon Marine, Chris has held both operational and policy leadership positions. Chris earned his undergraduate degree on active-duty, left the Marine Corps in 1999 and attended graduate school at The College of William & Mary, earning an MBA in 2002. Chris is the founding Chairman of the International Peace Operations Association and the founder of Future American Leaders. He is a member of the World Affairs Council and has attended Harvard University’s Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Chris is enrolled as a graduate student in international security and political economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and he frequently speaks at various professional forums on private sector contributions to national and international security challenges, and humanitarian and stabilization operations.
