Robert Kandra

Robert Kandra is a Senior Advisor to The Chertoff Group. Mr. Kandra recently served as the Associate Executive Assistant Director in the National Security Branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In this capacity, he was responsible for executive oversight of all foreign and domestic FBI programs for counterintelligence. Mr. Kandra began his career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), serving 27 years as both a career CIA National Clandestine Service Operations Officer and as a Senior Executive with assignments involving counterintelligence, counterterrorism, counter-proliferation, and cyber threat challenges. His field command assignments included Damascus, Syria; Warsaw, Poland; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Tirana, Albania; Baghdad, Iraq (three tours), and most recently Vienna, Austria where he worked closely with the U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Mr. Kandra served as the Chief of the CIA's Training Center in 2005. In 2008, he was appointed to the Editorial Board for the CIA's Studies in Intelligence and published a classified article detailing Leadership Issues in a War Zone. He also served as the Director of Clandestine and Special Training for CIA, and is a recognized instructor and speaker within the intelligence community. Mr. Kandra received his B.A. in History from the University of Maryland in 1981, and a Juris Doctorate in 1983. He served in the United States Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Class Program, Quantico and has attended executive leadership training. Mr. Kandra was named one of the CIA's Managers of the Year in 2005. Other significant awards he has received include the CIA Intelligence Star for Valor, the CIA Donovan Award (twice awarded in 2000 and 2007), the Balkans Service Medal, the George Bush Medal for Counterterrorism, a Meritorious Unit Citation (Kuwait), among other awards.