Atlantic Council
The Atlantic Council is a prominent US think tank with close ties to The Pentagon and petroleum companies. Fred Kempe - the current President and CEO of the Atlantic Council - lavishly praised war criminal and diplomatic architect of US petrodollar hegemony Henry Kissinger as the "ultimate transatlantic ideal" in his recent eulogy.[1]
Corporate Interests
Lockheed Martin
From 2013-2021, Marilyn Hewson was the Chair and CEO of Lockheed Martin. For most of this tenure (2014-2021) she also sat on the Atlantic Council's International Advisory Board. She has been a Chevron director since 2021.[2]
Chevron
Chevron is a major corporate sponsor of the Atlantic Council. Together, they have maintained significant executive board overlap and a revolving door for over a decade.[3]
On February 27, 2013, Chuck Hagel stepped down from the Board of Chevron and Chairmanship of the Atlantic Council to become the Obama/Biden admin Pentagon's new Secretary of War.[4][5][6][7] From 2009-2013 Hagel was also Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.
On 1 May 2013, in Washington, D.C, then Chevron Corp. Chairman and CEO John S. Watson received the Distinguished Business Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council.[8]
Following Hagel, Chevron Director Jon Huntsman held the Chairmanship of the Atlantic Council from 2014-2017, during which time he was also part of Chevron's Board Audit Committee, Governance Committee, and Public Policy Committee. Like Hagel, he left both positions to join the Federal Government. In 2017, Huntsman became the US Ambassador to Russia under Secretary of State (former Exxon Mobil CEO) Rex Tillerson in the Trump/Pence administration. In 2020, Huntsman rejoined the board of Chevron.[9][10]
Megan Poole is currently the International Government Affairs Coordinator for Chevron, joining Chevron in 2017 from the Atlantic Council.[11]
Current Chevron Director Marilyn Hewson was the Chair and CEO of Lockheed Martin from 2013-2021. For most of this time (2014-2021), she also sat on the Atlantic Council's International Advisory Board. Like Watson, she received the Atlantic Council's Distinguished Business Leadership Award in 2015. [12]
In 2018, following findings that Facebook (like Chevron) was culpable in the Rohingya genocide, the company launched a partnership with the Atlantic Council to "prevent our service from being abused during elections."[13] Facebook is one of the Atlantic Council's largest donors.
Directors
Historic
George Shultz, Frank Carlucci, James Baker, James Woolsey, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Robert Gates, Leon Panetta, and Brent Scowcroft.[14]
Current
Sources
- ↑ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/a-tribute-to-henry-kissinger-brilliant-strategist-and-consummate-atlanticist/
- ↑ https://www.chevron.com/about/leadership/marillyn-hewson
- ↑ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/sponsor/chevron-2/
- ↑ https://grist.org/politics/if-named-secretary-of-defense-chuck-hagel-will-leave-chevrons-board/
- ↑ https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/279893-defense-nominee-hagel-to-cut-ties-with-chevron/
- ↑ https://freebeacon.com/politics/hagels-chevron-does-big-business-with-pentagon/
- ↑ https://newrepublic.com/article/112398/chuck-hagels-atlantic-council-foreign-donors-and-independence
- ↑ https://www.oedigital.com/news/458790-chevron-ceo-watson-to-receive-atlantic-council-award
- ↑ https://chevroncorp.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/jon-huntsman-jr-rejoins-chevrons-board-directors
- ↑ https://www.chevron.com/about/leadership/jon-huntsman
- ↑ https://www.ndi.org/people/megan-poole
- ↑ https://www.chevron.com/about/leadership/marillyn-hewson
- ↑ https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/08/atla-s08.html
- ↑ https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/09/08/atla-s08.html