PARTICIPANTS

• Dean Alyssa Ayres was appointed the Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and Professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University effective February 1, 2021. She is the first woman to serve in the role of permanent dean at the school.  Ayres is a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors.

• The Hon. Scott Brison joined BMO as the Vice-Chair, Investment & Corporate Banking in 2019. As an elected Member of Parliament, Scott served the constituency of Kings-Hants (Nova Scotia) who elected him to Canada’s House of Commons seven consecutive times over 21 years. In June 2020, Mr. Brison became Dalhousie University’s eighth Chancellor.

• Michael Chertoff is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the Chertoff Group, a global security risk management and growth advisory firm, which he co-founded after a notable career in public service, where he repeatedly addressed security issues of first impression. As U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary from 2005-2009, he led the largest reorganization of the Federal civilian workforce since World War II.

• Heidi Crebo-Rediker is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations specializing in International Political Economy and American Competitiveness and Infrastructure. She also serves as a Strategic Advisor to America’s Frontier Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in frontier technologies vital to the national security of the United States and close allies.  Heidi served in the Obama Administration as the State Department’s first Chief Economist, following a nearly two-decade investment banking career based in Europe.

• Lee Cullum is a journalist who contributes to the Dallas Morning News and is a Senior Fellow at the John G. Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs, Southern Methodist University.  She  was previously a regular commentator on what is now the PBS NewsHour, and host of CEO, an interview program with business leaders on the PBS affiliate in North Texas as well as editor of the editorial page of the Dallas Times Herald. 

• Art DeFehr O.C. O.M. is the Owner and Executive Chair of Palliser Furniture, largest producer of upholstered furniture based in Canada. Dual career since graduating HBS including various human rights and int'l development activities. These include head of UNHCR in Somalia, Bangladesh reconstruction after civil war, Ethiopia famine, operation of Landbridge in Cambodia conflict, USSR pro-democracy activities 1989-92, Myanmar Peace Process, among others.  

• Amb. Paula J. Dobriansky, a foreign policy expert and diploma in national security affairs, is the Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council Scowcroft Center for Strategy & Security and Senior Fellow at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs.  She brings over 30 years of government and international experience across senior levels of diplomacy, business and defense.  She served as the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and the President's Envoy to Northern Ireland.

• Prof. Geneviève Dufour is a Canadian lawyer and academic specializing in international trade law. She is a full professor at the University of Ottawa. She holds the Research Chair in Sustainable, Responsible and Inclusive Trade Law. Since the start of her career, she has given more than 130 lectures around the world, produced over a hundred publications, and advised governments, businesses and international organizations.

• Dr. Richard Falkenrath is Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2014-2024, he worked at Bridgewater Associates as the Head of Geopolitics, the Head of Client Service, and the Chief Administrative Officer. Richard was the Deputy Commissioner of Counterterrorism at NYPD from 2006-2010. From 2000-2004 he was on staff at the White House and NSC, ultimately serving as Deputy Homeland Security Advisor. Prior to the White House, he was an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School.

• Adam Falkoff is the Vice President and Global Managing Partner of Strategic Ventures at Microsoft, where he leads initiatives with governments and private enterprises to co-invest in and commercialize cutting-edge technologies, including Advanced AI, Quantum Computing, Biosecurity, and Robotics. Adam is a United States Public Diplomacy Envoy and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a graduate of Duke University and holds an MBA and MIM from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

• Henrietta H. Fore has worked to champion economic development, education and health, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief for the most vulnerable in the international and developing world in a public service, private sector and nonprofit leadership career that spans more than four decades. From 2018 to 2022, Mrs. Fore served as global Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

• Senator Peter Harder P.C. was summoned to the Senate in March 2016. At that time, he was named the Government Representative in the Senate and sworn into the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada. He remained in this position until January 2021. He now sits as a member of the Progressive Senate Group. Senator Harder spent most of his career in the federal public service, including 16 years as Deputy Minister in a number of federal departments in Canada.

• Ambassador Carla Hills served as the U.S. Trade Representative in the President George H.W. Bush's administration (1989-1993).  She negotiated and concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement. Earlier she served as President Ford's Secretary of Housing & Urban Development and as Assistant Attorney General, Civil Division, Department of Justice. She graduated from Stanford University, attended Oxford University (St. Hilda's College) and obtained her law degree from Yale Law School.

• Lyndsay Howard is foreign policy advisor to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and co-architect of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum. She was a senior advisor at Kissinger Associates, Inc. in New York and previously a Distinguished Scholar at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Ms. Howard earlier served a decade as a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community; on Secretary James A. Baker’s staff; and for the Legal Advisor for National Security Affairs at the White House.

• Andy Karsner is the Senior Strategist at Alphabet X. He is also a private equity fund manager, energy entrepreneur, founder and philanthropist. Previously US Assistant Secretary of Energy and Principal climate negotiator for US to UNFCCC. Boards include: Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Applied Material (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Conservation International. 

• The Hon. Jason Kenney P.C. ECA recently completed a distinguished 25 year career in Canadian public life at the national, international, and provincial levels. He served for two decades in Canada's Parliament, including as Minister of Defence, Employment, and Immigration. In 2019, he was elected Premier of Alberta, launching a successful turnaround of the province's economy and finances. Jason is now a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP, and Teneo, while serving on several corporate boards.

• Michael Klein is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Churchill Capital and Managing Partner of M. Klein & Company. Michael serves as special advisor to the United Nations World Food Programme and Chairman of the UN’s Pension Fund Investment Committee. He is a member of various boards including Chatham House, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Harvard Global Advisory Counsel and Wharton Board of Overseers. Michael graduated from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

• Leonard M. Levie, Chairman of AIAC (www.aiac.com), serves on boards including the Explorers Club and Pharma Outsourcing Association. He is affiliated with the Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, and Economic Club of NY, and is a Fellow of the Asia Society and Royal Geographical Society. He supports Harvard councils and he is a Patron of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation, and a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2024.

• Kent Lucken is a Managing Director at Citi in Boston and serves as the Private Bank's North American Head of Financial Sponsors, where he leads Citi’s engagement with global private equity and infrastructure funds. Prior to joining Citi, Kent worked at Robertson Stephens, a leading technology-focused investment bank.  Kent is a fourteen-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, where he completed diplomatic assignments at the U.S. embassies in Italy, the Soviet Union and Russia, Georgia.

• Brent McIntosh is Citi's Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, leading Citi's Global Legal Affairs & Compliance organization. Prior to joining Citi, he served as the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs and as the Treasury Department’s General Counsel. He has been a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, an Associate Counsel to the President, a Deputy Staff Secretary in the White House, and a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department.

• Andrea Mitchell, NBC’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, covers foreign policy, intelligence, and National Security issues for NBC News and MSNBC.  In addition, she hosts "Andrea Mitchell Reports" on MSNBC, her daily program of political and foreign policy news.  Mitchell was also a lead correspondent covering the 2016 and 2012 Presidential Campaigns.

• The Hon. Marie-Lucie Morin O.C. serves on corporate and non-profit boards. She was formerly an Executive Director at the World Bank, previously pursued a 30 year career in the Public Service, was appointed as the National Security Advisor in Canada having served as a Deputy Minister for International Trade and an Associate Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs following her tenure as Ambassador to Norway. She is a member of the Order of Canada and Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur.

• Nate Morris is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morris Industries, a privately held conglomerate headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2010, Morris Industries leverages the power of business to solve some of America’s biggest challenges.

• The Hon. Seamus O’Regan was first elected Member of Parliament for St. John's South-Mount Pearl in 2015, subsequently re-elected in 2019 and 2021. O’Regan has also previously served as Canada’s Minister of Labour and Minister for Seniors, Canada’s Natural Resources Minister, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.  He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, and raised in Goose Bay, Labrador.

• Alejandra Palacios is a public policy expert in regulatory compliance, competition policy and network industries. She serves as an Independent Board Member of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP), Mexico´s largest airport operator, of BBVA Mexico, Mexico’s largest financial institution, and of Grupo Alfa (BMV: ALFAA), a Mexican multinational in the food and petrochemical industries. Alejandra was the first female Chair of Mexico’s antitrust agency, from 2013 to 2021.

• Dr. Luis Rubio is the Chairman of Mexico Evalua and a former chairman of the Mexican CFR. He is a winner of the APRA book award, the Dag Hammarskjöld award and the 1998 National Journalism Award for op-ed pieces. He is a contributing editor of Reforma. He serves on the boards of two families of investment funds and Coca Cola FEMSA. He was a planning director of Citibank (MX) and served as an adviser to the Secretary of the Treasury. He holds an MBA, and his MA and PhD in political science are from Brandeis University.

• Dr. Indira Samarasekera O.C. is a corporate director on the Boards of Magna International, TC Energy, Intact Financial, and Stelco. She is a former President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Alberta, a member of the Prime Minister's Independent Advisory Panel for selecting members for the Canadian Senate, a Foreign Member of the National Academy of Engineering, USA, and an Officer of the Order of Canada.

• Jaime Serra is the President of SAI Derecho & Economia. As of October 2018, he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of BBVA and participates in the boards of directors of Tenaris and Vitro. He served in the Mexican government from 1986 to 1994 as the Undersecretary of Revenue, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Treasury of Mexico. As Secretary of Commerce, he directed the negotiations and implementation of NAFTA.

• Prof. Richard Thoman is an Adjunct Professor, Columbia University; Visiting Professor at CEIBS, the leading Chinese business school (Shanghai); former CEO, Xerox; former SVP & Chief Financial Officer, IBM; current or former board member International Advisory Board, McGill University (Canada); McGill School of Management (Canada); Americas Society; French American Foundation; Graduate Institute of International Studies (Switzerland); Business Council; Business Roundtable; Daimler Chrysler (Germany); Schneider Elec(France).

• Louis A. Vega is the President, North America; Vice President, Government Affairs & Advocacy, North America at Dow Inc. In his role as the President of Dow’s largest region, with 17,500 employees and $15.5 billion annual revenue, he oversees strategy development and P&L management, and engages stakeholders to drive enterprise success. 

• Guillermo Francisco Vogel is a notable Mexican businessperson with an extensive career in various industries. He graduated from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, also holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. Vogel has held prominent positions in several companies, highlighting his expertise and leadership skills.

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OBSERVERS

• Ian Foucher is the Chief of Staff at the Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, bringing experience from previous roles at Deloitte Consulting and Office of the Minister of Finance (Canada). 

• David Borcsok is an early-stage technology venture capitalist and the founder of Ordinary Holdings and the Ordinary Foundation, which focuses on broadening access to economic prosperity. David is an alumnus of the DRF Program in the Canadian Section of the Trilateral Commission. 

• Louis Hamann. With more than 25 years of experience in the fields of communications, politics, business and diplomacy, Louis Hamann currently serves as Senior Advisor to Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne.  

• Masahisa Ikeda is the Global Co-Head of Sector Strategy and Head of Tokyo, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP.  Masahisa has extensive experience representing global companies and government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Masahisa is on the board of numerous organizations including serving as the Asia Pacific Director of the Trilateral Commission, a Board Member of the Tokyo Foundation and an Auditor of the International House of Japan.

• Diana Negroponte is an author and professor focused on methods of conflict resolution. She is a  Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and a Trustee Emeritus of Freedom House & University of California San Diego.

• Douglas Rediker is a Managing Partner at International Capital Strategies, a Washington, DC-based political advisory firm providing insights to institutional investors and companies on the interaction of foreign policy, international economics and the political economy of global financial markets.   

• Latham Saddler is founding partner at Starfield Front, a holding company that acquires veteran owned businesses. He served 10 years as a Navy SEAL officer and is a former White House Fellow and an alumnus of the DRF Program at the Trilateral Commission North America.

• Rana Sarkar has been the Consul General of Canada in San Francisco and Silicon Valley since 2017, with responsibilities for Northern California and Hawaii. He previously served as National Director for High Growth Markets at KPMG Canada and was the Chief Executive Officer of the Canada-India Business Council. He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and an advisory council member of Canada2020.

• Dr. Matt Spence is a Managing Director and Head of Venture Capital Banking at Barclays. He was previously a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, and at the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs and as Senior Advisor to two National Security Advisors. He and his wife live in Sausalito with their three dogs and four chickens.

• Ammanuel Zegeye is a leader within McKinsey’s advanced industries group, as well as the Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Public & Social Sector, and Private Equity & Principal Investors Practices. He has worked with numerous companies across the technology and industrial sectors and within private equity, helping them to identify opportunities for growth, design new go-to-market models and drive operational improvements.