General John W. Nicholson Jr.

Retired U.S. Army General John Nicholson is the Chief Executive for Lockheed Martin in the Middle
East and was appointed in December 2021. Residing in Abu Dhabi, he is responsible for the company’s
strategy, operations, and growth in the UAE, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon
and Pakistan.

 

General Nicholson last served as the Commander of all U.S. Forces and the 41 nation NATO- led
Coalition in Afghanistan from 2016 to 2018. Before that, he served as Commander of
NATO’s Allied Land Command and Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division. Commissioned in
1982, he served as an infantry officer at all levels with over six years in combat. He lived in
Europe and the Middle East for more than twelve years, forging close relationships with security
leaders in those regions.

 

Following retirement from active duty in November 2018, he became the President of the Pentagon
Federal Credit Union Foundation supporting post 9-11 combat veterans, service members, caregivers,
and their families. The foundation created an educational program and venture capital fund which
trained and invested in veteran entrepreneurs.

 

He has been a mentor to U.S. general officers through the U.S. National Defense University and to
NATO flag officers through the NATO Senior Mentor Program. He is a member of the Harvard’s Belfer
Center Elbe Group which has maintained a track two dialogue between retired Russian and American
senior officials. He has previously been an adjunct faculty member in Harvard’s John F. Kennedy
School Senior Executives in National and International Security Program.

 

General Nicholson holds Bachelor’s Degrees from the United States Military Academy and Georgetown
University and Master’s Degrees from the School for Advanced Military Studies
and the National Defense University as well as two honorary doctorate degrees.