| Robert C. Bonner is the
Senior Principal of Sentinel HS Group, a consulting firm in Washington DC that
provides strategic advice on homeland security issues. Additionally, Mr. Bonner
is a former partner of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he currently serves
as counsel.
Mr. Bonner was appointed by
President George W. Bush to serve as Commissioner of U.S. Customs Service in
September 2001. From 2003 until 2006, Mr.
Bonner served as the first Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), the agency of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for
managing, controlling and securing the United States' borders, while
facilitating global trade and travel.
Mr. Bonner oversaw the four-agency merger that created CBP into a
single, unified border agency for the U.S.
Shortly after the terrorist
attacks of 9/11, Mr. Bonner created National Targeting Center and launched the
unprecedented Container Security Initiative (CSI) and the Customs-Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT); programs that continue to revolutionize
the security and more efficient movement of trade around the world. Using similar risk management principles, he
developed and expanded trusted traveler programs, - NEXUS, SENTRI and GLOBAL
ENTRY. At the same time Mr. Bonner focused on securing the cross-border
movement of people and goods from the terrorist threat, he also obtained
authorization to double the size of CBP’s Border Patrol and developed a
national border control strategy to secure America's borders.
Before his tenure as CBP
Commissioner, Bonner’s government service included serving as Administrator of
the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) where he developed the Kingpin Strategy for attacking major
drug trafficking organizations. During
his career, he also served as a U.S. District Judge and as the U.S. Attorney
for the Central District of California.
Mr. Bonner is
co-chair of the Pacific Council of International Policy – COMEXI Task Force on
the management of the U.S. – Mexico border.
He recently served on the Council on Foreign Relations’ bipartisan task
force on immigration reform and on LA Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission regarding
security of the Los Angeles International Airport against terrorist
attacks. He has written for Foreign Affairs and other publications
regarding Mexico’s powerful drug cartels.
He is a member of Caltech’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Audit and
Compliance Committee. He is the former
Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council for Region One and a member
of Secretary Napolitano’s Southwest Border Task Force.
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