Robert Work

Secretary Robert O. Work is the Distinguished Senior Fellow for Defense and National Security at the Center for a New American Security and the owner of TeamWork, LLC, which specializes in national security affairs and the future of warfare. Secretary Work previously served as the Deputy Secretary of Defense, where he was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day business of the Pentagon and developing the Department’s $600 billion defense program. He was awarded DoD’s Distinguished Public Service Award (twice), the National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Award, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Prior to serving as Deputy Secretary, Secretary Work spent one year as CEO of the CNAS, after serving as Undersecretary of the Navy from 2009–2013 in the first Obama administration. As the principal civilian deputy to the Secretary of the Navy, he was responsible for the smooth running of the U.S. naval global business enterprise, with over 500,000 active duty personnel and 200,000 government civilians, and a budget of $160 billion. He was twice awarded the Department of the Navy’s Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Secretary Work lives in Northern Virginia with Cassandra, his wife of 39 years. Their daughter, Kendyl, is an analyst at the National Counterterrorism Center.