The BENS Eisenhower Award honors the contributions of public servants and private citizens who safeguard our freedom as well as the balance, as President Eisenhower said in his prophetic farewell address over five decades ago, “between the actions of the moment and the national welfare of the future.” Like the nation’s 34th president, “we want democracy to survive for all generations to come.” Since it was first presented to Tom Watson, Jr. (Chairman & CEO of IBM) and Peter Grace (President & CEO of W.R. Grace & Company) in 1986, the BENS Eisenhower Award has been presented to more than 100 of the most deserving, patriotic Americans from the business community, military and public sector.
Upcoming Award Gala
The next presentation of the Eisenhower Award will be at the 2022 Fall Eisenhower Award Dinner on October 28. This event will be held in conjunction with the BENS 40th Anniversary Forum, "Stronger Together: Courageous Conversations About the Role of Trust in Securing Our Nation."
Past Recipients
The Eisenhower Award semiannually recognizes public servants and private citizens who have made considerable contributions toward President Dwight Eisenhower’s holistic definition of national security, described as, “…the total product of our economic, intellectual, moral and military strength.” Recipients include:
Military Leaders
General John W. Raymond, USSF (November 2021)
Chief of Space Operations, United States Space Force
General Gus Perna, US Army (April 2021)
Chief Operating Officer, Operation Warp Speed
Gina C. Haspel (October 2020)
Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Micheael M. Crow (October 2020)
Chairman, In-Q-Tel/Presdient, Arizona State University
General David L. Goldfein, USAF (June 2020)
Chief of Staff, United States Air Force
General Paul M. Nakasone, USA (October 2019)
Commander, United States Cyber Command / Director, National Security Agency
General Joseph L. Lengyel, USAF (October 2018)
Chief of the National Guard Bureau
General Paul J. Selva, USAF (April 2018)
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
General Joseph Dunford, USMC (April 2017)
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
General John E. Hyten, USAF (October 2016)
Commander, United States Strategic Command
Dr. Ashton B. Carter (April 2016)
United States Secretary of Defense
General John R. Allen, USMC (Ret.) (April 2015)
Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Combat ISIL
Admiral William H. McRaven, USN (May 2014)
Commander, United States Special Operations Command
General Keith B. Alexander, USA (October 2013)
Commander, United States Cyber Command / Director, National Security Agency
General Raymond T. Odierno, USA (May 2013)
Chief of Staff, United States Army
Leon E. Panetta (October 2012)
United States Secretary of Defense
Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN (May 2012)
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe / Commander, United States European Command
Admiral Eric T. Olson, USN (Ret.) (November 2011)
Former Commander, United States Special Operations Command
General Charles G. Boyd, USAF (Ret.) (May 2010)
Former President and CEO, Business Executives for National Security
General David H. Petraeus, USA (November 2008)
Commander, United States Central Command
Robert M. Gates (May 2008)
United States Secretary of Defense
General Michael V. Hayden, USAF (November 2007)
Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Admiral Vern Clark, USN (Ret.) (November 2006)
Former Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy
General Eric K. Shinseki, USA (Ret.) (November 2006)
Former Chief of Staff, United States Army
Admiral William J. Fallon, USN (October 2006)
Commander, United States Pacific Command
General John P. Abizaid, USA (October 2005)
Commander, United States Central Command
General James L. Jones, USMC (November 2004)
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe / Commander, United States European Command
General Tommy R. Franks, USA (Ret.) (May 2004)
Former Commander, United States Central Command
General Richard B. Myers, USAF (November 2003)
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Donald H. Rumsfeld (May 2003)
United States Secretary of Defense
General Henry H. Shelton, USA (May 2001)
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
William S. Cohen (May 1999)
United States Secretary of Defense
William J. Perry (May 1996)
United States Secretary of Defense
Admiral William Crowe, USN (Ret.) (1990)
Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Business Leaders
Gwynne Shotwell (November 2021)
President & COO, SpaceX
Alex Gorsky (April 2021)
Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson
Michael F. Roman (October 2020)
Chairman of the Board & CEO, 3M
Thomas J. Campbell (June 2020)
Founder & Managing Partner, DC Capital Partners
Eren & Fatih Ozmen (June 2020)
Owners, Sierra Nevada Corporation
Charles E. Phillips (October 2019)
Chairman, Infor
Ross Perot, Jr. (April 2019)
Chairman, The Perot Companies and Hillwood
Roger T. Staubach (October 2018)
Former Executive Chairman, JLL Americas
Chuck Robbins (April 2018)
Chairman & CEO, Cisco
Greg Q. Brown (October 2017)
Chairman & CEO, Motorola Solutions
Ray C. Davis (April 2017)
Principal Owner & Co-Chairman, Texas Rangers
Chairman & CEO, Avatar Investments, L.P.
