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United States From commanding elite military units to advising global businesses, General Stanley A. McChrystal now shares his profound insights on leadership, teamwork, and navigating complex challenges with corporate and public audiences worldwide.
General Stan McChrystal co-founded McChrystal Group in January 2011 to deliver innovative leadership solutions to businesses globally. The company aims to apply his military experience, especially from transforming organizations in complex environments, to business strategy. He serves as a partner in this Alexandria, Virginia-based consulting firm. The firm’s slogan is "Bringing Lessons from the Battlefield to Boardroom."
After leaving the Army in 2010, McChrystal joined Yale University as a Senior Fellow of the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He teaches a graduate-level seminar on "Leadership," with some spots reserved for undergraduates.
In November 2010, JetBlue Airways announced that McChrystal would join its board of directors, contributing his leadership and strategic insights to the airline.
On February 16, 2011, Navistar International announced that McChrystal would join its board of directors, leveraging his experience in strategic leadership.
McChrystal is the chairman of the Board of Siemens Government Technologies.
McChrystal is on the strategic advisory board of Knowledge International, which is a licensed arms dealer and whose parent company is EAI, a business close to the United Arab Emirates government.
In 2011, McChrystal joined Spirit of America, a 501(c)(3) organization that supports American service members abroad and the local people they help, as an Advisory Board Member.
In January 2016, McChrystal became the chair of the Board of Service Year Alliance, an organization merged from ServiceNation, the Franklin Project at The Aspen Institute, and the Service Year Exchange. The alliance aims to make a year of full-time service a common opportunity for young Americans.
FiscalNote announced in 2016 that McChrystal had joined the company's board of directors.
In May 2020, McChrystal was reported to be advising Defeat Disinfo, a new political action committee supporting the Democratic Party. The PAC aimed to use technology to counter misinformation, particularly regarding Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal recently participated in an interview with PBS, discussing current Pentagon leadership and his new book, 'On Character: Choices that Define a Life.'
Stanley A. McChrystal was born on August 14, 1954, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, into a military family. His father achieved the rank of major general during the post-World War II occupation of Germany. McChrystal followed in his father’s footsteps, attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and graduating as a second lieutenant in 1976. Early in his career, he undertook a series of infantry assignments, earning promotions to first lieutenant in 1978 and captain after Special Forces school and advanced infantry officer training. In the 1980s, he served as an intelligence officer with the United Nations Command in South Korea and as a major with the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He furthered his education by earning a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College in 1990. Following this, he was assigned to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), where he was deployed to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War (1991), overseeing the search for Iraqi mobile Scud missile launchers. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel shortly after the conflict.
Throughout the 1990s, McChrystal continued to gain experience, holding commands in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 75th Ranger Regiment. In 1996, he was promoted to full colonel. He also engaged in academic pursuits, studying at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and later serving as a military fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1999. In 2000, he returned to the 82nd Airborne and was promoted to brigadier general in 2001. After the September 11 attacks, McChrystal served as chief of staff for the combined joint task force in Afghanistan. He then moved to the Pentagon as vice director of the Joint Staff in 2002 before assuming command of JSOC in 2003. During his tenure at JSOC, he oversaw significant missions during the Iraq War, including the capture of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and the air strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in 2006. He quietly received his second star in 2004 and his third in 2006, leading an era of increased cooperation between JSOC and the Central Intelligence Agency.
In June 2009, McChrystal was appointed commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, receiving his fourth star. He implemented a comprehensive counterinsurgency campaign, advocating a “hearts and minds” approach to reduce civilian deaths and promote security. However, his military career concluded in June 2010 when he was relieved of command and subsequently retired, following controversial remarks made by him and his staff to a reporter. Following his retirement, McChrystal transitioned into the private sector and academia. He co-founded the McChrystal Group in 2011, a company offering business consulting services, and has taught courses in international relations at Yale University. He has also authored and co-authored several books applying his military experience to leadership and business strategy.
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