Mike Croissant

Mike Croissant is Vice President, Corporate Intelligence, at Straife, where he leverages extensive experience as an insight-driven, multi-faceted analytical expert with a deep intelligence background and a proven ability to identify trends and strategic insights in global intelligence data.

He retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2021 after nearly 22 years of service. From 1999 to 2018, he served as a political analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence for the Office of Russian and European Analysis, where he conducted analysis of foreign government political strategies, goals, and policy implications for U.S. interests.

Before retiring, Mike served as a targeting officer in the Directorate of Operations at Langley’s Counterterrorism Mission Center. In this role, he planned and executed foreign intelligence collection, counterintelligence, and covert action operations targeting terrorist threats, illegal arms trade, and global drug networks. He applied advanced analytics to enhance the CIA’s counterterrorism capabilities and identify operational opportunities.

Mike is a published author whose works include The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications and Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe. His scholarly articles have appeared in Strategic Review, Comparative Strategy, Jane's Intelligence Review, and other publications.

He holds a Master of Arts in Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University, a Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies from Missouri State University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from the University of Illinois.