2026 Military Ball Honoree

ADMIRAL MICHAEL G. MULLEN, U.S. NAVY (Retired)
17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & 28th Chief of Naval Operations

Admiral Mike Mullen is President of MGM Consulting, which provides counsel to global clients on issues related to geopolitical developments, national security interests, and strategic leadership.

He served as the 28th Chief of Naval Operations from 2005-2007 and as the 17th Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff for Presidents Bush and Obama from 2007 to 2011. He led the military through two combat ground wars and during a critical time of change and transition.

Admiral Mullen advanced the rapid fielding of innovative technologies, championed emerging and enduring global partnerships, and promoted new methods for countering terrorism. He spearheaded the elimination of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, ushering in, for the first time in U.S. military history, the open service of gay and lesbian men and women.

Admiral Mullen shares a particularly meaningful connection with Columbia University. His 2010 Columbia University World Leaders Forum event with former University President Lee C. Bollinger played an important role in bridging the longstanding divide between higher education and the military over ROTC, helping to achieve the historic rapprochement that led to the reinstatement of Naval ROTC at Columbia in 2011 after a decades-long absence. Columbia has also recognized his steadfast commitment to strengthening ties between military and civilian communities, including his engagement with the University’s thriving community of student veterans and reservists. For his extraordinary record of service, sacrifice, courage, and leadership, Columbia University awarded Admiral Mullen an honorary Doctor of Laws in 2017.

Admiral Mullen received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Harvard University and is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School, a Distinguished Alumni of Harvard Business School, a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, and served as a Trustee at Caltech.

Since his retirement from the United States Navy in November 2011, after 43 years of distinguished and honorable service, Admiral Mullen served on the corporate boards of General Motors from 2013-2018 and Sprint from 2013-2019. He continues to serve on numerous boards, including Bloomberg Philanthropies, Nikon, Naval Academy Foundation, Naval Postgraduate School Foundation, and a wide array of nonprofit organizations dedicated to improving the growth, development, recovery, and transition of military veterans and their families.

Additionally, he served on SECDEF’s Defense Innovation Board and taught National Security Decision-Making and Policy at the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton University from 2012-2018. Admiral Mullen currently teaches advanced ethics and leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to First Class Midshipmen every Fall Semester.