Booz Allen pipes aboard Coast Guard admiral as senior VP

Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen has joined Booz Allen Hamilton as a senior vice president in the firm’s justice and homeland security business, the company announced today.

Allen will lead development of thought leadership and client engagement regarding the direction of law enforcement and homeland security, according to the Nov. 28 company announcement.

In addition to his main focus in the homeland security market, Allen will contribute to other firm initiatives in energy, defense and international markets.

As commandant of the Coast Guard and a four-star admiral, Allen led an organization of 90,000 active-duty military, civilian staffers, reservists and volunteer auxiliaries. In addition, he led a major effort to update the Coast Guard’s command and logistics organizations and address future maritime challenges.

Upon his retirement from the Coast Guard in May 2010, he served as the national incident commander for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as a member of the senior executive service within the Homeland Security Department.

Since leaving government, Allen has been a senior fellow with Rand Corp., where he focused on building resiliency in communities, disaster response, maritime safety and security, border security, maritime policy, defense support to civilian authorities, and information sharing.

He will continue to serve as a presidential appointee on the National Science Foundation’s Blue Ribbon panel on Antarctica. He also serves as a director at the Partnership for Public Service and the Coast Guard Foundation.

Allen has a bachelor’s degree from the Coast Guard Academy, a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University, and a master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.

Booz Allen Hamilton, of McLean, Va., ranks No. 9 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.