Brian Cairns

Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary, U.S Department of Homeland Security

Brian Cairns serves as Director and Partner at True North Equities LLC. True North Equities acquires, develops and grows small to mid-size companies principally in the Aerospace & Defense, Cyber Security, Healthcare, Intelligence and Homeland Security sectors.

Prior to True North Equities LLC, Mr. Cairns was Business Development Manager for SAIC’s Homeland and Civilian Solutions Business Unit. Commissioned with the role of expanding SAIC’s presence in the global Homeland Security and Intelligence spaces, he consulted across the corporation to identify, develop, pursue and win international, federal, state and local opportunities. Mr. Cairns also served as the U.S. corporate lead for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Integrated Account.

Prior to SAIC, served as an Associate Partner and Homeland Security Liaison with IBM’s Business Consulting Services. Brian Cairns worked to bring IBM solutions to the Homeland Security space through efforts to identify institutional development challenges, optimize core mission functions, and recognize emerging technologies, processes, and methods that support Homeland Security efforts worldwide.

Prior to IBM, Mr. Cairns was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for the United States Department of Homeland Security in November of 2003 by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Cairns was a member of the senior management team overseeing the largest Federal government merger in the last 50 years. In addition to assisting in the complex consolidation of 22 agencies and 180,000 employees, he supervised the Immediate Office of the Secretary’s daily operations, managing a $17 million budget, DHS personnel, information technology, security, and facilities. He also managed all domestic and global activities for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary through the Office of Scheduling and Advance.

Prior to his appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Cairns served as Secretary Ridge’s Personal Assistant. In this capacity, he traveled extensively with the Secretary, coordinating his daily schedule and serving as his primary liaison to Homeland Security staff, the White House, and other government agencies.

From January 2002 through March 2003, Mr. Cairns served at the White House in the Executive Office of the President as President Bush’s Director of Presidential Writers. There he coordinated the development and production of policy statements, proclamations, letters, and other documents communicating the positions and initiatives of the Bush Administration.

Before moving to Washington, DC, Brian worked for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, holding several positions including Deputy Secretary for Administration, Department of Community and Economic Development. As Deputy Secretary, he was involved in community and economic developments projects throughout Pennsylvania and around the world. A native of Waterford, Pennsylvania, Mr. Cairns received bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and World Literature from Pennsylvania State University. He also earned a M.A. in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University.