Francis X. Taylor is a nonresident senior fellow with the Forward Defense practice at the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. He also serves as the president of Cambridge Global Advisors and as the president and chief executive officer of FXTaylor Associates, LLC.

Taylor retired from the US government in January 2017 after serving as under secretary for intelligence and analysis at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Taylor previously served as the assistant secretary of state for diplomatic security and director of the Office of Foreign Missions in the US Department of State, with a rank of ambassador. Taylor also served as the US ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism for the US Department of State from July 2001 to November 2002. From March 2005 to November 2013, Taylor served as vice president and as the first global chief security officer for the General Electric Company. He served for thirty-one years in the US military, rising to the rank of brigadier general and later heading the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

Taylor has received numerous awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, and the Department of State Distinguished Honor Award. The University of Notre Dame Alumni Association honored his military service with the Father William Corby Distinguished Military Service Award. He currently serves on the board of directors of several non-profit organizations and teaches at the University of Notre Dame. Taylor received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1970. He received his Air Force commission as a Distinguished Graduate of the Notre Dame Air Force ROTC program. He also has a masters degree in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame.