Robert M. Stewart, CEO 
Robert M. Stewart retired as the Chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) November 30, 2007 after 33 years with the agency and over 40 years in law enforcement. He was the SLED Chief for 20 years serving four governors representing both parties. He also served as the State Homeland Security Advisor and on the national level was elected to the Executive Committee of the Homeland Security Advisors Council of the National Governors Association.  Chief Stewart has a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the FBI National Executive Institute.  Chief Stewart graduated with the first class of the Homeland Security Executive Leadership Program (2007) at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

In 2003, Governor Mark Sanford signed an executive order, later made statutory law, directing SLED to be the operational authority and lead state agency in the counterterrorism effort, and designated Chief Stewart as his representative to the United States Department of Homeland Security.  Chief Stewart served in this role until his retirement in 2007.   The Chief created the State and Regional Counter Terrorism Coordinating Council system in South Carolina as well as the Computer Crime Center and the South Carolina Information Exchange (SCIEx) Fusion Center.  Through Chief Stewart’s guidance, over $120 million in federal homeland security grant funds have been distributed across the state of South Carolina.
 
Chief Stewart’s duties and responsibilities have taken him to foreign countries.  At the invitation of the Israeli government, he traveled to that country in 2006 to experience and study homeland security and counterterrorism operations there.  Under Chief Stewart’s direction, SLED, in a joint effort with the University of South Carolina, coordinated the Moscow Police Command College.  This five year US Department of State program included his travel to Russia in 1998 to evaluate the project and its impact on law enforcement operations in that country.
 
In 1997, the Chief was one of five commissioners selected to serve on the Congressional Commission for the Advancement of Federal Law Enforcement, chaired by Judge William Webster, which studied the role of federal law enforcement for the 21st century. He served on the Commission until 2000 when it concluded its mission.
Under Chief Stewart’s leadership, SLED has been nationally accredited continuously since 1994 by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Laboratory Accreditation Board (ASCLD/LAB).  During his administration, Chief Stewart implemented several statewide programs  including the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) , the DNA analysis and database unit, the Sex Offender Registry, the Governor’s Retaliation Against Illegal Drugs (RAID) Team, and the Special Victims Unit (Child Fatality and Vulnerable Adults), and worked closely with the legislature on law enforcement and homeland security issues.

At various times during his career with SLED, Chief Stewart has specialized in white collar crimes, especially public corruption, and also served as a member of the SLED SWAT Team. He coordinated SLED’s joint investigations with federal law enforcement agencies while assigned to the U. S. Attorney’s Office. Chief Stewart has served as SLED Coordinator with the Presidential Drug Task Force, which tracked down and prosecuted drug smuggling “kingpins” from the Caribbean to Australia.  He is also experienced in planning and implementation of security for major events such as the National Governors Association Conference, Presidential candidates debates, and other large public gatherings.