Marvin Zonis

  • Global Political-Economic Expert
  • Professor at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago
  • Author

Marvin Zonis has the unique ability to present sophisticated and complex concepts in an easy-to-understand and entertaining manner. He has worked with many of the Fortune 500 companies through keynotes, consulting, in-depth Q&A sessions, and executive education programs.

Marvin's style allows him to connect with all varieties of audiences, from top-level executives to "rank and file" employees, leaving each with a deeper understanding of the forces that impact their business and how to adjust daily business practices to the global market

He speaks to and consults with CEOs and top management teams of global Fortune 500 corporations to discuss, challenge and expand their thinking on the impact of global issues on their particular business in a manner that has a major impact on their bottom line.

 

Marvin Zonis headshot
Past Hosts Include:
  • Investment Advisers Association
  • Walton Street Capital, LLC
  • Virginia Military Institute
Rave Reviews About Marvin Zonis as a Speaker
Your ability to link economics to politics gave not only cadets, but also our faculty a new way to view the world. Your discussion of the importance of ethics, not only in the conduct of business, but in the success of countries to improve the wellbeing of their citizens is a message that will resonate with everyone who attended our lecture. To me this is an added bonus that goes far beyond our original expectations.

Talks & Conversations with Marvin Zonis
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Getting Globalization Right: Rules for Successful Global Investing

Despite the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ongoing new terrorist threats, globalization is alive and well and slowly rebounding to pre-crisis levels. Businesses that seek success through globalization need to make better country bets. To determine where they s ...

Despite the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ongoing new terrorist threats, globalization is alive and well and slowly rebounding to pre-crisis levels. Businesses that seek success through globalization need to make better "country bets." To determine where they should commit their businesses. They need to assess the prospects of countries for political stability and economic growth. Making better country bets offers the best prospects for prospering in the global economy. A set of 15 principles for "getting globalization right," including estimates of corruption, leadership succession, external threats and others is offered to help businesses make effective assessments of country prospects.

Geo-Politics and Global Business in the New Decade

The twenty-first century will witness the most rapid changes in the history of the world. Technology is on an exponential growth curve. Powerful demographic trends have resulted in fewer births everywhere but especially in the rich countries and in dramatically ageing populations. Fears of climate c ...

The twenty-first century will witness the most rapid changes in the history of the world. Technology is on an exponential growth curve. Powerful demographic trends have resulted in fewer births everywhere but especially in the rich countries and in dramatically ageing populations. Fears of climate change are driving public policy and private investments. A number of countries are achieving vast riches and enhanced national power. These and other forces will be identified and their effects on the global economy will be described. Companies that wish to succeed in this century must anticipate and prepare for these changes.

The Triumph Of The Markets: Global Politics And Economics

The gap between the rich countries and the poor countries is not widening. In fact, for the majority of the world's population, that gap is diminishing. Some 60 developing countries have adopted many of the features of market economies and are growing their economies faster than the 30 rich countrie ...

The gap between the rich countries and the poor countries is not widening. In fact, for the majority of the world's population, that gap is diminishing. Some 60 developing countries have adopted many of the features of market economies and are growing their economies faster than the 30 rich countries. These rapid developers include India and China with 40 percent of the world's population between them. As a result, the gap between a majority of the poor, living in these 60 countries, and the people in rich countries has been diminishing for a decade. But there are another 60 countries in the world that have not adopted the features of market economies and have not joined the trend towards globalization. Their populations are not only not getting richer, but are frequently actually getting poorer. The income gap between those failing states and the rest of the world is widening rapidly. It is from those countries that future global instability and threats to the US will emerge unless the rich countries take concerted and vigorous action to generate economic development in those countries. The implications for business of these changes will be identified.

Crisis Of Globalization And Succeeding In An Unstable World

Whether in business or government, leaders are in the midst of hard times. For many leaders, these hard times provide an opportunity to strengthen their leadership positions. Leaders who seize the opportunities within a crisis can re-fashion their strategic vision for the future of their organizatio ...

Whether in business or government, leaders are in the midst of hard times. For many leaders, these hard times provide an opportunity to strengthen their leadership positions. Leaders who seize the opportunities within a crisis can re-fashion their strategic vision for the future of their organizations, remobilize resources, and enlist the powerful emotions generated in a crisis to strengthen their ties with their followers.

Forget The 'Brics' - It's The 'Bicis": Brazil, India, China And Indonesia

Despite President Medvedev's recent efforts to transform Russia, it will remain a laggard in the global economy. The vast mineral income flowing to its government makes market oriented reform difficult. The growth winners will be the BICIs - the rising powers of Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. ...

Despite President Medvedev's recent efforts to transform Russia, it will remain a laggard in the global economy. The vast mineral income flowing to its government makes market oriented reform difficult. The growth winners will be the BICIs - the rising powers of Brazil, India, China, and Indonesia. Their prospects for continued growth will be assessed. Indonesia is an often-overlooked winner in the global economy. It is the world's most populous country. It is a political democracy working hard to diminish corruption. It has had years of >6 percent growth. These four countries will become major economic and political powers.

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Books by Marvin Zonis
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Biography

At Chicago Booth, Zonis taught courses on the International Political Economy, Political Risk, and Business Leadership. He was the first professor at the Business School to teach a course on the effects of digital technologies on global business. He was given the Norman Maclean Award in 2013 for outstanding contributions to teaching and to the student experience of life on campus.

He also consults to corporations and professional asset management firms throughout the world, helping them to identify, assess, and manage their political risks in the changing global environment. He is a member of the Board of Advisers for the Comptroller General of the United States at the GAO, the Board of Directors of CNA Financial, a Fellow of PWC Advisory Services, and also a member of the Board of Directors of the Fondation Etats Unis.

Zonis has written extensively on globalization, digital technologies, emerging markets, Middle Eastern politics, the oil industry, Russia, and U.S. foreign policy. He is a leading authority on the Middle East and has spent the last 50 years studying Islam and the Middle East. He is the former director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago and former president of the American Institute of Iranian Studies. He has lived in Iran, hitchhiked in Afghanistan in and Pakistan 1963, studied Islam in Iraq beginning in 1964, and has traveled extensively throughout other parts of the region, as well.

His writings have been published in numerous journals. His books include Risk Rules: How Local Politics Threaten the Global Economy (May 2011); The Kimchi Matters: Global Business and Local Politics in a Crisis Driven World; The Eastern European Opportunity; Majestic Failure: The Fall of the Shah; Khomeini and the Islamic Republic of Iran; and The Political Elite of Iran.

He was educated at Yale University, the Harvard Business School, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a Ph.D. in Political Science, and the Institute for Psychoanalysis, Chicago, where he received psychoanalytic training