# Kim E. Petersen

Kim Eberhard Petersen (born 1956) is a security and counter-terrorism expert who has served on the staff of U.S. Secretaries of State Henry A. Kissinger and Alexander M. Haig and was Chief of Security Operations for the presidential transition of George H. W. Bush. He served as a captain in the US Army Special Forces and as a covert agent with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Security Dynamics, a strategic consulting firm, and co-owner of Xenex Motorsports. In the Middle East, he has consulted with leaders of Dubai, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and Jordan, and has been featured on various media outlets such as CNN, BBC, NPR, and 60 Minutes.

## Early life and education

Born in 1956 in Arlington, Virginia, Petersen grew up learning English as a second language after his family immigrated from Denmark. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in philosophy, where he served in student government and on the Dean's Advisory Council. Through Army ROTC co-enrollment at the University of Richmond, he graduated from the Army Airborne School and commanded the ROTC Ranger Company.
Petersen later earned a masters-level diploma in Global Business from the University of Oxford.His thesis, Providing Maritime Security Services to the Emerging Cruise Ship Market in Cuba, received a postgraduate 'Pass with Distinction.' He was elected class valedictorian. Petersen graduated from several Harvard Business School executive programs and the HarvardX Cybersecurity Risk Management program.

## Military service

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve, Petersen first served in Company A, 2nd Battalion, 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne) as Executive Officer of Operational Detachment A211. His detachment commander was then Captain Kenneth P. Bergquist, Jr. His advanced military training included the Special Forces Military Freefall School, the U.S. Marine Corps Special Amphibious Reconnaissance School, and the U.S. Air Force Dynamics of International Terrorism course. Later designated as a Foreign Area Officer, Petersen specialized in Northern European and Northwest Russian operations. Following a military parachuting service-related injury, he was discharged as a service-disabled veteran.

## Career

In 1978, Petersen joined former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's staff as Special Assistant for Security. He later provided security for the Shah of Iran's family during their exile. In 1982, he was appointed senior investigator for the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs under Senator Alan K. Simpson and subsequently directed security for former Secretary of State Alexander Haig. Petersen was later named Security Administrator at the U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation, a federal government entity, where he worked alongside Robert Gambino, former CIA Director of Security.
In 1988, Petersen was appointed by President-elect George H. W. Bush to his Presidential Transition Team as Chief of Security Operations. He reported to the President through Robert Gambino and Russell Miller, former CIA Chief of Station in Copenhagen. Petersen would later receive the President's Certificate of Appreciation for Service to The White House, signed by the President & Vice President. Petersen was subsequently appointed Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (M&RA) with a focus on special operations.
In 1997, Petersen was recruited to be the first Director of Security at Princess Cruises, where he established global security and antiterrorism operations. While at Princess Cruises, Petersen was elected as Governor and later the Executive Director of the Maritime Security Council, an international organization representing 70% of the world's merchant shipping.Upon his retirement, he was named Governor Emeritus. Following Princess, he was recruited by Renaissance Cruises as the company's first Director of Security.
Petersen served as an adjunct senior instructor at the U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and as a visiting professor at the United Nation's World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden.
Petersen received the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for "promoting maritime counterterrorism and raising the standards of transportation security throughout the world." Petersen has also provided expert testimony on counterterrorism and security legislation before the U.S. Senate.
In 2000, Petersen founded SeaSecure, which became the largest U.S.-based maritime security consultancy, providing post-9/11 security protocols for ports worldwide. He also established Mobius Security Group and conducted security assessments for foreign governments in rail, aviation, and maritime sectors.
Petersen met with foreign leaders regarding security issues, including Jordan's King Abdullah II, Dubai's leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Yemen's Ahmed Ali Saleh (son of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh), Lebanon's State Security Director General Hasan Fawaz, Djibouti's Minister of Energy & Water, Egypt's Minister of Tourism, Egypt's Director of the Pyramids and Minister of Antiquities Zahi Hawass, Dominica's Prime Minister Edison James, and Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, among others.
In 2007, TranSystems acquired Mobius, and named Petersen president of the security line of business and a member of the board of directors.
In 2012, Petersen revived Security Dynamics LLC, a Fort Lauderdale-based consultancy.
Petersen co-founded DynoGlobal in 2017, a company specializing in international sectors, including defense, and Xenex Motorsports in 2022, a high-performance automotive firm.

## CIA affiliation

In 2022, journalist William Watson suggested that Petersen had served as a CIA agent at some point in his career. At the time, Petersen remarked that the allegations were "pure fantasy." In a follow-up interview in 2024, Petersen acknowledged that he had engaged in espionage activities for the CIA for almost a decade. He worked as a covert agent conducting clandestine operations for the CIA's Directorate of Operations in the Near and Far East, as well as Africa. Petersen did not specify the dates of this work.

## Awards and recognition

* President's Certificate of Appreciation for Service to The White House: The President & Vice President of the United States.
* Distinguished Service Award in Counterterrorism and Security, presented by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation and the Director of Intelligence and Security.
* Governor Emeritus, Maritime Security Council.

## Personal

Petersen's father, Niels Eberhard Petersen, was a leader in the Danish resistance movement during WWII and was authorized the Danish Freedom Fighter medal by Queen Margrethe II for service to Denmark during its occupation by Nazi Germany.
Petersen has described himself as a "radical centrist who is both a fiscal conservative and social liberal." A registered Republican for 40 years, he left the party in 2016, registering instead as an Independent.
He has a son named Alexander.