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An intimate, confidential gathering of influencers in a private dialogue about risks and opportunities in a rapidly changing global landscape.

29 November 2023

NEW YORK CITY

THE METROPOLITAN CLUB

"I rarely sit still for a day at conferences. However, your event was really well done. I was delighted to be in attendance. It was high-content, focused on ideas, and featured your network and intellectual capital in a great light."
- Head of Global M&A, Top 5 Investment Bank

2022 GFR Chairs

Global Flashpoints Roundtable

2022

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Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster (Ret.)

White House National Security Advisor, 2017-18

H. R. McMaster was the 26th White House National Security Advisor, a position he held from 2017-18. He served as a commissioned officer in the US Army for 34 years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018. During his military career, McMaster was decorated for his actions and roles in the First Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was named to Time’s list of the world’s 100 Most Influential People in 2014 and was lauded as “the 21st century Army’s pre-eminent warrior-thinker,” and to Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders list in 2017.

Hon. Kay Bailey Hutchison

US Permanent Representative to NATO, 2017-21; US Senator from Texas, 1993-2013

Kay Bailey Hutchison served as US Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017-21, and from 1993-2013, she represented Texas in the U.S. Senate. As a senator, she chaired the Republican Policy Committee (the fourth-highest leadership position), was ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and chair of the military construction subcommittee on the Senate Committee on Appropriations. The Dallas City Council named the city’s convention center in her honor in 2013.

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2022

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Hon. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

US Representative from Florida, 1989-2019; Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2011-13 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen served for almost three decades as a member of Congress representing diverse areas in South Florida. She was the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, served on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and was a member of the CIA Subcommittee and the NSA and Cybersecurity Subcommittee. She is currently a Senior Advisor at Akin Gump.

Gen. Michael Hayden (Ret.)

Former Director of CIA and NSA 

Gen. Michael Hayden is a retired four-star general who is the only person to have served as director of both the CIA and NSA. Gen. Hayden was the country’s first principal deputy director of national intelligence and the highest-ranking military intelligence officer in the country. He also served as commander of the Air Intelligence Agency and Director of the Joint Command and Control Warfare Center and served in senior staff positions at the Pentagon, at U.S. European Command, at the National Security Council, and the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria.

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2022

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2022

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Barry Sternlicht

Founder of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide and Starwood Capital Group

Barry Sternlicht is Chairman & CEO of Starwood Capital Group, the private alternative investment firm he formed in 1991 focused on global real estate, hotel management, oil and gas, and energy infrastructure. Mr. Sternlicht also serves as Chairman of Starwood Property Trust (NYSE: STWD), a leading diversified finance company, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) one of the largest publicly traded investors, owners and operators of single-family homes in the United States. 

Chairs

2022 Agenda

Global Flashpoints Roundtable

Morning

7:30-8:10am

Breakfast and Registration

8:10-8:20am

Ground Rules And Goals + Opening Remarks

R.P. Eddy

Chairman, Ergo

8:25-9:10am

E Pluribus Duo: US Political Stability 

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Republican Pollster, Political Analyst, and Author

Mo Elleithee

Former Communications Director and Chief Spokesman, Democratic National Committee 

 

Ben Ginsberg

Top Republican Election Attorney; National Counsel to Romney ‘12, Romney ‘08, Bush ‘04 and Bush ‘00 Presidential Campaigns 

 

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

US Representative from Florida, 1989-2019; Chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 2011-13; Senior Advisor, Akin Gump

  • Principal: John Isakson
    CEO, The Upland Group; Longtime Leader in Georgia GOP Politics

9:15-9:35am

Hazards on the Horizon:
Homeland Defense Perspectives

Gen. Glen VanHerck

Commander, NORTHCOM and NORAD

9:40-10:30am

No Longer Unthinkable: Great Power War in this Decade

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison

US Permanent Representative to NATO, 2017-21;
US Senator from Texas, 1993-2013

LTG H.R. McMaster (Ret.)

White House National Security Advisor, 2017-18

Adm. Mark Montgomery (Ret.)

