Mark Hertling

Lieutenant General (retired) Mark Hertling spent 38 years as a tanker and cavalryman, serving for 3+ years in combat and finishing his career as the Commander of US Army, Europe where he led over 60,000 soldiers and partnered with the governments and armies of 51 nations. Since retiring from the Army in 2013, he’s been a senior VP of a large healthcare organization, a CNN national security analyst, a developer of a successful leadership training program used by dozens of healthcare systems, and a Professor of Practice in Leadership at a nationally, top-rated business school.

Hertling shapes each of his dynamic presentations with facts, humor, common sense, and audience interaction. He shapes his topic to address the precise themes client organization wants to address. His Socratic approach brings a unique dynamic to keynote and interactive presentations.

Hertling is a 1975 graduate of West Point, and he has master’s degrees from Indiana University (MS in Kinesiology), the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies (Master of Military Arts and Sciences), and the National Defense University (Master of Strategic and International Studies). In 2019 he received a Doctor of Business Administration from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College, where he was recently named as a Professor of Practice in Strategic Leadership.

During his military career, Hertling led soldiers at all levels of command, with a career that was balanced between operational and training assignments. His awards and decorations include three Distinguished Service Medals, five Bronze Stars, Army Commendation Medals for Valor, the Purple Heart, the Parachutist and Combat Action Badges, and awards from Poland, Romania, Germany, Ukraine, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. After his military career he has worked for several healthcare organizations, and he has been appointed to two Presidential Commissions (the President’s Council on Fitness and the American Battle Monuments Commission). He served as an adjunct scholar at West Point’s Modern War Institute, he is now the Senior Advisor for Character Development at the West Point Prep School, and he is a member of the Dean’s Alliance at Indiana University’s School of Public Health.

Hertling is most known for his serious, pragmatic and succinct commentary on national security and military operations on CNN and CNN International, where he has served since Army retirement. But his audiences know him for his dynamic, passionate, and engaging presentations on a variety of subjects.

Hertling is married to his best friend, Sue, and they have two sons and seven grandchildren. He enjoys biking, swimming and reading.