A. B. Krongard
Encyclopedia
Alvin Bernard "Buzzy" Krongard (more commonly "A.B.", born 1936) was the Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
. He was appointed by George Tenet
on March 16, 2001.
The Executive Director is the third ranking position within the CIA and the incumbent functions essentially as the Chief Operating Officer of the Agency. For three years prior, Krongard had served as Counselor to the DCI.
A longtime consultant to DCIs, Krongard joined the Agency full time in February 1998, following a 29-year business career. During his private sector career, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Alex. Brown & Sons
, the nation’s oldest investment banking firm, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Bankers Trust
.
Krongard received an A.B. degree (1958) with honors from Princeton University
and a Juris Doctor
degree with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law
. While at Princeton, Krongard played lacrosse
. In 1980, he was inducted as a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Krongard played for the storied amateur Mount Washington Lacrosse Club
. He served three years of active duty as an infantry
officer in the United States Marine Corps
.
Krongard resigned from the CIA shortly after the arrival of DCI Porter Goss in September 2004. While at the CIA, he was the connection between Erik Prince
of Blackwater Security Consulting
and the CIA. Through his influence, Blackwater was able to receive its first black contract.
On March 18, 2005, Krongard was appointed as an outside US director to the Global Board of Directors organized to oversee and coordinate the worldwide operations of DLA Piper
, one of the world’s leading law firms.
. Unlike "Buzzy", Howard does not use his nickname ("Cookie") professionally.
Krongard is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and resides in Baltimore, Maryland and McLean, Virginia
. He was married to the late Patricia A. Lion and has three adult sons including Alexander Lion Krongard (US Navy), Randall Harris Krongard (film maker).
Patrica Lion's sister, Margo Lion
is a Broadway theatre
producer.
On 31 July 2004 Krongard married Cheryl Gordon (née Cheryl Gruetzmacher), at that time a senior executive for Apollo Management
. She has since become a director of Legg Mason
and US Airways
.
-related insider trading
because of timely Wall Street
trades made through the investment bank he used to head, Alex. Brown.
, investigating allegations of improper interference by Krongard's brother, Howard, in Justice Department investigations of Blackwater and other State Department contractors, Chairman Henry Waxman
stated that A. B. Krongard was on "Blackwater's advisory board". Howard Krongard at first denied that his brother had any connection with Blackwater, saying:
However, when confronted with a July 26 letter from Blackwater founder and CEO Erik Prince
to Buzzy Krongard asking him to join Blackwater's advisory board, followed by a September 5 letter welcoming Krongard to the board and a report from Rep. Elijah Cummings
stating that Buzz Krongard had been expected to attend a Blackwater board meeting earlier that week, Krongard said he had called his brother during the ensuing break in the hearings and learned of this conflict of interest
for the first time, saying "I'm not my brother's keeper, and we don't discuss our business with each other". He then recused himself from the investigation. Committee chairman Henry Waxman
issued a memorandum summarizing the discrepancies between the two brothers' recollections of what Buzzy told Howard.
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. He was appointed by George Tenet
George Tenet
George John Tenet was the Director of Central Intelligence for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, and is Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University....
on March 16, 2001.
The Executive Director is the third ranking position within the CIA and the incumbent functions essentially as the Chief Operating Officer of the Agency. For three years prior, Krongard had served as Counselor to the DCI.
A longtime consultant to DCIs, Krongard joined the Agency full time in February 1998, following a 29-year business career. During his private sector career, he served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons
Alex. Brown & Sons was the first investment bank in the United States, founded by Alexander Brown in 1800 and based in Baltimore, Maryland. The firm was acquired by Bankers Trust in 1997 to form BT Alex...
, the nation’s oldest investment banking firm, and Vice Chairman of the Board of Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust
Bankers Trust was an historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1998.-History:A consortium of banks created Bankers Trust to perform trust company services for their clients....
.
Krongard received an A.B. degree (1958) with honors from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
and a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
. While at Princeton, Krongard played lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. In 1980, he was inducted as a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Krongard played for the storied amateur Mount Washington Lacrosse Club
Mount Washington Lacrosse Club
The Mount Washington Lacrosse Club is an amateur field lacrosse club based in Baltimore, Maryland. It is one of the most successful and well-known lacrosse clubs in history, which at one point dominated the sport at both the collegiate and club level. The team is sometimes referred to by the...
