Alex Wagner
Former Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Army
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Mr. Alex Wagner was named Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the United States Army effective November 3, 2015. As Chief of Staff, he helped manage the transition of the Secretary of the Army Eric Fanning, built his leadership team, and oversaw the day-to-day staff activities. In addition, he also coordinated with the Office of Secretary of Defense and other military departments.
Prior to his appointment as the Chief of Staff, Mr. Wagner helped lead Uber's Policy Development efforts, managing a team that developed a narrative demonstrating the impact of Uber’s technology for communities of color, women, urban planning, and the environment.
Previously, Mr. Wagner was Senior Advisor for Rule of Law and Detainee Policy at the U.S. Department of Defense. In that role, he served as the deputy head of the U.S. Delegation to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Review Conference at the UN in Geneva and supported the DOD's efforts to advance a political and legislative strategy to guide the development of a principled, credible law of war detention framework for DOD operations in Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan. At the beginning of the Obama administraion, Mr. Wagner served as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, working on the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review and as an advisor on the U.S. delegation to the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
Prior to joining the Department of Defense, Mr. Wagner practiced law at Preston Gates & Ellis in Seattle focusing on intellectual property enforcement, civil rights law, and public policy. He was the lead associate in a First Amendment challenge to Washington State’s “Top Two” Primary--a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Wagner worked as a reporter and policy analyst for the Arms Control Association in Washington, D.C.
Mr. Wagner received his Juris Doctor at Georgetown University Law Center, where he has held an appointment as an adjunct professor since 2011. He also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University.
Mr. Wagner was awarded the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service in 2015, named one of the best lawyers under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association in 2012, and is a fellow of the Truman National Security Project.