Areas of Expertise
Intelligence Operations | International Security | Insider Threat Detection | Counterintelligence Risk Assessment | Crisis Management | Counterespionage
About Mark
During his 34-year CIA career, Mark Kelton served in a wide range of leadership roles, including more than 16 years overseas. At The Chertoff Group, he advises senior executives and brings together the private and public sectors to solve complex national security challenges.
Career Highlights
- Concluded his CIA career as Chief of the Counterintelligence Center, where he led the team that protected the nation’s most closely guarded secrets
- Completed four assignments as Chief of Station in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Pakistan, gaining deep, firsthand insight into how intelligence supports national security in complex and contested environments
- Co-creator of “Inside the CIA: Secrets & Spies,” the National Geographic and Disney+ docuseries that premiered in 2026, in which his own episode takes viewers inside the hunt for bin Laden
- Appeared in “CIA vs. Bin Ladin: First In” and contributed to “Spy Ops,” “SpyCraft” and “Terrorism Close Calls”
- Author of the forthcoming “Honor Among Spies: A Tale of Cold War Espionage”
- Recipient of numerous awards and commendations, including the CIA Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the CIA Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the DNI Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA Intelligence Medal of Merit, the CIA Director’s Award and the Presidential Rank Award
Boards and Affiliations
Advisory Board, Siemens Government Technologies | Advisory Board, Day & Zimmermann Government Services | Board of Directors, Big Media TV | Former Board Chair, Spookstock Foundation, benefiting the families of fallen CIA and Special Operations personnel
Education
M.A. in National Security Policy Studies, U.S. Naval War College | M.A. in International Relations and National Security Studies, The Fletcher School at Tufts University | B.A., University of New Hampshire