Press Release
from Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Paul Kolbe Named Director of the Belfer Center’s Intelligence Project

Cambridge, MA – Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs is pleased to welcome Paul Kolbe as the new Director of the Center’s Intelligence Project. As Director, Kolbe will build on the work of former Director Rolf Mowatt-Larssen to advance policy-relevant knowledge in intelligence areas and help prepare future leaders in the field. The Intelligence Project is home to an elite roster of former senior intelligence officials, including James Clapper and Mike Rogers, and hosts rising stars from intelligence and national security organizations around the world through the prestigious Recanati-Kaplan Fellows Program.

“We’re very fortunate to have Paul run the Intelligence Project,” said Belfer Center Director Ash Carter. “His distinguished record in government and business exemplifies the kind of public service we aim to cultivate.”

“Intelligence is central to the critical issues our world faces today,” said Kolbe. “I'm excited to explore how the Belfer Center can help prepare a new generation of policymakers to use intelligence to shape their decisions and help tackle the most pressing public challenges.”  

Kolbe served for 25 years in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in a variety of foreign and domestic roles, including as Chief of Station, Chief/Central Eurasia Division, and Balkans Group Chief. His overseas assignments included operational and leadership roles in the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Southeast Asia, Southern Africa, and Central Europe. He was a member of the Senior Intelligence Service and is a recipient of the Intelligence Medal of Merit and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal.

Following his CIA career, Kolbe was Director for Intelligence and Analysis at BP, where he built an enterprise-wide intelligence capability focused on geopolitical threats, strategic cyber threats, and support to commercial operations. Clients included C-suite leadership, global business units, security networks, and legal teams. Kolbe is a Senior Advisor to the Crumpton Group, Capstone Global, and Spycraft Entertainment. He is also a member of the Cipher Brief network of experts and is an alumnus of Michigan State University’s James Madison College, where he studied International Relations. Kolbe has been married to Maureen Farrell Kolbe for 32 years and is a proud father of three children.