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James Stavridis

WSB Exclusive Speaker

16th Supreme Allied Commander, NATO; Partner and Vice Chairman, Carlyle; Chair of the Board of Trustees, The Rockefeller Foundation; New York Times Bestselling Author; Senior Military Analyst, CNN

Decorated admiral and archetype of exemplary leadership, Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) provides answers and strategies to address the most pressing global affairs challenges.

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James Stavridis Profile Photo

Stavridis attended the US Naval Academy at Annapolis and spent 37 years in the Navy, rising to the rank of 4-star Admiral. Among his many commands were four years as the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO, where he oversaw operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, the Balkans, and counter-piracy off the coast of Africa. He also commanded US Southern Command in Miami, charged with military operations throughout Latin America for nearly three years. He was the longest-serving Combatant Commander in recent US history. Following his military career, he served for five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Rockefeller Foundation, is Chair Emeritus of the U.S. Naval Institute Board, and is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and Senior Military Analyst for CNN.

In the course of his career in the Navy, he served as senior military assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense. He led the Navy’s premier operational think tank for innovation, Deep Blue, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. Admiral Stavridis was promoted directly from 1-star rank to 3-star rank in 2004.

He won the Battenberg Cup for commanding the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet and the Navy League John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership, along with more than 50 US and international medals and decorations, including 28 from foreign nations. He also commanded a Destroyer Squadron and a Carrier Strike Group, both in combat. In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Secretary Hillary Clinton and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position in the incoming Trump administration.

He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as the outstanding student in his class in 1983, as well as academic honors from the National and Naval War Colleges as a distinguished student. He speaks Spanish and French.

Admiral Stavridis has published more than fifteen books on leadership, character, risk, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active presence on social media, he has built a following of hundreds of thousands across his platforms. His 2012 TED talk on global security has more than one million views. Two of his most popular books are 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, a New York Times bestseller published in more than 20 languages, and To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision. With co-author Elliot Ackerman he went on to write 2054, exploring artificial intelligence and geopolitics, and 2084: A Novel of the Climate War, which completes the bestselling trilogy. He is also the author of The Restless Wave, the first in a series of novels dramatizing the U.S. Navy’s battles in World War II, and the nonfiction work The Admiral’s Bookshelf, which links twenty-five essential life lessons and leadership principles to the works of literature that shaped him.

Featured Videos

James Stavridis Profile Photo
James Stavridis

Adm. James Stavridis on Naval Readiness: Lessons from Ukraine’s Modern Tactics

James Stavridis Profile Photo
James Stavridis

James Stavridis on The Cost of Retreating From Global Leadership

James Stavridis Profile Photo
James Stavridis

James Stavridis on What Makes Him Hopeful About America’s Future

James Stavridis Profile Photo
James Stavridis

James Stavridis on How Angela Merkel Demonstrated Being an Effective Leader

James Stavridis Profile Photo
James Stavridis

James Stavridis on How Angela Merkel Demonstrated Being an Effective Leader

Adm. James Stavridis on Naval Readiness: Lessons from Ukraine’s Modern Tactics

James Stavridis on The Cost of Retreating From Global Leadership

James Stavridis on What Makes Him Hopeful About America’s Future

James Stavridis on How Angela Merkel Demonstrated Being an Effective Leader

James Stavridis’ Speech Topics

  • Geopolitics Beyond the Horizon: 21st Century Global Risk and Opportunity

    Admiral Stavridis, drawing on his time as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and later as Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, will take the audience on a tour of the world geopolitically, discussing conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine, US-China relations in the Pacific, and cybersecurity. Calling on his current role as Vice Chairman of Carlyle, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, he will also assess the impact of geopolitics on the global economy, the efficacy of sanctions, and the role of China economically. Admiral Stavridis concludes with a variety of ideas on investment implications of this turbulent geopolitical period, especially given the current administration. This tour d’horizon is very effective for business audiences investing worldwide, but is also fascinating for the general public.

  • Beyond the Horizon: 21st Century Global Security and Risk

    After nearly 10 years at the four-star level as a global combatant commander, and earlier service as senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense, Admiral James Stavridis gives a global overview of risks, opportunities and strategies for successfully creating a secure nation, government and business community.

  • China and the USA: How the 21st Century Unfolds

    Admiral Stavridis, a longtime expert on China and the Indo-Pacific, takes the audience through the history and culture of China and describes how the US and China have emerged as the two crucial superpowers of the 21st century. He describes the ongoing conflict between the nations in trade, tariffs, intellectual property, global influence and the “hotspot” of the South China Sea. The Admiral then lays out a prescription for avoiding a conflict with China in the decades ahead, with predictions of the evolution of the global landscape as it will be influenced by the US-China relationship. A must-see experience to understand the big issues ahead for the world.

