Major Bob Kinder (U.S. Army, ret.) is a distinguished combat veteran, strategic leader, and successful entrepreneur whose 24 years of service across U.S. Air Force and Army Special Operations shaped some of America’s most consequential national-security missions. His career spans elite counterterrorism commands in Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan; senior advisory roles to America’s top military leaders; and the founding and growth of several high-impact private-sector ventures.

During his military service, Bob commanded and advised some of our Nation’s most specialized counterterrorism and irregular-warfare units. His leadership contributed directly to major combat operations and intelligence breakthroughs. After retiring from the Army, he became a trusted senior advisor to commanders, policymakers, and intelligence leaders confronting the most complex asymmetric threats facing the United States.

As a senior advisor with the Wexford Group International, Bob played pivotal roles in the creation and operational success of the U.S. Army’s new Asymmetric Warfare Group (AWG). Selected as Special Advisor and strategic planner to the AWG Commander, he helped shape its global mission to mitigate emerging asymmetric threats. His work designing and leading joint interagency fusion centers, used as a central platform for operations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, directly supported high-stakes national missions, including the operation targeting Osama bin Laden. He also advised combat leaders during President George W. Bush’s 2007 surge in Baghdad, and authored the Army’s Personality Targeting Program, which became the foundational methodology used to train U.S. forces in counterinsurgency intelligence operations. These efforts significantly accelerated the dismantling of Al Qaeda’s network in Iraq.

Bob was later recruited as a partner and President of U.S. Operations for Drop Test International (DTI), a global, Veteran-Owned consulting firm specializing in counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and complex security challenges. There, he conceptualized and led the innovative $72 million Counterinsurgency Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT)—a first-of-its-kind program that deployed more than 50 experts to advise Generals Stanley McChrystal and David Petraeus during the height of the Afghan campaign. His teams helped create the stability required to transition security responsibilities to the Afghan government. Under his leadership, DTI’s revenues grew from $500K to more than $15M in the first year, including the successful capture of the $250M Asymmetric Warfare Group contract.

To expand his influence on U.S. foreign and security policy, Bob earned a Master of Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, then joined a Boston-based investment bank as a Managing Director. There he founded and led the Aerospace, Defense & Security practice, advising private equity investors and CEOs in special operations, intelligence, cyber-security, and defense technology sectors. He secured capital-market and sell-side mandates exceeding $100 million in enterprise value.

During this work, Bob helped raise growth capital for SixGen, Inc., an emerging full-spectrum cyber-security firm. Following the raise, he joined SixGen as Partner and President, where he doubled company revenue in his first year by modernizing operations, expanding client engagement, and elevating the company’s strategic footprint in offensive and defensive cyber operations.

Driven by his passion to lead a mission-focused organization of his own, Bob founded The Kinder Group, LLC and Signal of New England, building them into industry-leading security services providers serving residential, commercial, retail, and institutional clients across New England. Under his leadership, both companies grew rapidly, with Signal of New England growing to over $10m in annual revenue in just five years before being successfully sold in 2024.

Bob is also a nationally recognized communicator—an incisive writer, published commentator, and sought-after media analyst on national security, counterterrorism, and leadership. He serves as a keynote speaker and leadership development facilitator for Fortune 500 corporations, global technology firms, and public-sector organizations, including Google, MetLife, AFCEA, Gladstone Partners, and others. His speaking engagements draw on decades of combat leadership, organizational transformation, and strategic decision-making under extreme pressure.

He holds a B.S. in Professional Aeronautics from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School.