Larry Panetta

Larry A. Panetta is the director of biometric entry-exit strategic transformation under U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations in Washington, D.C. In this role, Panetta manages the implementation of biometric exit and deployment of facial comparison technology to U.S. airports. He has operationalized CBP biometric exit solutions at 28 airports through collaboration with stakeholders and has integrated facial comparison technology into CBP operations on entry at over 40 airports.

In his 18+ years of service, Panetta has worked on a wide variety of operational and policy issues. He served as the acting area port director for the Area Port of Chicago in 2019, responsible for directing CBP operations at ports of entry in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as northwestern Indiana. Panetta was charged with leading the activities of over 650 employees at multiple locations, including the largest operation within the Area Port, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Prior to this assignment, Panetta served as deputy chief of staff for the Office of Field Operations and as a program manager at CBP’s headquarters. As a program manager, he managed the internationally acclaimed Global Entry program. In his seven-year tenure over the Global Entry program, he increased program membership to over 5 million travelers, and expanded the program to every major international U.S. airport.

A native of New York City, Panetta graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He began his federal law enforcement career in 2003 when he joined the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as an immigration inspector at JFK International Airport.