How to Manage Geopolitical Risk in Today’s World

Courtney Rickert McCaffrey, SAIS '08 (MA), is a recognized thought leader in political risk and global macro trends, with an emphasis on analyzing the strategic implications for companies. Courtney drives market-leading insight around geopolitics, political risk management and geostrategy. She is co-author of ‘Geostrategy by Design’, a book that explores how to manage geopolitical risk in the new era of globalization.

Courtney also leads a team of Business & CXO Insights analysts that deliver actionable perspectives and strategic foresight on cross-cutting themes and macro trends.

In her previous role, Courtney managed the thought leadership program of Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council, dedicated to helping business leaders better anticipate and plan for the future. She has also managed projects and advisory services at the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, priced political risk insurance, and worked on political campaigns.

Courtney earned a BA from Drake University and an MA from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Wynne Rumpeltin is a Senior Vice President and serves as the Head of Risk Governance and Resolution Planning. She is responsible for overseeing State Street’s top-down risk governance framework, including the firm-wide Risk Appetite Statement; enterprise-level stress testing, and the integration of risk assessment and strategy in corporate development and strategic planning. Previously, Ms. Rumpeltin served as the Global Head of Operational Risk and Country Risk.

Prior to joining State Street, Ms. Rumpeltin was an international strategy consultant for Eurasia Group, a political and economic risk-consulting firm, and at A.T. Kearney focused on international competitiveness strategies, offshore location assessments and new market entry. 

Ms. Rumpeltin has a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Brown University, a Master of Business Administration degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Arts degree in international affairs from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University.

Henry Farrell is the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute Professor of International Affairs at SAIS, 2019 winner of the Friedrich Schiedel Prize for Politics and Technology, and author with Abraham Newman of Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy, which has so far been translated into six languages. Underground Empire won the Council on Foreign Relations' Arthur Ross bronze medal for best book on foreign affairs in 2024, and was one of Foreign Affairs' two "editors' choices" for best book. He writes regularly on geoeconomics for publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Foreign Affairs. Farrell and Newman's award winning 2019 article on geoeconomics for International Security introduced the idea of "weaponized interdependence," which has been widely cited and used by senior officials in the US, EU, United Kingdom, G-7 and elsewhere.