Former Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge on Monday publicly announced his new advisory company, which will focus on security issues.
The company is called Ridge Global LLC and will be a global advisory firm based in D.C. Ridge has brought on other industry veterans such as analyst Gen. Barry McCaffrey, former U.S. homeland security adviser Gen. John Gordon, former White House adviser Howard Schmidt and former Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins.
Ridge has been developing the firm for the past year, traveling for the past six months to areas such as Hong Kong and the Balkans to interview potential clients, he said.
“Having been governor and homeland security secretary gets you into a lot of doors,” Ridge said Monday.
The firm already has signed up clients such as the government of Albania, which is seeking assistance in preparation of joining NATO by 2008, Ridge said. Ridge also is working with a company called Mag Shoe, which has developed a technology that scans shoes so people do not have to take off their footwear when going through security at airports.
The company will focus on such areas as negotiating supply chain disruptions and counter-terrorism measures, Ridge said. The firm has several strategic partnerships in the works but is not yet disclosing which companies the agreements are with, Ridge said.
