As the Secret Service faces increased scrutiny in the wake of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump last Saturday, social media users have made misleading claims about the employment record of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Cheatle’s biography on the Secret Service website notes that she was previously head of PepsiCo’s security division. Some users have claimed her experience at the food and beverage corporation was insufficient to prepare her to lead the Secret Service.
Even Elon Musk made a reference to Cheatle’s past work at PepsiCo.
Cheatle did indeed work for PepsiCo, but these social media claims omit that she spent 27 years working for the Secret Service before taking that job. From her Secret Service bio:
Before joining PepsiCo, she served with distinction for 27 years in the U.S. Secret Service, most recently as Assistant Director of the Office of Protective Operations. In this position, Ms. Cheatle managed a $133.5M budget and collaborated with ten operational divisions and the Technical Security Division to research, develop and deploy technologies that reduce risks to protectees, protected facilities, and protected events.
Prior to serving as Assistant Director, Ms. Cheatle served as the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office, providing oversight for all mission related investigations, protective intelligence and protective visits in the state of Georgia.
Ms. Cheatle was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in February 2016 as the Special Agent in Charge of the James J. Rowley Training Center (RTC). There she directed and coordinated all aspects of training and career development for the organization, later serving as the Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Training.
Prior to her SES appointment, Ms. Cheatle was the Special Agent in Charge, Office of Strategic Planning and Policy, where she developed and deployed an innovative web-based communication platform designed to promote open and transparent communication within the organization.
Cheatle also had a leadership role on Joe Biden’s security detail while he was vice president. “Jill and I know firsthand Kim [Cheatle]’s commitment to her job and to the Secret Service’s people and mission,” Biden said when he announced Cheatle’s appointment as Secret Service director in August 2022. “When Kim served on my security detail when I was Vice President, we came to trust her judgement and counsel.”
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