Jeff Bezos (October 2016)
Founder, Amazon.com and Blue Origin
Robert A. Belfer (April 2016)
Chairman, Belfer Management LLC
Joseph J. Plumeri (November 2015)
Vice Chairman, First Data Corporation
Kevin A. Plank (April 2015)
Founder, Chairman and CEO, Under Armour, Inc.
Reginald K. Brack (October 2014)
Chairman Emeritus, Time, Inc.
Craig J. Mundie (October 2013)
Senior Advisor to the CEO, Microsoft Corporation
Andrew N. Liveris (May 2013)
Chairman, President & CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
Frank J. Bisignano (October 2012)
Co-Chief Operating Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Mortgage Banking CEO, Chase
MG Josue “Joe” Robles, Jr., USA (Ret.) (May 2012)
President & CEO, USAA
Dr. Dana G. Mead, Ph.D. (November 2011)
Former Chairman, MIT Corporation / Former Chairman & CEO, Tenneco Corp
Joseph E. Robert, Jr. (May 2011)
Founder & Executive Chairman, J.E. Robert Companies
Mary and David Boies (November 2010)
Robert E. Rubin (November 2007)
Former Secretary of the Treasury / Chairman of the Executive Committee, Citigroup, Inc.
Norman R. Augustine (May 2006)
Former Chairman & CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
Frederick W. Smith (May 2005)
Chairman, President & CEO, FedEx Corporation
Ross Perot (March 2004)
Chairman Emeritus, Perot Systems, Inc.
Maurice R. Greenberg (November 2003)
Chairman & CEO, American International Group, Inc.
Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. (November 2002)
Vice Chairman & President, Verizon Communications
BG Peter M. Dawkins, USA (Ret.) (November 2000)
Vice Chairman, Citigroup Private Banking
James V. Kimsey (May 2000)
Co-Founder, America Online, Inc.
Denis A. Bovin (November 1999)
Vice Chairman, Investment Banking, Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.
Raphael Benaroya (November 1999)
Chairman & CEO, United Retail Group, Inc.
John C. Whitehead (November 1998)
Chairman, AEA Investors
The Chemical Manufacturers Assoc. (November 1997)
Bernard L. Schwartz (November 1996)
Chairman & CEO, Loral Corporation
Lawrence S. Huntington (November 1995)
Chairman & CEO, Fiduciary Trust International
Josh S. Weston (November 1994)
Chairman & CEO, Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
Sidney Harman (May 1994)
Chairman & CEO, Harman International Industries, Inc.
Anne W. Halsted (1993)
Commissioner, Port of San Francisco
Roswell L. Gilpatric (November 1993)
Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP
Stanley A. Weiss (1992)
Chairman & Founder, Business Executives for National Security
Tom Peters (1988)
Thomas J. Watson, Jr. (1986)
Chairman & CEO (Ret.), IBM Corporation
J. Peter Grace (1986)
President & CEO, W.R. Grace & Company, Inc.
Public Servants
Dr. Anthony Fauci (April 2021)
Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Michael R. Pompeo (April 2019)
United States Secretary of State
Gary A. Sinise (April 2019)
Founder, President & Chairman, Gary Sinise Foundation
Michael R. Bloomberg (October 2017)
Former Mayor of New York City
Founder & CEO, Bloomberg L.P.
General John F. Kelly, USMC (Ret.) (October 2017)
White House Chief of Staff
Former United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Former Commander, United States Southern Command
Captain Scott J. Kelly, USN (Ret.) (October 2016)
American Astronaut
Jeh C. Johnson (November 2015)
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Raymond W. Kelly (October 2014)
Former Commissioner, New York City Police Department / President of Risk Management Services, Cushman & Wakefield
Representative Mike Rogers (May 2014)
Chairman, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. House of Representatives
Hillary Rodham Clinton (November 2009)
United States Secretary of State
Senator Carl Levin (May 2009)
Senator John Warner (May 2009)
Samuel W. Bodman (November 2005)
United States Secretary of Energy
Dr. Condoleezza Rice (May 2002)
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
Senator John McCain (May 1998)
Vice President Albert Gore, Jr. (May 1997)
Senator Sam Nunn (May 1995)
Senator Richard G. Lugar (May 1995)
President Jimmy Carter (1992)
Senator Charles E. Grassley (1986)
Representative Mel Levine (1986)
James Fallows (1986)
Washington Editor, The Atlantic Monthly