Randolph H. Pherson has been developing and teaching Structured Analytic Techniques and critical thinking and writing skills for almost two decades to analysts throughout the intelligence, homeland security, and defense communities as well as in the private sector and overseas. Since retiring from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2000, he has authored, co-authored, and edited twelve books on intelligence analysis. He is best known for co-authoring Structured Analytic Techniques for Intelligence Analysis with Richards J. Heuer Jr., Critical Thinking for Strategic Intelligence with his wife, Katherine Hibbs Pherson, and How To Get The Right Diagnosis: 16 Tips for Navigating the Medical System.
As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Pherson Associates and Chief Executive Officer of Globalytica, Mr. Pherson has been consulting with senior corporate and government officials on how to build robust analytic organizations. He has developed and implemented programs on how to increase both the quality and speed of delivery of analytic products for US Government agencies, Homeland Security Fusion Centers, a major global law firm, and a major oil company. Mr. Pherson has taught courses in over two dozen countries, supporting major financial institutions, global retailers, and security firms. His firm has taught critical thinking skills and structured analytic techniques to 10 of the Fortune Top 100. He has facilitated Strategic Foresight Analysis workshops for foreign governments, international foundations, and multinational corporations and holds the patent on a suite of collaborative analytic tools. Mr. Pherson also is a Founding Director of the Forum Foundation for Analytic Excellence, a nonprofit that supports the propagation of critical thinking skills and structured analytic techniques.
Mr. Pherson worked for 28 years in the Intelligence Community, last serving as National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for Latin America. While at the CIA, he served on the Inspector General’s staff, as Chief of the Director’s Strategic Planning and Management Staff, and as Executive Assistant to the Executive Director of the Agency. He is the proud recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal and the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal. He received an A.B. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. in International Relations from Yale University.
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