Michael Pompeo in the only public servant in American history to have served both as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as the secretary of state. While serving as America’s chief diplomat, he confronted threats posed by China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, and played a crucial role in strengthening American alliances in the Middle East, all while putting religious freedom and human rights at the center of American foreign policy. In this conversation with Jewish Leadership Conference co-chair Roger Hertog, Secretary Pompeo discusses the influence of his religious faith, the future of America’s confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party, and the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Sec. Mike Pompeo
Michael R. Pompeo is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute, where his work focuses on promoting U.S. national security, technological leadership, and global engagement. Sec. Pompeo was the 70th United States Secretary of State, serving under President Donald Trump from 2018 to 2021, following his role as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2017 to 2018. Sec. Pompeo is a former United States Army officer and was a member of the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017, representing Kansas's 4th congressional district. He served on the House Intelligence Committee, as well as the Energy and Commerce Committee and House Select Benghazi Committee.
Prior to his service in Congress, Sec. Pompeo founded Thayer Aerospace and later became President of Sentry International, an oilfield equipment manufacturing, distribution, and service company. Sec. Pompeo graduated first in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986 and served as a cavalry officer patrolling the Iron Curtain before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also served with the 2nd Squadron, 7th Cavalry in the US Army’s Fourth Infantry Division. After leaving active duty, Sec. Pompeo graduated from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is married to Susan Pompeo and has one son, Nick.
Roger Hertog
Roger Hertog is the president of the Hertog Foundation, and chairman emeritus of Tikvah. One of the founding partners of the investment research and management firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., which he joined in 1968, Mr. Hertog served as the firm’s President before its merger with Alliance Capital Management in 2000. In 2006, he retired from the successor company, AllianceBernstein, and is currently vice-chairman emeritus. An alumnus of the City College of New York, Mr. Hertog was previously chairman of The New-York Historical Society and The Manhattan Institute; he has also served on the boards of the American Enterprise Institute, the New York Philharmonic, the New York Public Library, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the Washington Institute for Near-East Policy. In 2007, Mr. Hertog was awarded the Medal of the National Endowment for the Humanities in recognition of his philanthropic efforts. In 2010, he received the William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership.