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
GFR Chair
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.
2022
GFR Chair
2022
GFR Chair
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.
2022
GFR Chair
2022
GFR Chair
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.
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
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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.
Here Be Dragons:
Doing Business in Xi’s China
Dismal Outlook for the Dismal Science? The Global Economy in 2023
E Pluribus Duo:
US Political Stability
Bear Trap: Geopolitical Disruption
of Energy Markets
Green Around the Gills:
Climate’s Impact on Business
2022 Flashpoints
Global Flashpoints Roundtable
No Longer Unthinkable:
Great Power War in this Decade
When the Chips Are Down:
Semiconductors and Supply Chains
Brave New World:
Preparing for the Metaverse
Red Dawn 2030:
Safeguarding US Interests and Assets
The Venue
The Metropolitan Club
One East Sixtieth Street, New York City
2022 Partners
