"Drawing on our decades of service in the international security arena, we develop strategies and provide services that enable companies to achieve their business objectives," their website says. The group, made up of former Republican and Democratic national security officials, was founded in 2013. According to a 2013 Defense News article, their clients are "primarily defense contractors" but not listed "because of nondisclosure agreements." According to The Intercept, "Beacon Global Strategies' seed funding came from Claude Fontheim, a former Clinton adviser who now serves as a lobbyist to the U.S.-China Exchange Foundation, a nonprofit reportedly used by Chinese government officials and Hong Kong tycoons to shape American policy toward China."
Letter to Beacon Global Strategies sent 10/19/2018.
| Rank | First | Last | Former Office/Employer | Date of Resignation/Retirement | Start Date at Beacon Global Strategies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark | Simakovsky | Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy | 02/01/2015 | 02/01/2015 | |
| Leon E. | Panetta | Department of Defense | 02/01/2013 | 05/27/2014 | |
| General | John F. | Kelly | U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) | 01/01/2016 | 08/01/2016 |
| Jeremy | Bash | Office of the Secretary of Defense | 04/19/2013 | 04/30/2013 | |
| Admiral | James A. | Winnefeld | Joint Chiefs of Staff | 07/31/2015 | 12/08/2015 |
| Derek | Chollet | Office of the Secretary of Defense | 01/01/2015 | 03/16/2015 | |
| Deborah Lee | James | U.S. Air Force | 01/20/2017 | 07/01/2017 | |
| David R. | Shedd | Defense Intelligence Agency | 01/01/2015 | 06/03/2015 |
Ethics laws are riddled with loopholes. Without transparency and more effective protections of the public interest the revolving door between senior Pentagon officials and officers and defense contractors may be costing American taxpayers billions.