  • Sailing the Cyber Sea: The New Realities of 21st Century Cybersecurity

    Emerging security and cybersecurity concerns will be addressed in the future with a combination of AI, cyber capabilities, unmanned vehicles and drones, and special operations forces. In particular, the reach and function of cyber tools will change how we view the world and keep ourselves safe in it. Admiral James Stavridis lays out the future of 21st century security tools that are very nontraditional in their reach and application. He describes for audiences how the world of international cybersecurity is fundamentally changing before our eyes, and how that will impact business, personal life and the global marketplace.

  • The Secret to Being an Effective Leader

    Based on James Stavridis’ nearly four decades of military service, time as Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, and his current role at the highest levels of business and finance as Vice Chairman of Carlyle, he advocates a unique model of “leader as servant.” Using powerful stories from his personal experiences at the highest levels, he helps audiences understand the power of people and shares with audiences specific ways to unlock their strength through positive reinforcement and innovative incentive systems. In particular, he helps audiences leverage lessons learned from their own experiences, understand how to identify role models and gain insight into leadership strategies from other cultures—both the positives and negatives.

  • Unlocking the Middle East and the Role of Israel

    Based on decades of experience in the Middle East and Levant, Admiral Stavridis walks the audience around the region with deep emphasis on Israel. He has personally met with all the key leaders of Israel from the Prime Minister to all the recent Chiefs of Defense and many Knesset members. As the Commander of NATO, he was charged with the NATO-Israel relationship, and as Commander of US European Command, he went frequently to Israel and was responsible to the President and Secretary of Defense for the US-Israeli military relationship. His perceptions on the future of Israel and the entire region are powerful and grounded in deep experience.

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

The Admiral walked into a packed, energized room and delivered a powerful, timely briefing. He guided the audience through global hotspots, from Gaza and Ukraine to China and North Korea, balancing sharp insights with moments of humor. Admiral Stavridis closed on a note of optimism, an inspiring and fitting finale to a fantastic event.

Financial Services

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral James Stavridis spoke on global risk and security, offering clear insight into fast-moving events and their implications. He highlighted key geopolitical dynamics and took audience questions with clarity and depth. As always, he was outstanding!

Financial Services

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis could not have been more delightful to work with. His lecture was very informative, particularly as his distinct expertise and perspective in the topic area provided tremendous insight for our audience. His measured and nuanced approach to appraising the conflict and US response, plus personal thoughts on and experiences with the key players brought significant value to the lecture.

Religious

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

The Admiral was amazing. He was the star of our conference. Great information and delivery. You felt like you were having a conversation directly with him. He received a standing ovation at the end of his conversation. Truly one of the best ever speakers we have had at our events.

Real Estate

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis quite possibly gave the most informative, dramatic, and finely delivered presentation in our history. The audience was rapt, hanging on every image and every word he shared. The PowerPoint, with its images, was essential. I cannot say enough about this speaker.

Universities & Colleges

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Everyone here at PYMNTS is so appreciative for Adm. Stavridis’ outstanding talk – he was such a hit! Everyone was buzzing about it for days, people LOVED him at the conference. He was such an amazing, and engaging speaker (and person)!

Financial Services

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis was very, very interesting and had a great delivery.

Financial Services

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

It is rare to encounter such an accomplished individual with such a clear vision in the area of foreign affairs and defense. This, combined with meeting a mighty fine and warm human being, made our time very memorable. The lecture and Q&A responses were extremely well received. I would say that at least a dozen people contacted me to indicate he was the best speaker we have ever had in our speaker series. His after-dinner insights also gave our Steering Committee a deeper opportunity to benefit from his leadership perspective on several important topics.

Open-ticketed

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis is a phenomenal keynote and an overall wonderful speaker to work with due to his expertise, approachability and cooperation. His message and content resonated perfectly with our audience. Our attendees couldn’t say enough good things about him. We hope to work with him again in the future.

Security

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis’ comments on leadership and the guiding principles he shared around innovation and communication were both relevant and timely. The message really resonated with the team and served as a great set-up to the rest of the day.

Insurance

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Admiral Stavridis’ rich career has allowed him to experience first-hand the many challenges we face as a society. His insights bring clarity and offer solutions to these challenges. Admiral Stavridis presented the audience with the ‘behind-the-scenes’ maneuvering of many ‘hot-spots’ that we as a nation have encountered in the past 20 years. After meeting Admiral Stavridis you certainly understand why presidents, other military leaders and leaders of industry call upon him to navigate extremely difficult and dangerous situations.

Media

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Adm. James Stavridis was a big hit, both last night and at the luncheon today. Thanks for recommending him, he was very well received.

Chambers of Commerce

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

Great event! Admiral Stavridis was a big hit. Several people suggested he should run for president. We were very pleased!

Chambers of Commerce

What other organizations say about James Stavridis

What an honor it was for Calvin and our series to host you (Adm. James Stavridis). Thank you for your insightful presentation. We learned, we were entertained, and we were inspired. I believe our audience could have drank from the deep well of your experience and knowledge for many hours.

Universities & Colleges

Works by James Stavridis

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