Lord George Robertson has rejoined The Cohen Group after leading the 2025 UK Strategic Defence Review, the firm announced today. Prior to his one-year leave of absence to lead the Review, Lord Robertson served as Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group for more than 20 years.
“Lord Robertson’s significant and wide-ranging service to the United Kingdom and NATO made him uniquely qualified to take on the Strategic Defence Review,” said Secretary Bill Cohen, Chairman of The Cohen Group. "We are pleased and proud to welcome him back to the team and know he will be a tremendous asset to our clients across industries.”
In his most recent role, Lord Robertson headed the Strategic Defence Review with General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr. Fiona Hill, at the request of the Prime Minister and overseen by the Defence Secretary. The Review provides the first comprehensive review of UK Defence in 25 years and is being praised as a serious overhaul for deterrence and defence in an increasingly complex security landscape. Among the many other highlights of his public service career, Lord Robertson served as Secretary General of NATO from 1999–2004 and UK Secretary of State for Defence from 1997–1999. Lord Robertson served as a member of the UK Parliament from 1978–1999 and was appointed to Her Majesty’s Privy Council in 1997. In 2000, he was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer.
Lord Robertson was awarded the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003, and in 2004 was personally appointed by Queen Elizabeth as one of the 16 Knights of the Thistle, the highest honor in Scotland, which recognizes those who have held public office or made significant contributions to the public domain.
Lord Robertson 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 U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, and former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and a Career Ambassador;
- General Jim Mattis, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, former Commander of U.S. Central Command and U.S. 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 U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Venezuela, and Zambia and a Career Ambassador;
- Ambassador Mike McKinley, former Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, former U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Peru and a Career Ambassador;
- General Mike Scaparrotti, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander of U.S. European Command, and former Commander of U.S. Forces Korea UNC, CFC;
- General Sir 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 U.S. Defense Attaché to China, and former Director of Strategy, Plans, and Programs at U.S. Africa Command;
- Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler, former Director of Naval Intelligence for the US Navy and former Deputy Department of Navy Chief Information Officer;
- 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 Craig Allen, former President of the U.S.-China Business Council and former U.S. Ambassador to Brunei;
- Ellen Embrey, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness;
- Jennifer Gavito, former Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs;
- Dave Rank, former Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing;
- Jay Stefany, former Direct Reporting Program Manager Maritime Industrial Base for the US Navy and former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition; and
- Pete Verga, former Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security and former Deputy Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Defense.
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.