Des Browne and Jeong Kim Join NTI Board of Directors

WASHINGTON – Today, NTI Co-Chairmen Sam Nunn and Ted Turner announced two new additions to NTI’s prestigious, international board of directors:  Lord Browne of Ladyton, a Member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom and former British Secretary of State for Defense, and Dr. Jeong H. Kim, president of Bell Labs, one of the world’s foremost centers of research in communications technologies.  NTI’s board includes members from China, India, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“Des Browne is a longtime advocate of reducing nuclear dangers and an influential voice in Europe on security and foreign policy issues,” said Nunn.  “His experience and perspective will be extremely valuable to NTI, as we work to build a global consensus for reducing reliance on nuclear weapons and fight against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials.” 

“Dr. Kim’s extraordinary background in business, R&D, academia, and the nuclear Navy will serve NTI well,” said Turner. “From his service as a nuclear submarine officer to his successful business career, he will bring unique experiences and insights to our Board.  He will be an outstanding addition, and we are delighted that he is joining us.”

“NTI has worked closely with Lord Browne and has witnessed how his energy and drive have advanced our issues.  We look forward to tapping Dr. Kim’s creativity and innovative mind, as we seek new solutions to the challenges we face,” said Joan Rohlfing, NTI president.

Rt. Honorable Desmond Browne, House of Lords, United Kingdom

Lord Browne was elected Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock and Loudoun in 1997 and represented that constituency until 2010.  In 2006, he was appointed British Secretary of State for Defense and from 2007-2008, he combined this role with the role of Secretary of State for Scotland.  In October 2008, he was appointed Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka.  He also served on the first Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy. 

Browne has been the convener of the Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Disarmament and Non-Proliferation since October 2009, as well as the founder and convener of the European Leadership Network since its inception in 2010.  In July 2010, he was introduced to the House of Lords.  In 2011, Browne received one of NTI’s “10 for 10 awards” for his tireless leadership to reduce nuclear dangers.

Dr. Jeong H. Kim, President of Bell Labs and Chief Strategy Officer, Alcatel-Lucent

Dr. Kim is a successful entrepreneur, businessman, professor, and member of the National Academy of Engineering.  Following his graduation from The Johns Hopkins University, Kim served as an officer in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Service.  While in the Navy, he earned a master's degree in Technical Management from Johns Hopkins. Upon returning to civilian life, he worked on satellite systems development at AlliedSignal and at the Naval Research Laboratory while earning his Ph.D. in Reliability Engineering at the University of Maryland.

Kim joined Lucent Technologies in 1998 when Lucent acquired Yurie Systems, the company he founded in 1992.  After heading-up multiple Lucent organizations, he elected to return to the University of Maryland and accepted joint teaching appointments in both the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  In 2005, Kim became the eleventh president of Bell Labs, one of the world's foremost centers of research in communications technologies.

The Nuclear Threat Initiative is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to reduce threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. NTI is governed by a prestigious, international Board of Directors with members from nine countries and is co-chaired by founders Nunn and Turner. NTI’s activities are directed by Nunn and Rohlfing. For more information and for a full list of NTI’s board of directors, please visit www.nti.org.

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