. He served three years of active duty as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
officer in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
.
Krongard resigned from the CIA shortly after the arrival of DCI Porter Goss in September 2004. While at the CIA, he was the connection between Erik Prince
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...
of Blackwater Security Consulting
Blackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
and the CIA. Through his influence, Blackwater was able to receive its first black contract.
On March 18, 2005, Krongard was appointed as an outside US director to the Global Board of Directors organized to oversee and coordinate the worldwide operations of DLA Piper
DLA Piper
DLA Piper is a global law firm with 76 offices across 30 countries and more than 4,200 lawyers. As of May 2011, it was the largest law firm in the world by number of attorneys. The firm's global revenues were $1.92 billion in 2009-2010. The firm is composed of two partnerships, DLA Piper...
, one of the world’s leading law firms.
Family
Krongard is the brother of State Department Inspector General Howard KrongardHoward Krongard
Howard J. "Cookie" Krongard , was an appointee in the government of President George W. Bush. Krongard was head of the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of State. His position was known as the State Inspector General or State IG...
. Unlike "Buzzy", Howard does not use his nickname ("Cookie") professionally.
Krongard is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and resides in Baltimore, Maryland and McLean, Virginia
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
. He was married to the late Patricia A. Lion and has three adult sons including Alexander Lion Krongard (US Navy), Randall Harris Krongard (film maker).
Patrica Lion's sister, Margo Lion
Margo Lion
Margo Lion is a producer for plays and musicals both on Broadway and off-Broadway. She is known for her role in producing the stage and screen hit Hairspray. Combined, the works Lion produced have won 20 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.-Biography:...
is a Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
producer.
On 31 July 2004 Krongard married Cheryl Gordon (née Cheryl Gruetzmacher), at that time a senior executive for Apollo Management
Apollo Management
Apollo Global Management, LLC is a private equity investment firm, founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker Leon Black. The firm specializes in leveraged buyout transactions and purchases of distressed securities involving corporate restructuring, special situations and industry...
. She has since become a director of Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
and US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
.
9/11
Krongard's name was brought up in conjunction with investigations into suspected 9/11September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
-related insider trading
Insider trading
Insider trading is the trading of a corporation's stock or other securities by individuals with potential access to non-public information about the company...
because of timely Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
trades made through the investment bank he used to head, Alex. Brown.
Blackwater
At a November 14, 2007 House oversight committee hearing about BlackwaterBlackwater Worldwide
Xe Services LLC, better known by its former names, Blackwater USA and Blackwater Worldwide, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark.. Xe is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors...
, investigating allegations of improper interference by Krongard's brother, Howard, in Justice Department investigations of Blackwater and other State Department contractors, Chairman Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
stated that A. B. Krongard was on "Blackwater's advisory board". Howard Krongard at first denied that his brother had any connection with Blackwater, saying:
- I can tell you, very frankly, I am not aware of any financial interest or position he has with respect to Blackwater. When these ugly rumors started recently, I specifically asked him. I do not believe it is true that he is a member of the advisory board that you stated. And that's something I think I need to say.
However, when confronted with a July 26 letter from Blackwater founder and CEO Erik Prince
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince is the founder and formerly the sole owner of the private military company Xe Services LLC, formerly Blackwater Worldwide. On March 2, 2009, Prince announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Xe. He is currently living abroad in the United Arab Emirates, where he is creating a...
to Buzzy Krongard asking him to join Blackwater's advisory board, followed by a September 5 letter welcoming Krongard to the board and a report from Rep. Elijah Cummings
Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene Cummings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just over half of Baltimore City, as well as most of Howard County...
stating that Buzz Krongard had been expected to attend a Blackwater board meeting earlier that week, Krongard said he had called his brother during the ensuing break in the hearings and learned of this conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
for the first time, saying "I'm not my brother's keeper, and we don't discuss our business with each other". He then recused himself from the investigation. Committee chairman Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
issued a memorandum summarizing the discrepancies between the two brothers' recollections of what Buzzy told Howard.