Advisory Council

Chuck Hagel

Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University; Former U.S. Senator

Chuck Hagel is a Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University.  He serves on the Boards of Directors of Chevron Corporation and Zurich’s Holding Company of America; the Advisory Boards of Corsair Capital, Deutsche Bank America, McCarthy Capital and Gallup.  He serves as Co-Chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, Co-Chair of the President’s China 100,000 Strong Initiative Advisory Committee, a member of the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board, and Secretary of Energy’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.  He also serves as Chairman of the Atlantic Council and is a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) board of directors.

Hagel served two terms in the United States Senate (1997-2009) representing the state of Nebraska.  Hagel was a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and Intelligence Committees.  He Chaired the Foreign Relations International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion Subcommittee; and the Banking Committee’s International Trade and Finance, and Securities Subcommittees.  Hagel also served as the Chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the Senate Climate Change Observer Group.

He is the author of the book, America: Our Next Chapter, a straight forward examination of the current state of our nation that provides substantial proposals for the challenges of the 21st century.  Hagel was the subject of a 2006 book by University of Nebraska professor Charlyne Berens entitled, Chuck Hagel: Moving Forward.

Hagel serves on the advisory boards of many institutions including: Bread for the World, Center for the Study of the Presidency, Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Global Zero, Hamilton Project, Initiative for Global Development, Lung Cancer Alliance’s Honorary Board, National Bureau of Asian Research’s Next Generation Leadership Board, Ploughshares Fund, U.S. Institute of Peace Middle East Senior Working Group, U.S. Middle East Project, America Abroad Media, American Security Project, and The Washington Center.  He is co-chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Corporate Council.

Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Hagel was president of McCarthy & Company, an investment banking firm in Omaha, Nebraska.  In the mid-1980’s, Hagel co-founded VANGUARD Cellular Systems, Inc., a publicly traded corporation.  He is a Vietnam combat veteran and former Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration. A graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Hagel and his wife, Lilibet, have a son (Ziller) and daughter (Allyn).