Danny Sebright

Danny E. Sebright
Born	(1961-02-27) February 27, 1961 East Berlin, Pennsylvania, United States
Residence	Washington, D.C., United States
Alma mater	George Washington University Harvard University
Occupation	President, U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

Danny Edward Sebright (born February 27, 1961) is the president of the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, a Washington, D.C.-based business advocacy organization committed to fostering stronger trade and commercial ties between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.^[1][2] Sebright also serves concurrently as the head of the Middle East practice at The Cohen Group, a geo-political consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. and led by former U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen.^[3] Sebright served at the Department of Defense and the Defense Intelligence Agency for nearly 20 years, most recently as a Policy Director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense until 2002.^[1] Sebright has served on a number of political campaigns, most notably as Governor Howard Dean’s foreign policy advisor during his campaign for president.^[4] He has been described by Foreign Policy as "one of the most well-connected Americans in the Gulf."^[5]

Education

Sebright attended university in Washington, D.C., where he obtained a degree in International Affairs from George Washington University in 1984. From 2000-2001, Sebright completed the mid-career master's program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, obtaining a Master’s degree in Public Administration in 2001.^[3][6]

Career

Defense Intelligence Agency

Sebright joined the Defense Intelligence Agency as an intelligence officer immediately upon graduation from university, where he worked for the next ten years, eventually holding a senior rank in the Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Joint Military Intelligence Collection Center. In his time at DIA, he served overseas in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.^[6] He was honored with the Director of Central Intelligence’s Exceptional Analyst Award in 1990, the DIA Civilian Service Award for Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1991, and the Exceptional Civilian Service Award for diplomatic achievements in Israel in 1992.^[1]

Department of Defense

Following his time at DIA, Sebright transitioned into a Director role at Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, first as Country Director for Israel working under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and later serving as Director, Executive Secretariat for the Global War on Terrorism for the Under Secretary of Policy from 2001 to 2002.^[7] During his tenure, Sebright cultivated extensive contacts with U.S. and foreign defense industry officials to coordinate and implement DoD weapons sales to Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East. Simultaneously, he served as a spokesperson on U.S. defense relations with Israel to a wide variety of public groups. Sebright also served as a DoD representative to many of the peace talks brokered by the U.S. between Israel and its Arab neighbors.^[8] In 1999 he was the recipient of the Paul H. Nitze Award for Excellence in International Security Policy.^[3]

As Director of the Executive Secretariat from 2001-2002, Sebright lead a team of policy professionals responsible for initiating, tasking, and tracking Department of Defense and U.S. military actions related to fighting the global war on terrorism, including Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Noble Eagle, the defense of the U.S. homeland.^[3][9] As the Bush Administration began early preparations in 2002 to fight a war in Iraq, Sebright retired from his nearly 20-year career of government service.^[10]

The Cohen Group

In 2002, Sebright entered the private sector to work for former U.S. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen at The Cohen Group, a global strategic consulting firm operating at the intersection of public policy, government, and the private sector.^[11] He currently serves as head of the Middle East practice group.^[3]

U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council

In 2008, Sebright was appointed to serve as the president of the newly created U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, a bilateral trade and advocacy organization that works to foster stronger trade and commercial relations between the U.S. and the U.A.E.^[7] Sebright has been instrumental in helping secure the U.S.-U.A.E. 123 Agreement for civilian nuclear energy cooperation in 2009.^[12][13] He has worked to build closer business alliances for U.A.E. investment in the U.S. in projects like GlobalFoundries in Saratoga, NY. He has been at the forefront of efforts to approve landmark U.S. weapons sales and commercial aircraft deals by U.S. companies with the U.A.E.^[14]

References