State, he revamped the State Department's human resource strategies, including the Department's strategies for training, assigning, and retaining personnel both at home and abroad. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Grossman was appointed Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the Department's third-ranking official, in March 2001. In 2004, Grossman attained the Foreign Service's highest rank when the President appointed him to the rank of Career Ambassador. He received the Secretary of State's Secretary's Distinguished Service Award the following year. Grossman served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs until his initial retirement in 2005. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Grossman was lured out of retirement by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to become the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, an appointment he received following the death of the first Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke. He began his role on February 22, 2011 and concluded his tenure on December 14, 2012. Private sector career In January 2005, Grossman resigned from his position and joined The Cohen Group, an advisory firm providing corporate leadership with strategic advice in government regulation and raising capital. Grossman serves as Vice Chairman of the Cohen Group. The Cohen Group has close connections to the Turkish Army and represents some of the US’s largest weapons manufacturers, which stand to benefit from weapons sales to Turkey: Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Sikorsky Aircraft among others, and their list of clients includes controversial firms such as DynCorp International, a major national security contractor with the US government, charging billions for overseas military and police training. Through their strategic partnership with DLA Piper, the Cohen Group also serves foreign clients such as the Turkish government and Turkish trade associations, United Arab Emirates, India and Australia’s scandalous AWB. In late 2005, Grossman also joined Ihlas Holding, a Gülen-linked Turkish conglomerate which is also active in several Central Asian countries. Grossman is reported to receive $100,000 per month for his advisory position with Ihlas. Until 2015, he served as the inaugural Chair of the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he serves as a practitioner/faculty member. He is currently a member of the advisory board for DC-based non-profit organization America Abroad Media. Personal life Grossman married Mildred Anne Patterson in May 1982. The