Chad Sweet is a high-level national security strategist and former Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he managed a $50 billion budget and over 200,000 employees. He is a co-founder and CEO of The Chertoff Group, a premier security advisory firm alongside former DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, specializing in security consulting. Sweet’s career features a unique trifecta of experience: serving as an operations officer in the CIA's National Clandestine Service, functioning as a Vice President at Goldman Sachs in the global financial sector, and his DHS leadership role. In the political arena, he served as national campaign chairman for Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign, leveraging ties to the Republican establishment and donor class. He is a frequent commentator on cybersecurity, foreign influence, and integrating private sector innovation into national defense, and remains active in elite leadership circles including the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and Gen Next, while serving on boards of technology firms focused on autonomous systems and security infrastructure.