Kyle and Secretary Bill Cohen met in 2018 when Kyle spoke at The Cohen Group. Now, they sit down together to discuss his childhood in small town Maine, religious discrimination, leadership in politics and doing the right thing even when it’s difficult. Secretary Cohen and members of The Cohen Group have mentored and strategically supported Kyle since their friendship began.
Bill Cohen served for 24 years as a Congressman and Senator from Maine from 1972-1996. In 1996, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve as the 20th Secretary of Defense from 1997-2001, the first time that a President of one party selected an elected official of another party for a Cabinet position. A published author of thirteen works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, Secretary Cohen is the son of a working-class Maine family who rose to the highest levels in government.
He is a World Affairs Analyst for BBC News providing analysis and commentary on major domestic and international news stories, and is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In addition to serving as Chairman of The Cohen Group, he also launched the William S. Cohen Institute for Leadership and Public Service at the University of Maine which "trains future leaders in a variety of disciplines to be ethical, visionary, innovative, civil, thoughtful and independent-minded in the service of Maine, the United States, and the world."