Director of Operations (J3), US Pacific Command, 2014-17

Gen. Glen VanHerck

Commander, NORTHCOM and NORAD

  • Principal: Amb. Paula Dobriansky
    Former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs

10:30-10:50am

Morning Break

10:50am-11:35am

Here Be Dragons: Doing Business in Xi’s China

Former CIA Chief of Station in East Asian and Eurasian Countries; Senior Executive, Strider

 

Steve Orlins

Former Managing Director, Carlyle Asia; Former Chairman, Taiwan Broadband Communications

 

Frances Townsend

Former White House Homeland Security Advisor; EVP, Activision Blizzard

 

Clete Willems

Former Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economics and Deputy Director of the White House Economic Council; Partner, Akin Gump

 

  • Principal: Matthew Moneyhon
    Managing Partner, Head of Asia Practice, Ergo

11:40am-12:25pm

Dismal Outlook for the Dismal Science? The Global Economy in 2023

Scott Bessent

Founder, Key Square Group; Former Chief Investment Officer, Soros Fund Management

 

Mark Haefele

Chief Investment Officer, UBS Global Wealth Management

 

Steve Kamin

Director, Division of International Finance, US Federal Reserve, 2011-20

 

  • Principal: Jane Gladstone
    Former President, IntraFi

Afternoon

12:35pm-1:45pm

Lunch

Presentation of the Inaugural Gen. Michael V. Hayden Award for Courage and Patriotism:

 

Gen. Michael Hayden
Former Director of CIA and NSA

 

Presentation of the 2022 Cassandra Award: 
 

Tristan Harris

Founder, Center for Humane Technology; Former Design Ethicist, Google

4:10pm-4:30pm

Afternoon Break

2:40pm-3:20pm

1:55pm-2:35pm

Brave New World: Preparing for the Metaverse

Mike Capps

Former President, Epic Games

 

Anthony Vinci

Chief Technology Officer and Associate Director, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, 2017-18

 

Josh Wolfe

Founder, Lux Capital

  • Principal: Gideon Lichfield
    Editor-in-Chief, Wired

3:25pm-4:10pm

Red Dawn 2030: Safeguarding US Interests and Assets

James Baker

Director, Office of Net Assessment, US Department of Defense

4:30pm-5:15pm

5:20pm-6:00pm

Green Around the Gills: Climate’s Impact on Business

Bear Trap: Geopolitical Disruption of Energy Markets

Kaushik Deb

Former Head of Energy Innovation, Saudi Ministry of Energy

Edward Fishman

Former Russia and Europe Lead, US State Department Office of Economic Sanctions Policy and Implementation

David Sandalow

Former US Undersecretary of Energy 

Paul Simons

Deputy Executive Director and COO, International Energy Agency, 2015-20; US Ambassador to Chile, 2007-10 

  • Principal: Price Lowenstein
    Chairman, Sovereign Risk Insurance

When the Chips Are Down: Semiconductors and Supply Chains

Thomas Krueger
Director, Strategic Trade and Nonproliferation, White House National Security Council, 2019-22; Senior Policy Advisor, Akin Gump

 

David Li

President and CEO, CMC Materials, 2015-22

Dawn Meyerreicks

Deputy Director of CIA for Science and Technology, 2013-21

 

Nazak Nikakhtar

US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Analysis, 2018-21

  • Principal: Kristofer Clark
    Senior Director, Project/Program Management, Supply Chain Assurance, Dell Technologies

Iggy Bassi

Founder and CEO, Cervest

Jon Goldberg

Founder and CEO, Carbon Direct

Tara Lee
Partner, White & Case

 

Ken Markowitz

Partner and Co-Head of Climate Change Practice, Akin Gump

 

  • Principal: Amrith Ramkumar
    Climate Finance Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

6:05pm-6:25pm

Russian Doll: Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin

Tom Rakusan

Deputy Director of CIA for Operations, 2015-2018; Assistant Director of CIA for Europe and Eurasia, 2019-21

6:25pm-6:30pm

Summary and Conclusions

6:30pm-7:30pm

Cocktails and Hors D’oeuvres

This is a draft agenda and is subject to change. Some speakers listed have not yet confirmed attendance.

Agend
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Here Be Dragons:
Doing Business in Xi’s China

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Dismal Outlook for the Dismal Science? The Global Economy in 2023

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E Pluribus Duo:
US Political Stability

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Bear Trap: Geopolitical Disruption
of Energy Markets

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Green Around the Gills:
Climate’s Impact on Business

2022 Flashpoints

Global Flashpoints Roundtable

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No Longer Unthinkable:
Great Power War in this Decade

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When the Chips Are Down:
Semiconductors and Supply Chains

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Brave New World:

Preparing for the Metaverse

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Red Dawn 2030:
Safeguarding US Interests and Assets

Flashpoints
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The Venue

The Metropolitan Club
One East Sixtieth Street, New York City

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The Venue

2022 Partners

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