Dr. James Peake

Dr. James Peake, M.D., former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Army Surgeon General, is a senior vice president at CGI Federal overseeing the company’s health care programs.

Dr. Peake was the principal advocate for veterans in the U.S. government and directed the nation’s second largest cabinet department, responsible for a nationwide system of health care services, benefits programs, and national cemeteries for America’s veterans and dependents. During his tenure, the VA employed more than 280,000 people at hundreds of medical centers, nursing homes, benefits offices, and national cemeteries throughout the country. The VA’s budget for fiscal year 2009 was $97.5 billion.

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Dr. Peake received his Bachelor of Science degree from U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Infantry. Following service in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division where he was awarded the Silver Star, a Bronze Star with “V” device and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, Dr. Peake entered medical school at Cornell University in New York. He was awarded a medical doctorate in 1972 and served as Army Surgeon General from 2000 to 2004.