Robert Harward

Harward’s Gouge is informed by 40 years of highly decorated service in the military, followed by another decade as a top executive in the global defense industry. During his war-fighting experiences in Bosnia, Panama, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen, he never lost a single man under his command and in business, always hit the numbers.

After leading invasions of Afghanistan in October 2001 and Iraq in March 2003, he served on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush and then as Deputy Commander of US Central Command under General James Mattis. President Trump asked Harward if he would be his National Security advisor, which is the honor of a lifetime, so his decision to graciously decline based on timing, was The Gouge for Bob, as service is the greatest privilege.

Now based in Abu Dhabi, Harward serves as Executive Vice President for International Business and Strategy at Shield AI, which is forging the future of aerospace and defense technology with artificial intelligence. But Harward’s experience runs much wider and deeper than that. While growing up in Iran in the 1970s, he learned Farsi and hitchhiked throughout Asia and the Middle East; his gruelling workout is performed on at least five continents; and his latest adventure involved setting a world record for parachuting onto Mount Everest.