Paul Schneider is a defense and aerospace consultant. He was a Principal in The Chertoff Group, an organization that provides security, risk management and merger/acquisition advisory services for government and corporate clients around the world. Previously, he was confirmed by the Senate as the Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. In this role Mr. Schneider served as the DHS Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations of the department until February 2009.

He currently leads several critical studies a year for various Department of Defense and other organizations. Most recently they have included the F-35, CVN 78, RDT&E portfolios and cybersecurity.

Formed in 2003 DHS has approximately 220,000 employees, with an annual budget in FY 2009 of $52.6 billion. Its seven operating components and over twenty supporting organizations span a range of homeland security missions, including preparedness, intelligence sharing, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, and emergency management.

He previously served the Department as acting Deputy Secretary and as the Under Secretary for Management. As the Under Secretary for Management he was responsible for the department's budget, appropriations, expenditure of funds, accounting and finance; acquisition and procurement; human resources and personnel; information technology systems; facilities, property, equipment, and other material resources; and identification and tracking of performance measurements.

Prior to coming to DHS, Schneider served as a defense and aerospace consultant where he led a congressionally directed study for NASA on the costs, risks and benefits of human space flight and a study of open architectures for the U.S. Navy. He led an independent review of the presidential helicopter replacement program, played a role in the administration's effort to develop the plan for the Next Generation Air Transportation System and led reviews of Defense network centric warfare and interoperability programs, data links and major US Coast Guard acquisition programs.

Since leaving DHS he has led several studies for the DoD, Army, Navy, DTRA, Office of Naval Intelligence, DHS and the Missile Defense Agency on major acquisition programs.

Schneider served as the Senior Acquisition Executive of the National Security Agency (NSA) from October 2002 to September 2003, where he was responsible for oversight and execution of signals intelligence and information security development and acquisition programs.

Schneider served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition from July 1998 to September 2002. He was responsible for the oversight and execution of Navy and Marine Corps research, development and acquisition programs with an annual budget in excess of $30 billion. During the administration transition he served as the acting Assistant Secretary of the Navy for 8 months.

From October 1994 to June 1998 Schneider served as the Executive Director and Senior Civilian of the Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy's largest shore organization. In this position, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of an $18 billion a year, 70,000- person organization, including shipyards, laboratories, and engineering and test facilities.

Schneider began his career in 1965 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a Project Engineer in the Submarine Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery systems branch.

From 1966 to 1981 he served in several positions in submarine design, construction and overhaul programs. His last assignment was managing the Trident ship design and the integration of weapons and combat systems. He also served as Program Manager for a Submarine Advanced Technology Program.

He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 1981, when he served as the Deputy Director of NAVSEA'S Auxiliary Systems Sub-Group in the Engineering Directorate.

From March 1986 to March 1991, he was the Executive Director of the Amphibious, Auxiliary, Mine and Sealift Ships Directorate, responsible for ship design, acquisition, maintenance, modernization and life cycle support of these ships. During this period, he also served as Program Manager for two classified programs. From March 1991 to October 1994, he was the Executive Director of the Surface Ship Directorate with expanded responsibilities to include aircraft carriers and in-service surface combatants, combat systems, security assistance and foreign military sales and the Navy's diving and salvage program.

Schneider holds a degree in nuclear engineering and is a member of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE), Armed forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), Navy League, Association of Old Crows and the Naval Institute. He currently serves on several corporate and laboratory boards, advisory groups, is an Intermittent Professor at Defense Acquisition University (DAU); and he also served as the Chairman of the National Academy of Sciences and Engineering Naval Studies Board.

During his service with the Federal Government, Schneider has been the recipient of the Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award and the Distinguished Civilian Service Award; the Department of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award (twice) and the President's Award for Distinguished Civilian Service. He also received three Presidential Rank Awards. He received significant awards from the Director, National Security Agency, Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Secretary of Homeland Security. He is also a graduate of the MIT Seminar XXI National Security Studies Program.