Senior Military Leaders Join Forces with BENS as Distinguished Senior Fellows

At a Glance:

• BENS appointed Admiral Christopher Grady, USN (Ret.), General Anthony Cotton, USAF (Ret.), and Vice Admiral Frank “Trey” Whitworth, USN (Ret.) as Distinguished Senior Fellows.
  
• These distinguished military figures will lead BENS delegations at strategic engagements across the nation, strengthening the bridge between America’s senior business community and national security leadership.
  
• Their appointments reflect BENS’s increasing prominence as a trusted convener across sectors. Their involvement will also accelerate how BENS members contribute to the nation’s most pressing security challenges — guided by the leaders who know firsthand where private sector expertise is needed most.
  

Washington, D.C. — Underscoring the trust BENS has earned as a convener between the private sector and national security community, three of the nation’s senior military leaders joined the organization as Distinguished Senior Fellows: Admiral Christopher Grady, USN (ret.), former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; General Anthony Cotton, USAF (ret.), former Commander of U.S. Strategic Command; and Vice Admiral Frank “Trey” Whitworth, USN (ret.), former Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The Fellows will focus on advancing dialogue with industry on today’s national security challenges. They will engage with members at strategic engagements with industry and partners across the nation. The Fellows will also advise on priorities related to BENS’s three flagship campaigns: Mobilizing Private Capital, Strengthening Supply Chains, and Homeland Resilience and Response.

Together, these three leaders bring decades of experience at the intersection of military operations, strategic deterrence, and intelligence.

BENS Distinguished Senior Fellows

• Admiral Christopher Grady, USN (ret.) concluded more than four decades of active service as the 12th Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s second-highest ranking military officer. A career Surface Warfare Officer, Admiral Grady commanded at every level, including Carrier Strike Group One, U.S. Sixth Fleet, and U.S. Fleet Forces Command. He also served as deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council at the White House. His experience spans joint warfighting, strategic competition, and the integration of national elements of power across the full spectrum of modern conflict.
  
• General Anthony Cotton, USAF (ret.) served as the 12th Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, where he was responsible for the nation’s strategic deterrence enterprise, including overseeing a force of more than 41,000 military and civilian personnel in regard to nuclear operations, global strike, and missile defense. General Cotton also served as Commander of Air Force Global Strike Command. General Cotton was recognized as BENS’s 2025 Eisenhower Award honoree.
  
• Vice Admiral Frank “Trey” Whitworth, USN (ret.) served as the eighth Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, leading one of the nation’s most consequential intelligence organizations during a period of accelerating competition in technology and geospatial analysis. Whitworth also served as Director of Intelligence for The Joint Staff, U.S. Africa Command, Joint Special Operations Command, and the Special Operations Task Force in Afghanistan during three deployments supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Their involvement with BENS, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, reflects the public-private partnership that the organization was built to foster — connecting the strategic thinking of those who have led at the highest levels of government and military service with the operational expertise of America’s senior business community. BENS engagements are focused exclusively on advancing dialogue between private sector leaders and the national security community, not advocacy or business development.

“Leaders of this caliber engage where it matters most, and their decision to join BENS speaks to the respect and trust this organization has earned within the defense and national security community,” said General Timothy Ray, USAF (ret.), President and CEO of BENS. “Admiral Grady, General Cotton, and Vice Admiral Whitworth each bring irreplaceable insight, and their involvement reflects what they know from experience: that today’s security landscape demands collaboration across every sector.”

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