Kim E. Petersen

Kim Eberhard Petersen (born 1956) is a security and counter-terrorism expert who has served on the staff of U.S. Secretaries of State Henry A. Kissinger and Alexander M. Haig and was Chief of Security Operations for the presidential transition of George H. W. Bush. He served as a captain in the US Army Special Forces He is the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Security Dynamics, a strategic consulting firm, and co-owner of Xenex Motorsports. In the Middle East, he has consulted with leaders of Dubai, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, and Jordan, and has been featured on various media outlets such as CNN, BBC, NPR, and 60 Minutes.

Early life and education Born in 1956 in Arlington, Virginia, Petersen grew up learning English as a second language after his family immigrated from Denmark. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in philosophy, where he served in student government and on the Dean's Advisory Council. While at Princess Cruises, Petersen was elected as Governor and later the Executive Director of the Maritime Security Council, an international organization representing 70% of the world's merchant shipping. Upon his retirement, he was named Governor Emeritus.

Petersen served as an adjunct senior instructor at the U.S. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) and as a visiting professor at the United Nation's World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden.

Petersen received the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Secretary of Transportation for "promoting maritime counterterrorism and raising the standards of transportation security throughout the world."

In 2000, Petersen founded SeaSecure, which became the largest U.S.-based maritime security consultancy, providing post-9/11 security protocols for ports worldwide. He also established Mobius Security Group and conducted security assessments for foreign governments in rail, aviation, and maritime sectors.

In 2012, Petersen revived Security Dynamics LLC, a Fort Lauderdale-based consultancy.

Petersen co-founded DynoGlobal in 2017, a company specializing in international sectors, including defense, and Xenex Motorsports in 2022, a high-performance automotive firm.

CIA affiliation In 2022, journalist William Watson suggested that Petersen had served as a CIA agent at some point in his career. At the time, Petersen remarked that the allegations were "pure fantasy." In a follow-up interview in 2024, Petersen acknowledged that he had engaged in espionage activities for the CIA for almost a decade. He worked as a covert agent conducting clandestine operations for the CIA's Directorate of Operations in the Near and Far East, as well as Africa. Petersen did not specify the dates of this work.

Personal life Petersen's father, Niels Eberhard Petersen, was a leader in the Danish resistance movement during WWII and was authorized the Danish Freedom Fighter medal by Queen Margrethe II for service to Denmark during its occupation by Nazi Germany.

Petersen has described himself as a "radical centrist who is both a fiscal conservative and social liberal." A registered Republican for 40 years, he left the party in 2016, registering instead as an Independent.

He has a son named Alexander.