About Us
General Paul J. Kern
General Paul J. Kern became President and Chief Operating Officer of AM GENERAL on August of 2008. Since retiring from the Army in 2005, he has held the Class of 1950 Chair for Advanced Technology at West Point, was a Vice President for Battelle, and a Director on the Anteon and EDO boards. He is currently a Director with ITT and iRobot Corporations, a Senior Counselor with The Cohen Group, and a member of the CoVant Board of Managers.
During his 37 year Army career, he held numerous critical positions. From October 2001 to November 2004 he served as Commanding General of the Army Materiel Command following four years as the Department of the Army Military Deputy for Research, Development and Acquisition. Gen. Kern commanded operational units starting as a platoon leader and troop commander in the Blackhorse Regiment in Vietnam. In 1991 he led the 2nd Brigade of the 24th Infantry Division in the attack into Iraq and in 1996-97 was the Commanding General of the 4th Infantry Division, Mechanized, where they developed the organization, tactics, techniques, and equipment implemented in today’s networked force. In June 2004, the Secretary of Defense tapped Gen. Kern to lead the military’s internal investigation into the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, a compelling assignment that he handled with integrity and resolve.
Gen. Kern graduated from West Point in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He holds Master Degrees in Civil and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006. He is a National Security Fellow from the J.F. Kennedy School, Harvard University and served as the Senior Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense, William Perry. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Association of the United States Army, the Society of Automotive Engineers, the Board of Visitors at the Army War College, an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California and is on the Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board at the University of Michigan.
He has a unique career which blends technical expertise, combat operations, program management, policy development, and advisor to senior political leaders.