Chris Kolenda

CHRISTOPHER D. KOLENDA, PH.D., founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy. He works with leaders who want to apply insights from h

CHRISTOPHER D. KOLENDA, PH.D., founder of the Strategic Leaders Academy. He works with leaders who want to apply insights from history and military operations to transform their businesses. A West Point graduate, recognized combat leader, and retired Army colonel, he defied conventional wisdom in Afghanistan by motivating a large insurgent group to switch sides, the only example of such success in the 20-year history of the war. As a trusted adviser to three four-star generals and two undersecretaries of defense, he became the first American to have both fought the Taliban as a commander in combat and negotiated with them in peace talks. He holds a Ph.D. in war studies from King’s College, London, and is the author of Zero-Sum Victory: What We're Getting Wrong About War (University Press of Kentucky; October 26, 2021) and Leadership: The Warrior’s Art (Stackpole Books; Second Edition, September 20, 2021), a trusted anthology that’s been in print for over 20 years and helped tens of thousands of leaders succeed in combat and business. His unique warrior-diplomacy has been featured in New York Times bestselling books and media outlets including CNN, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Learn more at StrategicLeadersAcademy.com.