Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler
Senior Counselor
Director of Naval Intelligence (2018–2020)
Deputy Department of Navy Chief Information Officer (2018–2020)
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (2018–2020)
Commander, Naval Information Forces (2014–2018)
Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler (Retired) joined The Cohen Group in June 2025 as a Senior Counselor following a distinguished 36-year military career. A career naval intelligence officer and information warfare professional, Vice Admiral Kohler has been highly successful throughout his career in innovating and advancing warfighting capabilities at every level of warfare in joint, international, and operationally intensive environments.
He most recently served at the Pentagon as the Director of Naval Intelligence, directing global intelligence operations, leading one of the Intelligence Community’s member organizations, and working closely with international partners. He concurrently served as Deputy Department of Navy Chief Information Officer, implementing sweeping cloud and global and tactical network advances; and as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare (OPNAV N2N6), directing a $10 billion portfolio across intelligence, cyber, communications, IT, SIGINT, and meteorology and oceanography. Prior to that, Vice Admiral Kohler established and led Naval Information Forces (NAVIFOR), the Navy’s newest Type Command in over 60 years, implementing some of the most significant changes in Navy warfighting in decades.
Earlier, Vice Admiral Kohler led the National Security Agency’s Tailored Access Operations, directing the United States’ most advanced global cyber operations. As Deputy Commander of Fleet Cyber Command/10th Fleet, he led global cyber operations as a component of US Cyber Command, operated and defended the Navy’s global 700,000 person classified and unclassified networks, and conducting global SIGINT and communications operations in support of the US Navy, Department of Defense, and interagency. As Director of Intelligence for US Africa Command, Vice Admiral Kohler coordinated counterterrorism and ISR operations with interagency organizations while conducting partnership engagement for the region. Other significant assignments included Joint Interagency Task force South, Director of Intelligence; and Special Operations Command, Joint Intelligence Center Director.
Vice Admiral Kohler deployed worldwide supporting combat operations in numerous aircraft carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups, including serving as the senior intelligence officer for Fighter Squadron 102 on USS American, Amphibious Squadron One on USS Pelelui, and Cruiser Destroyer Group 2 on USS George Washington Carrier Battle Group. He was commissioned as a naval intelligence officer in 1984. He received his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has master’s degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School and US Army Command and Staff College.
In addition to The Cohen Group, Vice Admiral Kohler serves on the Naval Advisory Council for the MITRE Corporation.