Crisis Management

For an organization facing a crisis, both the internal and public communications make a vital difference in how a company weathers the storm. Our HWA roster of expert crisis management speakers have invaluable experience managing crises at every scale, as government leaders, media executives, global security experts, and CEOs. In sought-after events, they offer practical takeaways as well as uplifting insights about focusing on shared vision, communicating clearly, and overcoming challenges with grace.

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CALL TO INQUIRE

HWA Exclusive

Jake Sullivan

  • U.S. National Security Advisor (2021-2024), Director of Policy Planning, US Department of State (2011-2013), Deputy Chief of Staff,  US Department of State (2009-2011)
HWA Exclusive

Mark Gitenstein

  • US Ambassador to the European Union (2021-2025), US Ambassador to Romania (2009-2012)
HWA Exclusive

Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH

  • Public Health Futurist; Fmr. CDC Director & Fmr. Chair of NIH AIDS Research Advisory Council at the NIH
HWA Exclusive

Ron Klain

  • Chief of Staff to President Biden (2021-2023) & Longest Serving First Chief of Staff for Any Democratic President
HWA Exclusive

Kim Ghattas

  • Strategic Advisor on Geopolitics & Leading Middle East Expert; NYT Bestselling Author: 'The Secretary' & 'Black Wave'
HWA Exclusive

John Boockvar

  • Internationally Known Brain Surgeon Featured on 'Lenox Hill' and Expert in Stress Management
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Michael Nutter

  • Former Mayor of Philadelphia, Senior Fellow with Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Urban Policy Innovation Advocate
HWA Exclusive

Tina Brown

  • Founder and EiC, 'The Daily Beast'; Royal Commentator, CBS Morning Show; Advocate for Women in Media
HWA Exclusive

Mohamed El-Erian

  • Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz; President of Queens’ College, University of Cambridge; Board Member (Under Armor); Author of Permacrisis
HWA Exclusive

Jack Lew

  • Secretary of the Treasury (2013-2016), White House Chief of Staff (2012-2013), Director Office Management & Budget (2010-2012), Citigroup Senior Executive, COO, New York University & United States Ambassador to Israel (2023-2025)   
HWA Exclusive

Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall

  • White House Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor (2021-2025); Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy (2014-2017); Senior Fellow, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Distinguished Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
HWA Exclusive

David Miliband

  • CEO of the International Rescue Committee, Former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (UK)
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Wendy K. Smith

  • Organizational Psychologist, Leading Expert on the Power of Paradox, and Author of Business Bestseller 'Both/And Thinking"
HWA Exclusive

William J. Burns

  • Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (2021-2025), Deputy Secretary of State (2011-2014), US Ambassador to Russia during the Bush Administration (2005-2008)
HWA Exclusive

Chris Voss

  • Fmr. FBI Lead Hostage Negotiator; WSJ Bestselling Author: 'Never Split the Difference'
HWA Exclusive

Dr. Elisa Hallerman, PhD, JD

  • Fmr. Media Executive; Founder, Recovery Management Agency; Author: 'Soulbriety'
HWA Exclusive

Karl Rove

  • Former Deputy Chief of Staff & Sr. Advisor to President George W. Bush; MSNBC, FOX News, WSJ Contributor; NYT Bestselling Author of 'Courage and Consequence'
HWA Exclusive

Carol Browner

  • Fmr. Director, White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; Fmr. Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Board Chair, League of Conservation Voters
HWA Exclusive

Kevin Warsh

  • Fmr. Member of the Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System; Executive Secretary, National Economic Council, & Member of G31
HWA Exclusive

Lawrence Summers

  • Fmr. Treasury Secretary; Fmr. White House National Economic Council; OpenAI Board Member
HWA Exclusive

Joe Lockhart

  • Strategic Communications and Media Expert, Former Communications Exec for the NFL & Facebook, and Political Strategist
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William J. Bratton

  • Former Commissioner of New York City & Boston Police Department; Former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
HWA Exclusive

Cody Keenan

  • White House Director of Speechwriting for President Barack Obama; NYT Bestselling Author of 'Grace'
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Phil Elwood

  • Washington PR Operative, Author, ‘All the Worst Humans: How I Made News for Dictators, Tycoons, and Politicians’
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Keechant Sewell

  • SVP of Security & Guest Experience for The Mets and 45th NYPD Police Commissioner
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Anita Dunn

  • Fmr. Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden; President Obama's White House Communications Director
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Dick Cheney

  • Former U.S. Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and White House Chief of Staff; Renowned Statesman and Bestselling Author
HWA Exclusive

David Plouffe

  • Fmr. Obama White House Senior Advisor; 2x NYT Bestselling Author: 'The Audacity to Win' & 'A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump'
HWA Exclusive

Steve Forbes

  • Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media, Expert on Global Economy and Monetary Policy, and Bestselling Author
HWA Exclusive

Robert Gibbs

  • Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and McDonald's Executive, and MSNBC Commentator
HWA Exclusive

Michael Chertoff

  • Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity Expert and Founder of the Data Equilibrium Project, Co-Founder of The Chertoff Group
HWA Exclusive

Jane Lute

  • Fmr. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Fmr. Advisor to UN Secretary General; Board Member: Shell, Union Pacific, Marsh McLennan, the Atlantic Council, & CIS
HWA Exclusive

Sully Sullenberger

  • Miracle on the Hudson' Captain; Fmr. UN Aviation Ambassador; #1 NYT Bestselling Author: 'Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters'
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Karen Hughes

