Joseph Rank is Lockheed Martin’s vice president and CEO for Saudi Arabia and Africa.

Rank is a retired US Army brigadier general who has lived in the Kingdom for more than five years.

He served as acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy for former secretary of defense James Mattis in his last posting in the Pentagon.

As an Arabic-speaking foreign area officer, Rank focused on the Middle East for the last 25 years, with postings to five US embassies and Middle East policy positions in the Pentagon, including with the army, joint staff and office of the secretary of defense staff.

He served as the senior defense attache in four US embassies: The UAE from 2015 to 2017, Jordan from 2011 to 2014, Lebanon from 2010 to 2011 and Yemen from 2004 to 2006.

In addition, Rank served in Egypt for a year from 1998 to 1999 and was also deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait for Desert Shield/Desert Storm from 1990 to 1991 with the 1st Infantry Division.

While working overseas, Rank was responsible for all aspects of defense cooperation in the countries he was posted to, including training programs, bilateral exercises and billions of dollars worth of foreign military and defense sales, with the intent of building capacity, enhancing interoperability and strengthening relationships.