Glenn S. Gerstell is a sought-after speaker, advisor and thought leader on cybersecurity and the role of technology in national security, privacy, and geo-political affairs. He served as the General Counsel of the National Security Agency and Central Security Service from 2015 to 2020, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations.

In his role at NSA, Gerstell participated in the development of national cybersecurity policy and helped address the entire range of national security threats facing our country from counterterrorism to disinformation from foreign adversaries. Gerstell testified and participated in Congressional hearings and engaged directly with Cabinet members and other senior leaders in the Intelligence Community, the Departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, and other departments in the Executive Branch. He is a recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the NSA Distinguished Civilian Service Medal.

Gerstell is currently a non-resident Senior Adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, as well as a consultant and corporate board member in a variety of industries. Gerstell also serves as a member of the National Academies of Sciences Future of Encryption Committee and the Experts board for The Cipher Brief.

Gerstell previously served on the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council, which reports to the president and the secretary of homeland security on security threats to the nation’s infrastructure, as well as on the District of Columbia Homeland Security Commission.

Prior to the NSA, Gerstell practiced law at Milbank LLP, where he focused on the global telecommunications industry, international business strategy and political-risk analysis, and served as the managing partner of the firm’s Washington D.C., Singapore, and Hong Kong offices (residing in Asia for eight years). He is an honors graduate of Columbia University School of Law.

Gerstell’s insights are distinguished by his experience with — and forward thinking about — the intersections between technology and national security and privacy issues, including the urgent need to anticipate rapid advancements in technology.

Glenn S. Gerstell delivers refreshingly candid and insightful talks informed by four decades of leadership at the highest levels of national security policy and international law. He challenges his audiences to respond to the new risks and changing realities posed by rapidly evolving technology, including how cyber-technology is shaping the future of privacy, politics, and national security.

Gerstell has spoken at cybersecurity conferences sponsored by RSA in San Francisco, at conferences of the Cloud Security Alliance and the Consumer Electronics Show, public policy organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council, at federal judicial conferences, and at a wide range of universities including Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Duke, New York University, Stanford University, University of Chicago, University of Texas, and University of Virginia.

Drawing on his experience in national security and cybersecurity matters, and his almost four decades of serving as one of the world’s leading lawyers in international finance — counseling some of the world’s most prominent institutions in a wide range of industries, from airlines to telecommunications — Glenn S. Gerstell advises governments, NGOs, leading corporations, and major institutions on how best to understand, predict, and prepare for rapid technological, social, and geopolitical changes.

His relationships with leaders of all three branches of our national government help give him special insight to how national policy is developed in response to those changes. These engagements include talks and in-depth dialogues with key leaders, and tailored strategic consulting services.