Why We Need More Leaders Like Edward Gabriel

By Rodney Faraon

Rodney Faraon is a former senior CIA China analyst, including two years on the President’s Daily Briefing Staff for two administrations. He was also the founding director of Global Intelligence and Risk Analysis for The Walt Disney Company.

OPINION — When Edward Gabriel passed away unexpectedly this January, I lost one of my closest friends, but America—in the throes of coronavirus panic—lost a leader who would have helped us deal with the crisis with precision, speed, and compassion.

Ed was the deputy assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human services, a post he held since 2012 and carried over into the Trump Administration. Ed arrived in Washington on the heels of his third retirement. His most recent role was as Director for Global Crisis Management and Business Continuity at The Walt Disney Company, where I was his partner as Director for Global Intelligence and Threat Assessment. Before that he served under Mayor Giuliani as the deputy commissioner of the New York Office of Emergency Management, personally coordinating efforts near the World Trade Center after the towers were attacked and as they fell. Before that, he was a decades long veteran of the great FDNY, finishing his first career there as Chief Emergency Medical Services for the entire city.

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