Cybersecurity and Leadership Expert, CIA Veteran, and President of the Foriegn Policy Research Institute
Carol Rollie Flynn is the President of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. A frequent keynote speaker for public and private sector groups and organizations, Ms. Flynn is a 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where she held senior executive positions including Director of the CIA’s Leadership Academy, Director of the Office of Foreign Intelligence Relationships, Executive Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center, Chief of Station in major posts in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and Clandestine Operations Officer in Africa and Southeast Asia. She attained a rank of Senior Intelligence Service-04 (SIS-04), equivalent to a three star general when officially interacting with the U.S. military. She has extensive experience in intelligence, security, and crisis leadership.
Academics
Ms. Flynn is also an adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy and Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service where she teaches graduate seminars on Intelligence and National Security. She serves as Adjunct Staff at Rand Corporation and is a senior affiliate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). A member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Ms. Flynn has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and a Masters of Science in Cyber Security from University of Maryland University College. She has also completed executive leadership programs at Duke University, and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She is an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation.
Intelligence and National Security
Sprinkled with anecdotes from her extraordinary experiences as a Chief of Station and an undercover operations officer for the CIA, Ms. Flynn provides an overview of intelligence and how intelligence contributes to our national security. This talk addresses the real “spy stuff” – how the CIA recruits and runs spy networks overseas. This interactive presentation also explores the ethical dilemmas inherent in intelligence operations and current intelligence issues.
Leadership in Crisis
This presentation explores the key attributes and practices of effective leaders in crisis situations. Drawing on her experiences as a CIA Chief of Station, Ms. Flynn relates fascinating anecdotes from her clandestine career to demonstrate the best practices and pitfalls of crisis leadership. This presentation can also be adapted to address the full range of leadership topics: Leading Change and Organization Renewal, Strategic Thinking, Effective Decision-Making, Creativity and Leadership, Conflict Management, Trust and Leadership, Organizational Culture, etc.
Leadership and Cybersecurity
It has been said that there are two kinds of organizations: Organizations that have been attacked by cyber criminals and organizations that don’t know that they have been attacked by cyber criminals. Why did Sony get it wrong and what could they have done more effectively? This presentation explores cyber security from the perspective of corporate leadership teams and examines how organizations and leadership teams should prepare and position themselves to overcome a major cyber incident.
Winning Strategies for Women
This presentation explores how women can succeed in male-dominated fields and let’s face it, many fields are male dominated, especially at the top. Drawing on her experiences as one of a handful of female senior executives in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, Ms. Flynn provides lessons and anecdotes from her days as an undercover CIA operations officer and Chief of Station to help the audience navigate their careers more successfully.
Executive Presence
Executive presence is a key attribute of effective leaders, and this presentation examines how to develop a more dynamic presence. The audience will have the opportunity to learn skills and techniques to become more charismatic and powerful communicators. This presentation will also feature anecdotes from Ms. Flynn’s extraordinary career as an undercover CIA Chief of Station and clandestine operations officer overseas.