CGA's Doug Lute Joins BGR Group as Practice Chairman

This article and press release originally appeared on Homeland Security Today (HST) on January 25, 2021.

BGR Group, Washington, D.C.’s premier bipartisan lobbying and public relations firm, today announced that former NATO Ambassador Douglas Lute (Lieutenant General, US Army, Retired) will join the firm as Chairman of its international and defense practices, a game-changing addition to BGR’s all-star lineup of professionals.

Over his long, distinguished career in the U.S. military and as a senior White House advisor and diplomat, Ambassador Lute has built extensive relationships with national security, military and diplomatic leaders in the Biden Administration, in Congress, and internationally. Ambassador Lute’s familiarity with American foreign policy and today’s policymakers gives him unique insight into the Biden team’s approach to international security and America’s relationships with its allies and partners.

Ambassador Lute spent six years in the White House during two administrations, including the entire first term of the Obama-Biden Administration where he served as Coordinator for South Asia. During the second Obama-Biden term, he was U.S. Ambassador to NATO where he focused on the 30-nation alliance’s responses to new security challenges in Europe and the Middle East. Ambassador Lute also served under President George W. Bush as Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan from 2007 to 2009.

“I am honored to be joining the outstanding bipartisan team at BGR,” Ambassador Lute said. “I look forward to contributing in both the international and defense arenas where challenges and opportunities will grow in the coming years.”

“Ambassador Lute will be a tremendous asset to BGR’s clients,” BGR Founding Partner Ed Rogers said. “His breadth of knowledge and experience are unparalleled. He has a keen understanding of who the decision makers are and how they execute their decision-making processes. We look forward to having him on our team.”

Ambassador Lute graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and is a decorated military officer of 35 years. He served as Director of Operations on the Joint Staff overseeing U.S. military operations worldwide. He also was Director of Operations at U.S. Central Command in the Middle East, had several tours as a NATO commander, served in combat during Operation Desert Storm.

“We welcome Ambassador Lute to BGR,” said Bob Wood, CEO of BGR Group. “He adds real Democratic heft to our already robust bipartisan international and defense teams.”

Ambassador Lute earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 1983, then taught in the U.S. Military Academy’s Department of Social Sciences. He is a member of the board of the Atlantic Council, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a charter member of the Senior Military Advisory Group of the United States Institute of Peace, and a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

He has received numerous honors and awards, including three Defense Distinguished Service medals and the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award.

Ambassador Lute is married to Jane Holl Lute, a former career officer in the U.S. Army, a former Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama-Biden Administration from 2009 to 2013.