Mark Kennedy

Mark Kennedy equips leaders to compete in a divided world, offering clarity amidst disruption through strategic frameworks and insights.

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“Thank you for your insights on the state of affairs in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. We are living in a global world where political, economic, and social forces are deeply interconnected. Your interaction and engagement made the burning issues much more transparent and actionable for our business leaders.”

Siemens Turkey Executive

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Why book Mark Kennedy for your next event

As the Founding Director of the strategies that Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, Mark Kennedy specializes in crafting policy protect open societies from authoritarian threats. His frameworks empower leaders to build trusted alliances, secure resilient supply chains, and influence global digital rules, essential for navigating today’s geopolitics.
Having led Federated Department Stores through the largest non-oil merger and corporate reorganization in U.S. history, Mark Kennedy offers firsthand experience on transforming organizations. His expertise in aligning systems and stakeholders will help your company manage complexity and drive sustainable growth.
Mark Kennedy, a former U.S. Congressman, provides unparalleled insights gained from navigating global crises, including the aftermath of 9/11 and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. His experience equips leaders with the tools to adapt, communicate effectively, and build resilience during disruptive times.

Non-binding request for Mark Kennedy

Leading Through Disruption with Strategic Clarity

Mark Kennedy empowers leaders to navigate disruption with strategic clarity. Drawing on his unique experience in business, government, and academia, he offers actionable frameworks to align systems, build resilience, and lead with trust in today’s complex world. Book him to transform your leadership approach.

Keynote Speaker Mark Kennedy is a renowned expert in strategic coherence, leadership, and navigating disruption in a divided world. With a unique background as a senior officer of a Fortune 100 company, a U.S. Congressman, and the president of a flagship public research university, Kennedy brings unparalleled insights into leadership across multiple sectors.

As the Founding Director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition, he crafts innovative policy strategies that align open societies against global authoritarian threats. His frameworks, GRIPS, PIVOT, and ALIGN, help organizations diagnose their posture, reinforce systems, and execute strategy with clarity, even in times of crisis.

Mark Kennedy’s keynotes are designed to equip leaders with practical tools to build resilient, mission-first organizations. By addressing common challenges such as misaligned systems and external disruptions, he offers a roadmap for transforming complexity into success. Whether it's aligning stakeholders or navigating the complexities of global politics and technology, Kennedy's expertise empowers organizations to thrive.

Book Mark Kennedy for your event to give your audience a 360° lens on leadership in today’s contested world. His experience in both the public and private sectors ensures that every keynote is rich in real-world relevance, offering actionable strategies to drive organizational success.

Customer Reviews

Siemens Turkey Executive

"Your talk provided me with many insights that I’ve applied in my own role as a leader. Thank you for your inspiration. Your talk made me a better leader of my people."

President Edelman Japan

"I have been very impressed with all that you do. Thank you for ensuring we all engage in productive dialogue!"

Intel Executive

"Your insights and expertise added tremendous value... the feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly positive."

Bentley Systems Executive

“Mark Kennedy offers a rare combination of strategic clarity and diplomatic respect. His keynote in Hanoi provided valuable insights into global AI and digitization trends while thoughtfully engaging Vietnam’s Central Theoretical Council. At Harvard, his remarks at the Boston Global Forum inspired deep thinking about how technology can be governed in a way that advances openness, cooperation, and human dignity. Mark bridges policy, technology, and values in a way few speakers can.”

Nguyen Anh Tuan CEO, The Boston Global Forum

“As good as you are on strategic competition and infrastructure, you're even better when drawing on your Congressional experience. Your shrewd, nonpartisan insights into the first branch of government and today’s party dynamics are why you’re in such demand.”

Director Canada Institute

"Your help moderating the session on supply chains and critical minerals was invaluable in making the event a success. The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive, with attendees praising the depth of discussions and the actionable ideas that emerged."

Deputy CEO U.S. International Development Finance Corporation

“Someone at your EDC speech told one of our marketing folks that it was the best speech he had ever heard!”

Dr. Thomas DiLorenzo Provost, University of North Dakota

“Mark was splendid. The students and I loved the talk, including Q&A. One can see why he got elected to Congress—plus, why he makes a great Director for GSPM. Smart, personable and insightful.”

Professor Washington & Lee University

“Many students cited your guest lecture as the highlight of the course.”

Professor Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Keynotes

Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

From Overconfidence to Coherence: Competing Like It Matters

Flagship Keynote on Strategic Competition

In a world of fractured alliances and rival tech ecosystems, strategic competition isn’t a single fight, it’s a system-wide test of alignment, trust, and execution. In this powerful keynote, Mark Kennedy explains why winning today’s geopolitical contest requires more than capability, it demands coherence.

Audiences will walk away with a shared language for navigating complexity, grounded in Kennedy’s GRIPS, PIVOT, and ALIGN frameworks. Whether in boardrooms, ministries, or universities, Mark delivers a roadmap for leading with clarity in a contested, interdependent world.

Audience Takeaways:

How democracies can compete without fragmentation
Why trust, not just strength, defines strategic advantage
A practical framework to align strategy, systems, and execution

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Geoeconomic Statecraft: Power Through Markets, Rules, and Infrastructure

The New Toolkit of Global Influence

Markets have become battlegrounds. In this provocative talk, Kennedy shows how finance, trade, and development are now frontline tools of global power. From supply chain controls to infrastructure finance, he explores how open societies can lead through aligned geoeconomic strategy.

