Christopher Burnham

Military service, political, and private sector activities

Burnham joined the United States Marine Corps in April 1980,^[9] and was a veteran of the first Gulf War. He led one of the first infantry units to reach and liberate Kuwait City in 1991,^[8] and received honors including the Combat Action Ribbon.^[10] In January 1986, he was appointed to the Stamford Republican Town Committee, and later that year challenged longtime political operative Constantine Brandi for the chairmanship of that committee.^[7] From 1987 to 1992 he was a representative in the Connecticut General Assembly, being elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives three times, and serving as assistant minority leader.^[8][6]

Burnham was elected Connecticut State Treasurer in 1994,^[11] defeating the Democratic incumbent Joseph M. Suggs Jr.^[12] During his tenure, Burnham advocated structural changes to professionalize the office and reduce its dependence on electoral politics.^[13] He proposed creation of a six-member board of trustees drawn from the private sector to advise the treasurer on investment decisions involving the state employee pension fund, then valued at $14.5 billion.^[13] He also argued that the office should be appointive rather than elective, and that holders of the position should meet minimum professional qualifications in finance.^[13] Burnham reduced staff in the department, which was controversial, and said that he had improved the performance of an underperforming pension fund.^[13] Burnham resigned effective July 22, 1997, to become president and chief executive officer of Columbus Circle Investors, an investment firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. Because Burnham had previously hired the firm to manage $150 million of the state's pension funds, his decision to join the company came under criticism.^[14] In the private sector, Burnham also worked as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston and Advest Corporate Finance.

Returning to public service in the first administration of President George W. Bush, Burnham served as acting Under Secretary of State for Management for Secretary Condoleezza Rice, and as Assistant Secretary of State for resource management and chief financial officer of the State Department for General Colin Powell. In 2005, he was awarded the United States Secretary of State's Award for Distinguished Service.^[10]

United Nations

Burnham joined the United Nations in May 2005, when Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Burnham as U.N. Under Secretary-General for Management.^[15][16] He established the first UN Ethics Office, the first United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee, the adoption of new International Public Sector Accounting Standards, the first comprehensive consolidated annual report in the history of the United Nations, and a new whistleblower protection policy that received independent recognition as the "gold standard".^[17]

During his time as under secretary general for management at the UN, Burnham uncovered extensive evidence of fraud involving the purchase of equipment for peacekeeping operations amounting to tens of millions of dollars.^[18] The investigation led to the suspension with pay of eight officials from the offices of peacekeeping and management.^[19]

Post-United Nations career

In 2016, Burnham served on the transition team of President Donald Trump at the U.S. State Department.^[11]

In 2020, Burnham was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB).^[20][21]

In the 2020s, Burnham has served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Cambridge Global Capital, LLC, a venture capital investment firm, and the associated Cambridge Analytics, a geopolitical analysis firm.^[2] By 2022, he had also become chairman of the board of EN+ Group.^[3]