Major General (retired) Rod Lewis, Ph.D.

Major General (retired) Lewis was formerly a national security leader serving as Deputy Director for Force Protection, J8, Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, supporting over 2,275,000 service members. Responsible for global force protection aligning worldwide personnel, and resources with Department of Defense (DoD) strategic guidance. General Lewis synchronized a share of the annual DoD budget of approximately $675 billion to joint force organizational mission and vision. He has extensive experience building organizational strategy, funding large capital expenditures, managing unions, leading public-private partnerships in highly regulated sectors, and marketing to a cross section of demographics. He is a decorated Air Force command pilot with over 3,600 flight hours and earned the Bronze Star Medal for his service in a combat zone. As an Air Force base commander, he led thousands of servicemembers, leveraging over $2 billion in infrastructure. Prior to this role, General Lewis served as Director for Strategy, Posture, and Assessments for the United States Air Force aligning global strategy supporting 697,000 members. He also led an elite Joint Staff team supporting worldwide monitoring, crisis action, strategic nuclear and current operational watch functions reporting directly to the highest levels of government. General Lewis’ early experience include serving as a White House Fellow where he executed the Joining Forces initiative on behalf of the President, working closely with government, non-profit, and private industry leaders securing over 250,000 job commitments, education, and wellness opportunities for servicemembers and their families. A distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy, he earned two master’s degrees with honors from the University of Southern California, and the Air Force Institute of Technology. His executive education includes the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Corporate Governance, Georgetown University Legislative Studies & Public Policy Non-profit Management, Aspen Institute Executive Seminar on Leadership, Values, and the Good Society, and Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. He is a Herndon Directors Institute graduate, and earned his Ph.D. Education, Health & Behavior Studies in 2023. General Lewis holds a security clearance. He currently serves Founder & CEO of The Generals Group, LLC. He serves as a director on the White House Fellows Foundation and Association board, and Appgate Federal Advisory board. He resides in Alexandria, Virginia, married to his high school sweetheart, and they have two adult children.