Joseph Petro is the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Citigroup Security and Investigative Services

Citibank

Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...

. He is also co-chairman of the United States Department of State

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

's Overseas Security Advisory Council. He also served for 23 years as a special agent in the United States Secret Service

United States Secret Service

The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...

; eleven of them with presidents and vice presidents. For four of those years he stood by the side of Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

.

Biography

Following his career as a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Lieutenant, during which he patrolled the rivers and canals along the Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

ese-Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

n border, he worked his way up through the Secret Service to become one of the key men in charge of protecting the President.

In 1993, Petro joined Travelers Group, Citigroup’s legacy company, as Director of Corporate Security.

From 1971 to 1993, Petro was a special agent and senior executive with the United States Secret Service where he served in numerous operational and management positions. He supervised the Presidential and Vice Presidential protective divisions and the Washington Field Office. Earlier in his career, Petro had been assigned to investigations, intelligence, training, internal affairs and public affairs. He also was selected as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury, where he advised and assisted department officials on financial crime enforcement policy and worked with the Justice Department, Congressional committees and other federal agencies on law enforcement issues. Prior to his career in the Secret Service, Petro was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy's River Patrol Forces.

He is member of the Board of Directors of the International Security Management Association (ISMA) and Vice-Chairman and member of the Board of the New York City Law Enforcement Explorers Council.

Petro is a graduate of Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

 and was a Fellow at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Petro is the author of Standing Next to History: An Agent's Life Inside the Secret Service with Jeffrey Robinson

Jeffrey Robinson

Jeffrey Robinson is an American author of 25 books. He has been labeled by the British Bankers' Association "the world's leading financial crime author".-Early life:...

. (A Tom Dunne Book for St. Martins Press, New York).