Admiral Michael Franken

Vice Admiral Michael T. Franken (USN(ret)) commanded a ship, a squadron of ships, an international task group of ships, submarines, and aircraft, and a combined joint task force ashore. He has worked in the Joint Staff J5 (strategic plans and policy), commanded forces in E. Africa, served in plans, policy, and strategy for three years at U.S. Central Command and two years at U.S. Africa Command. He worked on

Pacific Command issues twice and was the director of a defense agency. Franken presented the orders book to the Secretary of Defense and served as legislative person for the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy. He was the Dept of the Navy’s Chief of Legis Affairs and served in two DoD think tanks. He was a guest lecturer for the Foreign Language Institute in 2018-2019.

Franken is CEO of Chartwell Strategic Advisors, LLC, a U.S.-based consulting company working on behalf of private industry, FFRDCs, DoD, the Department of State, and public institutions in Diplomacy, Development, and Defense areas.

Franken graduated from the College of Engineering at University of Nebraska and the College of Physics at the Naval Postgraduate School. He took executive education at the Brookings Institution, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Babson College, and the Darden School. Franken is from rural NW Iowa.