Randy Beardsworth brings more than 30 years of strategic and operational experience, with expertise in maritime security, maritime domain awareness, border and transportation security, law enforcement, and immigration policy. In his current capacity as a Principal at Catalyst Partners, he helps clients with strategic planning and business development.
Since President Obama’s election, Beardsworth has been engaged in various transition activities, including the transition team’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) review. He was also the co-lead for Presidential Study Directive 1, and his recommendations for combining the NSC and HSC staffs and redesigning the combined National Security Staff were fully implemented. As a member of the Homeland Security Advisory System Task Force, he made recommendations to DHS Secretary Napolitano on revising the color code alert system.
Before joining Catalyst Partners, Beardsworth was a Vice President at Analytic Services Inc., a parent company to the DHS Homeland Security Institute. He continues to serve as a senior advisor for a security consulting firm on several international security strategy projects.
As an Assistant Secretary for Strategic Plans, Beardsworth created a long-range vision for DHS. He also oversaw DHS’s counterterrorism strategic planning, as well as the creation and initial oversight of the Program Management Office for the Secretary’s Secure Border Initiative.
In 2002, Beardsworth was named to the transition team that started DHS. He helped develop and integrate the Border and Transportation Security Directorate’s functional structure. Once established, he became its Director of Operations and was later named the directorate’s Acting Under Secretary. In this capacity, he oversaw the four agencies that make up the directorate: Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
Prior to his service with DHS, Beardsworth served in two administrations as the Director for Defense Policy on the National Security Council staff, where his primary responsibilities included oceans policy and deployment readiness issues. Before entering civilian government service, Beardsworth served in the Coast Guard, where he held command of four ships throughout his career and completed numerous tours ashore.
Beardsworth worked on U.S.– Cuba security issues, including illicit drugs, illegal migrants and money laundering, during a one-year International Security Program fellowship at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. While a fellow in the National Security Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he researched relationships between nongovernmental organizations and the military during complex emergencies requiring humanitarian response.
Beardsworth holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado and a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He has spoken before numerous conferences and audiences, including the Business Executives for National Security, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the COMNAVCENT maritime conference and the National Preparedness Leadership Institute at Harvard.
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