Lieutenant General
Leo Kosinski (Ret.) President, Mary S. Peake Fellowship

Lieutenant General Leonard “Leo” Kosinski (Ret.) brings unique experiences to the Peake Fellows and the small businesses they serve across the U.S. Prior to the Peake Fellowship, Lt Gen Kosinski served as Director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon until the Fall of 2024 and reported to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In this role, Lt Gen Kosinski witnessed the urgency of sustainable and cybersecure growth among small businesses nationwide. He also saw the power of private sector support from higher education institutions as well as industry & professional associations in strengthening local communities across the country and the overall Defense Industrial Base. Now Lt Gen Kosinski’s background will reinforce the impact of the Peake Fellowship’s mission of training next generation leaders to help local businesses grow.

Lt Gen Kosinski grew up with family roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania and attended U.S. Department of Defense middle and high school in Japan where he lived with his U.S. Marine Corps helicopter pilot father and school teacher mother. His learn-it-all as opposed to know-it-all commitment to innovation honed the people, process, and technology skills that he brings to Peake.

Lt Gen Kosinski earned a Bachelor's in Operations Research at the U.S. Air Force Academy, a Master’s in Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University, a Master’s in Business Administration at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and a Master’s in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy with a focus on supply chain collaboration. He was also selected to be a National Defense Fellow for Air War College and a U.S.-Japan Leadership Program Fellow.

An accomplished pilot with over 3,300 hours of flight time, Lt Gen Kosinski is a distinguished graduate of the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Base. Rising through multiple assignments worldwide, he became Director of Logistics for Africa Command. He subsequently became Deputy Commander of the Fifth Air Force prior to his Pentagon role directing logistics for the Joint Staff and Department of Defense.

As Peake drives an AI and Member 1st (AIM1) approach to sustainable and cybersecure growth of the Defense Industrial Base, Lt Gen Kosinski's leadership will accelerate the progress of the Peake Fellows and the small business ecosystem members they serve in conjunction with the nation’s higher education partners, local chambers of commerce, and other business associations.