Stephen R. Kappes is currently a Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Torch Hill Investment Partners in Washington DC and serves on the Board of Directors at Sprint. He retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the Deputy Director after 30 years of service. From 2006 to 2010 he was directly involved in the leadership and management of all elements of the Agency under two different Directors and two Presidential administrations. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council.

From 2005 to 2006 Mr. Kappes was Chief Operating Officer of ArmorGroup International and a member of the Board of Directors of ArmorGroup International plc.

From 2002 to November 2004, Mr. Kappes served as the Associate Deputy Director of Operations and then the Deputy Director of Operations for the CIA. During that period he led over one-third of the CIs globally deployed personnel and directed the Agencs global espionage operations, relationships with foreign intelligence partners and National Security Council mandated covert action operations.

Mr. Kappes led in Washington and Libya the US government operation that contributed to the Libyan government renunciation of their weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Kappes also served from 2000 to 2002 as the Associate Deputy Director of Operations for Counterintelligence during which time he led the Agency’s operations and technical programs against counterintelligence threats. He served as an operations officer in South Asian and Middle Eastern countries and was the Deputy Chief of an overseas operational element focused on Iran. He was the Chief of Station in a Middle Eastern country during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the Chief of Station in a large Central Eurasian country. Mr. Kappes studied and used the Farsi and Russian languages. His awards include The Presidential National Security Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, The CIA Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, Two Distinguished Intelligence Medals, Three Directors Medals and the Donovan Award for Operational Excellence.

He served five years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps and ended his career as a Captain. Mr. Kappes received a Bachelor of Science degree in Anatomy and Chemistry from Ohio University and a Master of Science degree in Pathology from Ohio State University.

Mr. Kappes is a native of Ohio and owns a home in Fairfax, Virginia. He is married to the former Kathleen Morgan and they have two children, one of which is a Marine officer and the other a doctor in the US Army.