BIOGRAPHY OF
MR. CHARLES P. NEMFAKOS
In March 2007, Mr. Nemfakos was appointed a Senior Fellow at the RAND Corporation after spending
four years leading Nemfakos Partners LLC, founded in September of 2003 to provide support to private
sector and governmental entities, both in the U.S. and internationally, in dealing with the demands of the
emerging defense/security realities and the pressures of the global marketplace. Drawing on his
experiences and accomplishments as a federal and private sector executive, Mr. Nemfakos provides
research, strategically oriented analyses, support and advice to a broad variety of RAND clients as they
tackle the transformational demands of the national and international environment. This activity in
dealing with large public policy and fundamental institutional issues is a logical extension of his efforts
while with Nemfakos Partners, LLC. There, he provided analyses and planning support for the
reengineering required for companies and governments to respond to the transformation of customers and
their requirements, and helped rationalize the strategic development of products and programs to
anticipate needs in the global marketplace. Previously, Mr. Nemfakos was an executive with Lockheed
Martin Corporation, Naval Electronics and Surveillance Systems, directing efforts aimed at rationalizing
product lines and providing program focus to enhance competitive strategies. He led efforts seeking new
directions and opportunities for growth through the application of innovation, creativity and expanded
teamwork among the various companies in the Corporation so as to anticipate the demands of the on-
going transformational process – both in industry and across the range of customer needs.
During his Federal Service, Mr. Nemfakos served as a Management Intern with rotational assignments
throughout the Executive and Legislative Branches of Government, as a budget analyst in the Naval
Material Commands and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller). He then served
as a Senior Executive in the Department of the Navy in a variety of financial positions, as Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Installations and Logistics, as Deputy Under Secretary, and finally as Senior
Civilian Official for Financial Management and Comptroller. During this service, Mr. Nemfakos was
responsible for formulation, presentation, and execution of the Department of the Navy budget, directing
the Department’s base closure process, providing executive-level continuity for the Department in areas
of institutional management and strategic planning, and supporting privatization initiatives, incentive
structures, and right-sizing efforts. Finally, Mr. Nemfakos was the Department’s Chief Financial Officer.
During the last decade of his career he played a central role in the transformation of the Department after
the Cold War.
Mr. Nemfakos is a member of various professional associations, and has lectured at the Naval
Postgraduate School on Public Policy in Resource Allocation, at Georgetown University on National
Security Issues, at Indiana University on Public Administration Policy and the Defense Acquisition
University on public/private entity relationships. He has been named to the Boards of Directors of several
companies and non-profit, educational entities, to the Advisory Boards of companies and non-profit
activities, has served as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses and an Adjunct at the National
Defense University, and is currently the Chair of the Disaster and Humanitarian Relief Committee of
SOLE-the International Society of Logistics. Mr. Nemfakos has been recognized by Who’s Who in
America and Who’s Who in the World.
Born in Athens, Greece and spending most of his youth in the great state of Texas, Mr. Nemfakos
subsequently earned degrees from the Pan American College of the University of Texas (B.A. in History)
and Georgetown University (M.A. in Government; graduate certificate in National Security Studies). In
addition, Mr. Nemfakos has been the recipient of the Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service
Medal, five Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Medals, two Department of Defense
Distinguished Civilian Service Medals, the Department of the Navy Distinguished Public Service Medal,
as well as numerous other awards and citations. In addition, Mr. Nemfakos has been recognized twice by
Presidents of the United States with the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Civilian Executive, and
twice by Presidents of the United States with the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Civilian
Executive. Mr. Nemfakos was selected by the American University to receive the Roger W. Jones Award
for Executive Leadership for 2000. In 2004, the Secretary of Defense honored Mr. Nemfakos as one of
nine Career Civilian Exemplars in the 228 year history of the Armed Forces. In 2007, he was elected as a
Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. Mr. Nemfakos proudly led two, different
Department of the Navy Operating Units that were awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation.
Mr. Nemfakos is married to the former Pamela Durrant. He has two children from a previous marriage, a
married daughter, Mirka, and a son, Chuck. In 2000, he became the proud father of another daughter,
Alexandra.