Chuck Gagnon

Vice President, National Security Solutions

Mr. Chuck Gagnon joined KGS in 2007 and serves as Vice President of the firm’s National Security Solutions practice. He has 30+ years leadership, national security policy, strategic planning, program management and business development experience as well as a sustained record of excellence creating and leading high-performance organizations. At KGS he is responsible for leadership, management and growth of an organization providing program management, strategic planning, information assurance and analytical services to Government clients.

Prior to joining KGS, Mr. Gagnon served as Vice President of a privately-held services company where he created new business opportunities for a corporation with the largest aggregate of counterterrorism expertise outside the U.S. Government. He leveraged core knowledge of mission-critical issues to design and implement solutions customized to meet Government and corporate clients’ needs – both at home and abroad.

Mr. Gagnon was Vice President with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) for 8 years where he served in leadership and business management positions in both national security policy and education and training business units. Working in SAIC’s Center for National Security Issues, he was co-leader of a seminal 1999 homeland defense study evaluating the nation’s vulnerability to terrorist attack. The study focused on deterrence and potential military and diplomatic responses to attack from Islamic fundamentalists or political separatists. Mr. Gagnon also led SAIC’s strategic planning services to the Department of Defense in response to the September 11 attacks leading to the creation and operation of U.S. Northern Command.

Before joining SAIC, Mr. Gagnon served 22 years in the United States Air Force retiring at the rank of Colonel. While in the Air Force, he twice served as a commander and served in the European and Asia/Pacific theaters. His assignments included command of an F-16 aircraft maintenance squadron; Deputy Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commander in Chief, US Pacific Command; and Chief of the Air Force’s Regional Plans and Issues Division. He also created and led a 35-person multi-functional, process-driven team to achieve the #1 national security goal of the AF’s largest command – obtain access to airspace and ranges to train America’s combat aircrews. Mr. Gagnon successfully planned and negotiated the creation of the only two new parcels of airspace and ranges the AF obtained in 18 years – both successfully withstood challenges in Federal court funded by the relentless efforts of organized and well-financed public and private interest groups.

Mr. Gagnon led Air Force staffing of the President’s National Security Strategy; Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff’s National Military Strategy and Joint Military Net Assessment; as well as SECDEF’s Annual Report to the President and Congress. For the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Gagnon led a multi-service task force that planned and executed the largest Defense Ministers’ Summit ever held.

He earned a B.S., cum laude, in Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Gagnon also holds masters degrees in International Relations; National Security and Strategic Studies; and Government with a certificate in National Security Studies from Troy State University, the Naval War College and Georgetown University respectively. Mr. Gagnon was a national security fellow for 1 year at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.