MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2009

CORPORATE PROGRAM

ADVANCE REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. PLEASE REGISTER AT THE DOOR.

Global Political Risk: Managing through Economic Catastrophe

Ian Bremmer, President, Eurasia Group

With civil war, political instability, acts of terror, seizures of private companies, and a still-unfolding global financial crisis, the world is a dangerous place for investors and corporations. Indeed, it is more precarious today than ten or twenty years ago, because of the growing importance of emerging and frontier markets for sources of economic growth. In recent years, companies have learned the hard truth that, in the international economy, politics can matter at least as much as economics and can help forecast market risk. Scenarios that seem improbable – yet can have outsized, catastrophic effects – occur all too regularly because of political instability. To be competitive in the global marketplace, companies must identify how political risks and security threats will affect the cost of doing business. Effective management of political risk can help companies protect their investments and take advantage of new opportunities, thereby improving global business performance.

Ian Bremmer, in his groundbreaking book The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledgefor Strategic Investing, offers methods, tools, and concepts to help corporations, money managers, and policymakers understand a wide array of contemporary political risk, showing when and how political risk analysis works and when it does not. Bremmer is the president of Eurasia Group, which is the world's leading global political risk research and consulting firm. Throughout his career, he has advised world leaders on U.S. foreign policy, including British shadow Chancellor George Osbourne, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He is a regular contributor to The International Herald Tribune and contributing editor for The National Interest, and a political commentator on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC. Bremmer’s book, The Fat Tail, will be available for purchase at the program. 

This program is cosponsored by Leadership Greater Chicago and the Association for Corporate Growth.

"In these times of heightened geopolitical risk, political knowledge has become a hard currency. Ian Bremmer and Preston Keat have made an important contribution to the world of risk mitigation and business continuity in The Fat Tail."
--Muhtar Kent, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola

"Political risk has become increasingly complex, and The Fat Tail provides a truly new way to quantitatively assess it in established and emerging markets. It is essential reading for any CEO with multinational interests.”
--Randall Stephenson, Chairman, CEO, and President, AT&T Inc.

The Chicago Club
81 East Van Buren Street
Chicago, IL 60605
Business Attire required.

5:30 p.m. Registration and Networking Reception
6:00 p.m. Remarks and Q & A
7:15 p.m. Book Signing

Individuals $20

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