# The Chertoff Group

The Chertoff Group is a Private Equity based in Washington, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Washington, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Washington, DC, United States
- **Founded:** 2010
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.chertoffgroup.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-chertoff-group

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The Chertoff Group is a leading global security and risk management advisory firm. It helps organizations manage cyber, physical, regulatory, and geopolitical risks in demanding national security environments. Its experts advise government contractors, defense and aerospace companies, critical infrastructure operators, and high-growth technology firms on security, compliance, and federal growth. Its private equity business invests in defense technology, government services, cybersecurity, and related national security-focused companies.

## Sectors

- Cybersecurity
- Defense Tech
- Physical Security
- Enterprise Software

## People

- Michael Chertoff — Executive Chairman and Co-Founder
- Chad Sweet — Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at The Chertoff Group?

Chad Sweet, CEO and co-founder, leads the investment function alongside Executive Chairman Michael Chertoff. Sweet's background as a former Goldman Sachs managing director provides the transaction architecture, while Chertoff's government network shapes the sourcing thesis. The firm has not publicly named a dedicated CIO separate from the founding partners.

### Does The Chertoff Group still operate as a security consultancy, or is it purely an investment firm now?

The firm operates both an advisory practice and an investment arm, Chertoff Capital, under the same roof. The advisory business provides security-risk consulting to corporations and governments, and it functions as a proprietary deal-sourcing engine for the investment side. This dual structure is unusual in the family-office and private-equity landscape.

### What investment stages does The Chertoff Group typically target?

Chertoff Capital has historically pursued buyout and growth-stage investments in middle-market companies. The firm reports targeting a range from early-stage startups to recapitalizations, with a focus on control and minority positions in security, defense, and intelligence-adjacent businesses where the principals can add operational or strategic value.

### Which sectors does The Chertoff Group explicitly avoid?

The firm has not published a formal exclusion list. Given its principals' government backgrounds and the sensitive nature of its deal flow, it has steered clear of consumer-internet, advertising-technology, and other sectors where founder networks and regulatory risks do not align with the advisory practice's core capabilities.

### How does The Chertoff Group source proprietary deal flow?

Proprietary sourcing comes through the ongoing security-consulting engagements led by Michael Chertoff and his team. These relationships with U.S. federal agencies, critical-infrastructure operators, and defense contractors give the firm early visibility into spinouts, contractor carve-outs, and founder-led security-technology companies before they reach a competitive auction.

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:08:18.003Z

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