Marshall Billingslea

Biography

Marshall Billingslea is a Senior Advisor to CNQ Global Advisors, a global geopolitical and strategic advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He is also a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and a senior mentor with Air Force Global Strike Command. He is Chairman of the Board of RT Bank and the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr. He serves as a senior advisor to companies in the fintech and defense sectors, including HawkAI, Certus Core, and AMS Group.

Prior to joining Hudson Institute, Mr. Billingslea was the special presidential envoy for arms control at the U.S. Department of State, holding the personal rank of ambassador. In this capacity, he led arms control negotiations and worked with partners and allies in Europe and Asia on the development and deployment of defensive capabilities.

Before joining the State Department, Mr. Billingslea served as the assistant secretary for terrorist financing at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he built international coalitions and led U.S. efforts to counter illicit financial activities around the globe. In 2018, he was selected as president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)—the global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing body—and co-chaired the global Counter-ISIS Finance Group and multiple bilateral negotiating fora with friendly and allied nations. Earlier in his career, he served for more than six years as the senior professional staff member for national security affairs on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Before rejoining the U.S. government in 2017, Mr. Billingslea spent more than eight years in the private sector. Between 2001 and 2009, he served in several senior roles within the Department of Defense and at NATO, including as deputy undersecretary of the Navy and assistant secretary general for defense investment at NATO.

Mr. Billingslea holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MA in law and diplomacy from Tufts University. He has been decorated with numerous international awards, including the Cross of Terra Mariana by the President of Estonia; the Knight’s Cross by the President of Poland; the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Czech Republic; and the Knight’s Cross of Lithuania by the President of Lithuania. He has also been awarded the Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service by the U.S. Secretary of Defense, the Distinguished Public Service Medal by the U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and the Treasury Medal in recognition of his work at the Department of the Treasury.