  • One of the World's Foremost Communication Strategists, PRWeek Hall of Famer, and Counselor to President Bush
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Mohamed ElBaradei

  • Former Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Laureate, and Expert on Geopolitics & Global Security
HWA Exclusive

Jay Inslee

  • Governor of Washington State (2013-2025); U.S. House of Representatives (1999-2012) 
HWA Exclusive

Symone Sanders Townsend

  • Host & Anchor, MSNBC's 'The Weekend'; Author, Political Strategist, Former Senior Advisor for Vice President Kamala Harris
HWA Exclusive

Paul Tucker

  • Deputy Governor of the Bank of England (2009-2013); Author of 'Unelected Power', and Chair of the Systemic Risk Council
HWA Exclusive

Michael Spence

  • Nobel Laureate, Economic Sciences; Stanford Business School Professor; Hoover Institute Senior Fellow; Author: 'Permacrisis' & More
HWA Exclusive

General Mark Milley

  • 20th Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff; Fmr. Military Advisor to President, SecDef, & NSC
HWA Exclusive

Dambisa Moyo

  • Member of the United Kingdom House of Lords; Executive: Versaca Investments; NYT Bestselling Author: 'Edge of Chaos'
HWA Exclusive

Richard Phillips

  • Hero of the High Seas & Real Life Inspiration for the Movie 'Captain Phillips'
HWA Exclusive

Karen G. Mills

  • U.S. Small Business Administration (2009-2013); Former Member of President's Economic Council, Fintech Expert
HWA Exclusive

Jean-Claude Trichet

  • Current President of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, President of European Central Bank (2003-2011); Honorary Chairman for Group of 30 (G30)
HWA Exclusive

Tom Bossert

  • Former Homeland Security & Counterterrorism Advisor, President of Trinity Cyber, and National Security Analyst for ABC

Tamer Elnoury

  • Former Undercover FBI Operative, New York Times Bestselling Author of 'American Radical', and Expert in Human Connection

John Mack

  • Former CEO and Chairman of Morgan Stanley, Author of 'Up Close and All In: Life Lessons from a Wall Street Warrior'

Leonard Frank McCarthy

  • International Authority in Integrity Risk Management

Melissa Agnes

  • Crisis Management Strategist

Eric O'Neill

  • Former FBI Operative & Cyber-Security Expert

Anthony Gardner

  • Former United States Ambassador to the European Union

Michele Rigby Assad

  • Former CIA Counterintelligence Specialist

Brian Mosteller

  • Director of Oval Office Operations (2009-2017)

Daniel Hoffman

  • CIA Russian Operations Expert, Former CIA Senior Executive, Expert in Cyber Security and Counterterrorism

Thomas Kolditz

  • Brigadier General (Ret.); Executive Director, Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University; Behavioral Psychologist and Extreme Leadership Expert

Timothy Geithner & David Miliband

Nicole Malachowski

  • First Woman Thunderbird Pilot, Combat Veteran, Fighter Squadron Commander, White House Fellow & Adviser, and Indomitable Spirit

John E. McLaughlin

  • Former Deputy Director and Acting Director of Central Intelligence

Leo Tilman

  • Executive Chairman, Capitol Peak Asset Management

Michael Oren

  • Historian, Former Israeli Leader, Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., and New York Times Best-Selling Author

Chris Lemons

  • The Diver Who Survived 30 Minutes Without Oxygen; Commercial Diver Specializing in Deep Sea Saturation; Subject of Netflix Documentary 'Last Breath'

Fred Burton

  • Global Terrorism and Security Expert and New York Times Bestselling Author

Laura Tyson

  • First Female Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors (1993-1995); Director of the National Economic Council (1995-1996)

Sallie Krawcheck

  • One of the Most Respected Voices on Wall Street

Richard Breeden

  • 24th Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Jeff Evans

  • Adventure Guide and Corporate Speaker

Yossi Ghinsberg

  • Adventurer & Survivor of the Amazon Forest, Bestselling Author, and Advocate for Environmental and Humanitarian Issues

Bill Benjamin

  • Performance, Leadership, and High Pressure Environment Expert

Susan Del Percio

  • Politcal Analyst for NBC & MSNBC; Political Strategist and Crisis Communications Consultant

Dr. Mark T. Esper

  • Former U.S. SecDef, Bestselling Author of 'A Sacred Oath', and Commissioner, U.S.-China Economic and Security Review

Sandy Yawn

  • Superyacht Captain and Series Lead on Bravo's Below Deck Mediterranean

Tomas Pueyo

  • Engineer, Data Analyst and Silicon Valley Executive

Fred Hochberg

  • Longest-serving Chairman in Export-Import Bank history; High-ranking business leader in the Obama Administration

Marc Polymeropoulos

  • Distinguished 26 Year CIA Veteran with Operational Assignments Covering the Middle East, Europe, Eurasia and CounterTerrorism

Tevi Troy

  • CEO of the American Health Policy Institute

Natalie Stavas

  • Inspirational Boston Marathon Hero, Renowned International Humanitarian

George Papandreou

  • Prime Minister of Greece (2009-2011)

Judy Smith

  • Crisis Strategist and Communications Advisor

Araceli Segarra

  • Everest IMAX 1996 climber & tragedy rescuer

Josh Linkner

  • Serial Entrepreneur, New York Times Bestselling Author, and Venture Capital Investor

Juan Manuel Santos

  • President of Colombia (2010-2018), Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (2016), and Advocate for ESG Investing & Sustainable Development