16th Supreme Allied Commander, NATO; Partner and Vice Chair, Global Affairs of The Carlyle Group; New York Times Bestselling Author; Senior Military Analyst, CNN
Decorated Admiral and archetype of exemplary leadership, Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) addresses security concerns in a technologically transforming world.
A Florida native, Jim 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 through 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.
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 with President Donald Trump.
He earned a PhD from The Fletcher School at Tufts, winning the Gullion prize as an 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 fifteen books on leadership, character, risk, the oceans, maritime affairs, and Latin America, as well as hundreds of articles in leading journals. An active user of social networks, he has tens of thousands of connections on social networks. His TED talk on 21st-century security in 2012 has close to one million views. He tweeted the end of combat operations in the Libyan NATO intervention. Two of his most popular books are the novel 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, which was a New York Times bestseller and is being published in 22 languages, and To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and The Crucible of Decision. As a follow-up to 2034 and published in March 2024, 2054 explores artificial intelligence and geopolitics. His latest book is The Restless Wave, a historical fiction set in the early days of World War II. Admiral Stavridis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and Senior Military Analyst for CNN.
James Stavridis on Centrifugal Forces Pulling Europe
James Stavridis on the Pacific and the Rise of China
James Stavridis on The Future of Global Security
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 an International Law School, 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 Chair, Global Affairs of The Carlyle Group, 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 new Trump 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 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. This tour d’horizon is very effective for business audiences investing worldwide.
China and the USA: How the 20th Century Unfolds
Admiral Stavridis, an expert on China who spent over half his career in the Pacific Fleet, 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 an International Law School, and his current role at the highest levels of business and finance as Vice Chair, Global Affairs at The Carlyle group, 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.
Business Consulting from Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.): Take Command of Your Future
Bringing in a business consultant can challenge you and your organization to think differently about your business. Whether you are a new leader seeking a renewed vision for your company or a seasoned C-Suite executive exploring new trends in the marketplace, they provide the deep, strategic insights and much-needed perspective to help you make confident and profitable decisions.
James Stavridis, named a “Renaissance Admiral” by The New York Times, is a visionary leader and the longest-serving global combatant commander in recent American military. He’s widely recognized for his paramount expertise in strategy, tactics, diplomacy, national security, and strategic communications. His persistence and promotion of durable partnerships among nations have been critical in establishing the U.S. military as a solid and highly effective unit of intelligence and manpower. Adm. Stavridis will share poignant lessons with your executive leadership team on how to address your company’s most pressing challenges and take command of your future.
His advisory topics include:
Crisis Management
Cultivating Innovation and Creativity
Cyber Security Solutions
Global Opportunities
Leadership
Leveraging Media and Communications
Risk Management Planning
U.S. Foreign Policy
Understanding Emerging Markets
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
The ADM. quite possibly gave the most informative, dramatic, and finely delivered presentations in our history. It was a rapt audience that hung on to every image and word the ADM. projected. The PP with 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 together and your time with our Steering Committee very memorable.Your 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.” Your after-dinner insights caused our Steering Committee further and deeper opportunity to benefit from your leadership perspective on multiple and 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 offers 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 – building bridges and not walls. 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.
