Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!This week, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett chat with David L. Phillips, Director of Columbia University's Program on Peace-building and Rights and a former Senior Advisor to the U.S. State Department and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on the intersection of business and peace-building. We discuss why the commercial world needs to be engaged in the work that goes on in peace-building and conflict zones, and how David's own work on peace-building has differed between his time inside and outside government. David provides his view on how much economics intersected with his work, and what he means when he defines economic security. We also go into why businesses need to care about the human rights situations in other countries, and David's prognosis on what this intersection will look like in the future.

This week, A'ndre talks to Dr. Joyojeet Pal, an Indian politics expert and an Associate Professor of Information at the University of Michigan's School of Information, on all things Narendra Modi. They discuss Modi's unconventional rise to power and the controversies surrounding the BBC's documentary, which implicated Modi in the 2002 Gujarat Riots, which result in the deaths of 1,000, predominantly Muslim, civilians. Dr. Pal also highlights unclassified State Department documents, painting a picture of the U.S. Government's evolution in its stance on Modi -- from a Visa ban in the 2000s to the revocation of that ban before he became prime minister -- and the role that relevant U.S. political/policy figures and Indian Diaspora groups played in that timeline. They also discuss recent scandals involving Asia's once-richest-man, Gautam Adani, whose Adani Group recorded $120b in market value loss after the Hindenburg Group, an investment research firm, released a damning report alleging stock manipulation and fraud, amongst other allegations. Dr. Pal provides his prognosis on Indian politics, including how Rahul Gandhi, heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and current opposition leader, is attempting a political rebrand after two landslide losses to Modi in 2014 and 2019.

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode three, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett speak to David S. Lee about what he terms "the new national security economy." David discusses the framework he outlines in his recent Harvard Business Review article, and how companies are already affected by the 'national security economy' -- where certain dependencies (such as foreign production) can be a national security risk.  David also talks about how U.S.-China competition has driven national security concerns further, and commentates on whether companies are willful participants or victims of these circumstances. We discuss how companies are responding, whether through the creation of risk intelligence units or through having Chief National Security Officers as part of their senior leadership team.David S. Lee is an award-winning teacher that is active broadly in the areas of ethics, fintech, leadership, law, and corporate governance. He teaches in the undergraduate, executive education, MBA, and other taught postgraduate degree programs, including the IMBA with Fudan University, and the Executive MBA-Global Asia offered with Columbia Business School and London Business School. David is a co-author of the first Asia focused business ethics textbook, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, An Asia Edition (Cengage Learning Asia, 2019). His forthcomiong book is entitled A Perilous Moment: Navigating the New National Security Economy.

For the third year in a row, The Burn Bag hosted Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer (@ianbremmer) to discuss his Top Risks 2023 Report -- a forecast of the top geopolitical risks most likely to play out over the coming year. A'ndre Gonawela spoke with Ian at length about the report's #1 risk, "Rogue Russia", and why Ian believes that it is the most dangerous risk he has forecast ever in his time doing the Top Risk reports. Ian also provides his thoughts on why his #2 risk, China's Xi Jinping, was able to resist the blowback of his Zero-COVID policies and emerge as the strongest Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. We dip into some conversation on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, which the report terms as 'weapons of mass disruption,' and how they might impact democracy detrimentally. Next, Ian discusses his optimism that inflation may be easing, while giving a foreboding prediction that inevitable fuel price surges will significantly impact the developing world's economic burdens. We also talk about why U.S. political dysfunction is ranked lower on this year's list as opposed to the high rankings afforded in 2021 and 2022, why Generation Z is the #9 risk, and what Ian means when he asserts that 'Water Stress' is the tenth highest risk.

In this episode, A'ndre and Ryan talk to Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), about maintaining the integrity of international sports. Travis, who has spent two decades at the USADA, traces the history of doping in sports and how the rules for clean competition have developed over time. Having oversaw the investigation into Lance Armstrong, Travis break down why anti-doping regulations are so important and why holding athletes, teams, and countries accountable advances the rule of law. We then delve into the Russian doping scandal and the close relationship between sports and politics. Despite international agreements banning doping, countries such as Russia seek to win at any cost. The conversation concludes with Travis's persecutive on the future and how high-level athletes are using their platforms to advance anti-doping and anti-corruption efforts. 

In this week's episode, A'ndre, Ryan and David dive into some of the biggest stories of 2023. With President Biden's classified documents scandal heating up, they discuss the political and legal impact, as well as larger issues related to classification. The conversation then turns to the shocking resignation announcement by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. A'ndre continues with an overview of the controversies surrounding a potential Saudi Arabia acquisition of WWE. The episode closes out with an update on the War in Ukraine and why the World Economic Forum is mired by conspiracies. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this episode are those of the hosts. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any host’s employer.

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode two, the Burn Bag's Ryan Rosenthal and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett speak with Ari Redbord about the Web3 domain of risk. Ari helps us understand what the blockchain is and the various use cases for the private and public sectors. The conversation then moves to whether digital currencies are national security threats and how governments around the world have responded. Ari outlines the regulatory approaches (or lack thereof), and how existing laws and regulations are being used to combat financial crime. We also discuss how state and non-state actors use and abuse cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, including North Korea and hacking groups, and whether sanctions are effective against on-chain transactions. The episode rounds out with Ari's advice on how to stay safe, noting the benefits of a public ledger that can be used by law enforcement and the private sector to investigate malign actors and enforce compliance.  Ari is a Head of Legal and Government Affairs at TRM Labs. Prior to joining TRM, he was the Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary and the Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Former DIU Director Mike Brown discusses the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and its unique role in the Department of Defense. Topics include DIU's use of commercial enterprise to accelerate acquisition, challenges facing defense innovation, enabling access to longer-term contracts for smaller businesses and startups, perceived accessibility issues in partnering with DoD, and the state of defense innovation today.

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode one, the Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priestap speak with Jessie Liu about her career in national security and the business risks surrounding data. Jesse takes us through a conversation focusing on how the U.S. Government thinks about data regulations, in addition to data protections for U.S. persons and businesses, including the role CFIUS (The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) has to play. We also discuss public-private partnerships,  how the private sector works with government on data protection, and whether the Department of Justice and FBI are more reactive than proactive on this issue. The conversation concludes with Jesse's perspective on how her private practice role is contributing to the national security mission. Jessie is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP. From 2017-20, Jessie served as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Prior to joining the U.S. attorney’s office, Jessie was deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

In this episode, Ryan talks to Tom Feddo, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security, about the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Tom, who led the interagency body from 2018-2021, discusses the history of CFIUS and its power to review foreign investments. With increasing scrutiny on cross-border transactions, Tom sheds light on the CFIUS review process,  shares his perspective on the TikTok case and, assesses whether Twitter may be subject to the body's jurisdiction. The conversation concludes with an overview of the proposed outbound review legislation in Congress and what the future may hold for U.S. investment screening. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this episode are those of the hosts. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of any host’s employer.