Glenn Cannon

Senior Advisor for Emergency Preparedness

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, when FEMA’s shortcomings made international headlines, the agency turned to Glenn Cannon – as a key member of an exclusively short list of this nation’s most highly-trained and experienced management leaders – to build a “new” FEMA. As director of FEMA’s disaster operations, Cannon wasn’t just responsible for coordinating the development and execution of interagency plans, policies and procedures and for response operations in Presidential disaster and emergency declarations and other Incidents of National Significance. He was also charged with getting FEMA “back on its feet”. Now, as a Senior Vice President for Hillard Heintze, Cannon is helping our clients bring best practices to all phases of their emergency preparedness efforts.

Cannon was chosen for this strategic mission because his credentials are impeccable – not just as a national expert in emergency preparedness and response but also as a pragmatic business leader, advisor and team-builder with a hands-on understanding about how to contain costs, improve processes, raise internal awareness, foster collaboration across multiple stakeholder groups and craft innovative solutions that advance strategic organizational objectives. Cannon is also an expert in the field of technical and physical security.

Prior to his leadership role at FEMA, Cannon served as the Chief Operating Officer of Allegheny County, PA from 1996 to 2001. In this role, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of 7,800 employees, a billion-dollar budget and services for 1.4 million residents. Cannon streamlined 41 departments into six, reduced operating costs by $218 million, directed the development of the countywide 911 system and successfully negotiated the county’s labor agreements with 18 unions.

Cannon also served as the Director of the Allegheny County Emergency Management and Public Safety Departments and the Director of the Division of the State Fire Marshall in Florida. He also served in a number of leadership roles in the City of Pittsburgh including as the Director of the Department of Public Safety where he enhanced the city’s fire, law enforcement, public safety and EMS capabilities.

A graduate of the Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. degree in Education, Cannon began his public service career in 1966 in Indiana, PA, with the Citizen’s Ambulance Service and later fought his first fire with the town’s volunteer fire department before becoming a member of the Monroeville Fire Department. Cannon holds a Master’s in Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a law degree from Duquesne University. Highly active as a member of many public and private boards, Cannon is frequently called upon to brief Congress on key emergency planning and response matters, has been a prolific public speaker for decades, and is an author or co-author of publications on topics ranging from critical issues in emergency planning and response to best practices in establishing public/private partnerships.