Admiral Winnefeld graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and served for 37 years in the United States Navy. He was an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School and commanded a fighter squadron, the amphibious ship USS CLEVELAND, and the aircraft carrier USS ENTERPRISE.
As a flag officer, he commanded a carrier strike group, two NATO commands, the U.S. SIXTH Fleet, U.S. NORTHERN Command, and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. He retired in 2015 after serving as the ninth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Admiral Winnefeld is a director or advisory board member for several companies operating in a broad spectrum of business sectors. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, where he is also a member of the Engineering Hall of Fame. He is a non-resident fellow at the Belfer Center at Harvard University. He is also the co-founder of SAFE (Stop the Addiction Fatality Epidemic) Project, which may be found at SAFEProject.us.