Michael Chertoff

Michael Chertoff is Chairman & Founder of The Chertoff Group, a global advisory firm focused on security and risk management headquartered in Washington, D.C. Mr. Chertoff also serves as senior of counsel at Covington & Burling LLP’s Washington, D.C. office and a member of the White-Collar Defense and Investigations practice group. He is the author of the 2018 book Exploding Data: Reclaiming Our Cybersecurity in the Digital Age. From 2005 to 2009, Mr. Chertoff served as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Chertoff developed and implemented border security and immigration policy; promulgated homeland security regulation; and spearheaded a national cyber security strategy. He also served periodically on the National Security and Homeland Security Councils, and on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Prior to his appointment to the Cabinet, Mr. Chertoff served from 2003 to 2005 as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Before becoming a federal judge, Mr. Chertoff was the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. In that position, he oversaw the investigation of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and formed the Enron Task Force. Mr. Chertoff’s career includes more than a decade as a federal prosecutor, including service as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. As a federal prosecutor, Mr. Chertoff investigated and personally prosecuted significant cases of political corruption, organized crime, and corporate fraud. From 1994-2001, Mr. Chertoff represented major corporations and individuals in numerous white-collar investigations and trials. Mr. Chertoff received a B.A. from Harvard College, magna cum laude in 1975 and received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude, in 1978. Following graduation from Harvard Law School, he clerked for Hon. Murray Gurfein on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and then for Justice William Brennan, Jr. on the U.S. Supreme Court.