Christopher Bancroft Burnham (born 1956) is an American business executive, public servant, and politician. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of Cambridge Global Capital, LLC and chairman of the board of

EN+ Group EN or En or en may refer to: Businesses * Bouygues (stock symbol EN) * Island Rail Corridor, formerly known as the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (reporting mark EN) * Euronews, a news television and internet channel Language and writing * N, 14t ...

. He has served as Under Secretary General for Management of the United Nations, Assistant Secretary of State for Resource Management and chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of State. He was a three-term Member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with each ...

Connecticut State Treasurer The Connecticut State Treasurer serves the office of treasurer for the state of Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachus ...

as well as vice chairman of

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

Asset Management and global co-head of private equity.

Early life and education

Burnham was raised in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. His father, Alexander O. Burnham, was the managing editor of

Dodd, Mead & Company Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990. History Origins In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. ...

and an author. Burnham earned an undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and a master's degree in public administration from

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Career

Burnham is a veteran of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and a veteran of the first

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. He led one of the first infantry units to reach and liberate

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

in 1991. From 1987 to 1992 he was a representative in the Connecticut General Assembly. Burnham was elected

in 1994, defeating the Democratic incumbent Joseph M. Suggs Jr. Burnham resigned effective July 22, 1997, to become president and chief executive officer of Columbus Circle Investors, an investment firm based in

. 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. Burnham was an investment banker with

Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) was the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York. The company was created by the merger of First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse Group in 1 ...

and Advest Corporate Finance. He was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives three times, and served as assistant minority leader. In 2020, Burnham was nominated by President Donald Trump to be the member of the

Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is an independent agency of the United States government by the Federal Employees Retirement System Act of 1986 (FERSA). It has roughly 270 employees. It was established to administer the Thrift Sav ...

(FRTIB).

United Nations

Burnham joined the United Nations in 2005 after serving as acting Under Secretary of State for Management for Secretary

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

, and as Assistant Secretary of State for resource management and chief financial officer of the State Department for General

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...

. 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.” 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. The investigation led to the suspension with pay of eight officials from the offices of peacekeeping and management.

Personal life

Burnham married Courtney Anne Bauer in 1993. Burnham was a resident of Stamford and

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

, Connecticut. He served on President Donald Trump's transition team at the U.S. State Department in 2016.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Christopher 1956 births Living people American chief executives of financial services companies American chief operating officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Gulf War Businesspeople from New York City Harvard Kennedy School alumni Kent School alumni Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Military personnel from New York City People from Stamford, Connecticut State treasurers of Connecticut United States foreign policy United States Marine Corps reservists Washington and Lee University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople United States Marine Corps colonels United States assistant secretaries of state 20th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly