The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas G. Mahnken will be joining the team in March 2016 as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am honored to be joining CSBA,” said Mahnken. “It is an organization that is at the forefront of thinking through the tough strategic challenges that the United States faces today, and will face in the future. Its work is a tribute to the highly talented group of analysts who make up CSBA.”
Mahnken has devoted his career to the study and practice of strategy. He is a respected scholar, having taught strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies for nearly 20 years. He is the author of a number of major works on strategy, to include, most recently, Strategy in Asia: The Past, Present, and Future of Regional Security and Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice. He has served for over 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, to include tours in Iraq and Kosovo. His career of public service includes serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning from 2006-2009, where he helped craft the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and 2008 National Defense Strategy. He also served on the staff of the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel and 2014 National Defense Panel.
Mahnken will succeed Andrew Krepinevich, CSBA's founder and president since its inception 22 years ago. “Andy has been the architect of CSBA’s reputation as a first-rate non-partisan, national security think tank focused on long term strategic challenges and analyzing realistic strategic responses. His will be big shoes to fill,” said CSBA Board Chair the Honorable Nelson M. Ford. “In selecting Tom to succeed Andy, we believe we have identified a leader with the vision, experience and background to build on Andy’s legacy.”
Krepinevich remarked, “I have been privileged to work with a talented and dedicated staff committed to supporting our country’s senior policy makers in their efforts to make better-informed decisions regarding our nation's defense strategy, policies, forces and budgets. Thanks to their efforts CSBA's reputation and influence has never been greater. Tom couldn’t be joining this team at a better time. I look forward to supporting Tom in his efforts to build on CSBA’s success.”