Richard A. Falkenrath
Senior Fellow
Biography
Richard A. Falkenrath is Senior Fellow at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs as well as Senior Fellow for National Security at the Council on Foreign Relations. At SAIS, he is teaching a new course in the Spring 2025 semester on “Geopolitics and the Private Sector.”
Until summer 2024, Dr. Falkenrath was Head of Client Service and Head of Geopolitics at Bridgewater Associates, a premier global macroeconomics investment management firm. He joined Bridgewater in 2014 and is a Bridgewater Partner, and a member of the firm's Operating Committee. He was Chief Administrative Officer from 2020 to 2022, where he managed the firm's legal, regulatory, security, human resources, and real estate departments; and led Bridgewater's handling of the COVID pandemic. Preceding his CAO role, he was Chief Security Officer from 2014 to 2019.
Dr. Falkenrath served as Deputy Commissioner for Counterterrorism of the New York City Police Department from 2006 to 2010. In this role he commanded the 350-person strong Counterterrorism Bureau; directed daily counterterrorism operations throughout New York City; managed the NYPD’s relationship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation through the Joint Terrorism Task Force; helped raise approximately $300 million in new federal grants for City-wide initiatives; and oversaw and implemented the most advanced urban security technology program in the world. Prior to the NYPD, he was the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution and an on-air analyst with the Cable News Network.
Richard served in the federal government from December 2000 until May 2004. As part of the Bush-Cheney Transition Team, he was involved in preparing for the presidential transition within the National Security Council. After the Inauguration, he joined the White House staff, where he served continuously until 2004. His initial position was Director for Proliferation Strategy on the National Security Council staff, where he was responsibility for biological weapons proliferation and preparedness, missile defense, and Asian proliferation issues. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Policy and Plans within the Office of Homeland Security. In January 2003, he was promoted to Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. In this capacity, Dr. Falkenrath was responsible for developing and coordinating all aspects of U.S. homeland security policy and law, as well as counterterrorism threat assessment and response at all levels. He was the principal author of the National Strategy for Homeland Security and was centrally involved in the stand-up of the Department of Homeland Security, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (the predecessor to today’s National Counterterrorism Center), and the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center.
Before the White House, Dr. Falkenrath spent eight years at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, finishing as Assistant Professor of Public Policy. He is the author or coauthor of Shaping Europe’s Military Order (1995), Avoiding Nuclear Anarchy (1996), America’s Achilles’ Heel: Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Terrorism and Covert Attack (1998), as well as numerous journal articles, chapters of edited volumes, prepared statements for congressional testimony, and op-ed articles.
Dr. Falkenrath is a native of Mendocino, California, and a summa cum laude graduate of Occidental College, with degrees in economics and international relations. He received a PhD from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where he was a British Marshall Scholar.
Richard is also a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission, as well as a member of the Mission Committee of the Board of Governors of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.