This is a must-hear for leaders navigating sanctions, export controls, new trade regimes, or the rise of alternative financial blocs.

Audience Takeaways:

Why rules-based trade must be strategic, not just liberal
How to harness infrastructure and investment for alignment
What economic resilience looks like in a multipolar world

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Alliances for the 21st Century: From Security Guarantees to Strategic Integration

Redefining Partnership for the Age of Systems Rivalry

Alliances must evolve from last-resort defense pacts into full-spectrum partnerships, spanning tech, trade, regulation, and governance. Mark Kennedy draws on high-level policy experience to reveal how alliances like NATO, AUKUS, IPEF, and the Quad must modernize for resilience and relevance.

Ideal for summits, foreign ministries, or industries embedded in alliance-driven ecosystems.

Audience Takeaways:

The future of alliances: not just defense, but direction
Lessons from digital cooperation and Indo-Pacific frameworks
The strategic role of industry in alliance modernization

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Trusted Technology Alliances: Governing the Future Together

Digital Trust as a Strategic Asset

From AI standards to semiconductors and data flows, Kennedy reveals how technology is the frontline of modern competition and why democracies must shape interoperable, values-based digital ecosystems.

This keynote speaks directly to public and private actors navigating a shifting digital order, offering clarity on policy, alignment, and responsible innovation.

Audience Takeaways:

How democracies can lead through digital governance
Why trust, not dominance, defines tech power
Real-world playbook for building tech alliances that last

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Mark Kennedy:

Tech Leadership in a Fractured World: Competing Without Losing Our Values

Winning the Tech Race Without Becoming What We Fear

Can democracies lead in AI, chips, and cloud without compromising their identity? In this inspiring talk, Kennedy lays out how to embed values in tech strategy, balancing innovation, security, and civil liberties.

It’s not just about speed, it’s about what kind of future we’re building. This keynote is ideal for conferences at the intersection of tech, ethics, and national strategy.

Audience Takeaways:

Why values are strategic assets in digital leadership
How to embed resilience into AI and infrastructure
Strategies to avoid decoupling while competing boldly

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Competitive Resilience: Securing Our Future Without Going It Alone

Federated Supply Chains and Coalition-Based Industrial Strategy

In a world of contested interdependence, the answer isn’t self-sufficiency, it’s trusted interdependence. Mark Kennedy challenges the myth of go-it-alone resilience and makes the case for federated supply chains and coalition-driven industrial policy.

From COVID-era shortages to semiconductor geopolitics, this keynote equips leaders to build systems that bend, but don’t break.

Audience Takeaways:

How to de-risk supply chains without triggering nationalism
Why resilience is now a shared strategic mission
How alliances can harden economic infrastructure, not just military defense

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Infrastructure That Binds: Financing the Free World’s Next-Gen Systems

Trusted Infrastructure as a Strategic Tool

Infrastructure is no longer neutral, it’s geopolitical. From power grids to data cables, Mark Kennedy shows how strategic infrastructure now defines alignment, access, and influence.

This keynote helps leaders reimagine infrastructure as connective tissue in an era of systemic competition, and makes the case for transparent, values-driven investment.

Audience Takeaways:

How digital, energy, and transport infrastructure shape deterrence
Lessons from BRI, PGII, IPEF, and the Blue Dot Network
A strategic roadmap for government, industry, and multilateral alignment

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Democracy-by-Design: Governing in a World of Competing Systems

Performance, Not Just Principle

Democracy is not self-executing. In this urgent and inspiring keynote, Mark Kennedy outlines how governance must become a strategic discipline, designed for agility, trust, and performance.

Ideal for global forums, reform-minded institutions, and civic leaders, this talk delivers a framework for democratic strength across digital, civic, and institutional domains.

Audience Takeaways:

Why democratic systems must now compete on effectiveness
How to align governance with resilience, legitimacy, and trust
Practical tools for public-private-civic collaboration in contested spaces

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Shapeholder Strategy: Leading Institutions in an Era of Polarization

From Backlash to Buy-In

From ESG activists to regulatory critics, leaders today face external actors who hold no stake—yet shape every outcome. Drawing from his acclaimed book Shapeholders, Kennedy delivers a framework for navigating this rising pressure with clarity and credibility.

This talk is essential for leaders in business, higher ed, and nonprofits managing narrative risk and public trust.

Audience Takeaways:

How to engage critics as contributors, not just threats
Mapping influence beyond customers, voters, or shareholders
Building alignment between mission, message, and momentum

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Keynote by Mark Kennedy:

Peak Leadership: Strategic Clarity from the Boardroom to Capitol Hill to the Quad

A 360° View of Leadership Across Sectors and Crises

Mark Kennedy’s personal journey, from Fortune 100 officer to U.S. Congressman to university president, has equipped him with a rare 360° lens on leadership. In this deeply human and practical keynote, he shares what each arena taught him about clarity, trust, and transformation.

Whether leading through 9/11, an oil crash, or a global pandemic, Kennedy distills lessons on how to remain purpose-driven in polarized times.

Audience Takeaways:

A four-directional leadership model: upward to purpose, outward to people, inward to principle, forward through change
How to lead across sectors with credibility and grace
What it takes to earn trust under scrutiny—and keep it