A 360° Perspective on Strategy, Technology & Freedom
Insightful keynotes blending congressional experience, global strategy, university leadership, and firsthand engagement with China’s digital authoritarianism
Mark Kennedy delivering a keynote address in November, 2025. Photo: Jeff Blake.
“Today, influence is contested across battlefields, boardrooms, classrooms, trade routes, and even code. Leaders must think across domains—and draw on experience that does the same.”
Strategic Voice for a World at a Crossroads
- Mark Kennedy offers a unique perspective shaped by service as a U.S. Congressman, university president, Fortune 100 executive, and now as Director of the Wahba Initiative for Strategic Competition at NYU’s Development Research Institute. His talks blend personal experience, global strategic insight, and compelling storytelling to help leaders navigate an era where freedom, technology, and democracy are being tested in unprecedented ways.
- Whether addressing corporate executives, policymakers, campus audiences, or global forums, Mark delivers keynotes that combine lived experience with strategic clarity—showing how democracies can compete effectively and wire the world for trust.
Featured Signature Speech
Today’s Front Line of Freedom Is Digital
What Beijing Taught Me About Freedom, Dependency, and Digital Power
- Mark’s most personal and widely resonant keynote traces two journeys to China—one that ended in airport detention, and one where he and his students unexpectedly walked into the Forbidden City at night. These experiences illuminate how Beijing thinks about control, how supply-chain dependence becomes geopolitical leverage, and why the future of freedom will be shaped not by territory but by code, chips, and critical systems.
- This speech ties together:
- The CCP’s long game through wei qi strategy
- China's Dual Circulation plan - its indenpence, others' dependence
- Digital authoritarianism and erased truth
- The global contest between a new Forbidden City and a League of Free Cities
A powerful narrative keynote on the strategic, economic, and moral stakes of today’s digital age.
Why Book Mark Kennedy?
- Mark Kennedy stands at the intersection of strategy, technology, leadership, and democratic resilience. His insights come not only from decades of work shaping policy and leading large institutions, but from firsthand experiences inside China’s censorship and control apparatus—including a brief detainment at Beijing’s airport and an unexpected passage into the Forbidden City that reshaped his strategic worldview.
- Audiences book Mark because he delivers:
- Unmatched 360° perspective: Congress, Fortune 100, university presidencies, and global strategy.
- Compelling narrative clarity: transforming complex geopolitics into vivid, accessible stories.
- Actionable frameworks: GRIPS, PIVOT, ALIGN, and WISC’s Tech Stack Strategy.
- A values-driven message: strengthening freedom, trust, and resilience in polarized times.
- Credibility with global institutions: insights informed by collaboration with U.S and international governments, leading global think tanks, industry leaders, and international forums.
- Mark’s talks resonate because they connect personal experience with strategic insight—and show how leaders can prepare their organizations, communities, and countries for the defining contest of our time.
Ten Keynotes Tailored to Today’s Strategic Imperatives
Mark’s ten core keynotes are designed to equip leaders for today’s most urgent strategic challenges—each rooted in real-world experience and forward-looking frameworks.
Today’s Front Line of Freedom is Digital
Competing for Freedom: Strategy for a Divided and Interdependent World
Geoeconomic Statecraft: Power Through Markets, Rules, and Infrastructure
Alliances for the 21st Century: From Security Guarantees to Strategic Integration
Trusted Technology Alliances: Governing the Future Together
Competitive Resilience: Securing Our Future Without Going It Alone
Infrastructure That Binds: Financing the Free World’s Next-Gen Systems
Democracy-by-Design: Governing in a World of Competing Systems
Shapeholder Strategy: Leading Institutions in an Era of Polarization
Peak Leadership: Strategic Clarity from the Boardroom to Capitol Hill to the Quad
Custom Briefings and Engagements
In addition to his keynote topics, Kennedy has been asked to brief senior policymakers and speak on a range of strategic issues including:
- Preserving maritime security in the face of China’s port and shipping expansion
- Strengthening NATO's strategic posture
- Securing democratic resilience in Ukraine and the broader Black Sea region
Audiences
- Mark has spoken at:
- Corporations: 3M, Siemens, Cargill, Bentley Systems, Starkey, Sandia National Labs
- Associations: U.S. Chamber of Commerce - DC, Beijing, Brussels, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico City and Tokyo, Keidanren (Tokyo), Japan Association of New Economy - JANE (Tokyo), Corporate Relations Institute (Istanbul), Colosio Foundation (Mexico City), Dairy Foods Association
- Government: U.S. State Department - Washington DC, U.S. Embassies in Tokyo and Vienna, U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, U.S. Congress Select Committeee on the CCP, U.S. National Intelligence Council
- Global Forums: AI Action Summit (Paris), WTO Public Forum (Geneva, G1 Global Summmit (Tokyo), Global Security Forum (Qatar), NATO Parliamentary Assembly (Brussels)
- Think Tanks: Wilson Center, CNA, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (Germany), Canon Institute for Global Studies (Tokyo), Boston Global Forum
Formats
- Keynote • Fireside Chat • Panel Moderation • Executive Briefing • Student Engagement
A Strategic, Nonpartisan Perspective
- Since leaving Congress, Mark Kennedy has led in academia and global policy with a principled commitment to nonpartisanship and systemic objectivity.
- While his analysis sometimes addresses political actors or national strategies, his evaluations are anchored in frameworks—not ideology. Whether commenting on U.S. governance or foreign actions, Kennedy assesses leaders based on one consistent standard:
- Does this action bolster or weaken strategic position when measured against the GRIPS and PIVOT criteria?
- His work is trusted across sectors because it is balanced, transparent, and focused on aligning institutions for strength—not scoring political points.
👉 Speech Videos
👉 See Praise for Mark's Speaking
Tailored for Every Audience
- Every keynote is adapted to meet the audience where they are—whether the focus is business innovation, geopolitical alignment, national security, or institutional strategy. Kennedy’s delivery is engaging, informed, and pragmatic.
- While his prepared remarks are compelling, audiences consistently highlight the dynamic value of his interactive Q&A sessions. Kennedy’s Q&A sessions bring the frameworks to life—through candid conversation, sharp analysis, and real-time application.
Speaker Bureaus
Mark Kennedy is represented by leading speaker bureaus. You may book directly or through:
Contact & Booking
- Inquiries:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - Based in Washington, DC | Available globally
- Custom topics available upon request