Eric Chewning, the head of the Pentagon’s industrial policy, has been named the Defense Department’s next chief of staff.
Chewning, 41, has been the deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy since October 2017, meant to help maintain the defense industry in support of national defense. He will now be the chief of staff to acting secretary Patrick Shanahan, who took over the building on January 1.
"Mr. Chewning brings an array of military and industry experience to the role," the Pentagon’s acting chief spokesperson Charles Summers said in the release.
According to the statement, Chewning was an investment banker at Morgan Stanley before leaving to enlist in the Army following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and was later commissioned as an Army intelligence officer. He then returned to the private sector for a decade, and was a partner at McKinsey immediately before joining DOD, the Hill reported.
The Pentagon’s former chief of staff, Rear Adm. Kevin Sweeney, resigned on Saturday, saying in a brief statement that he planned to return to the private sector.
