Norman, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma is launching a four-part OU Global Risks & Threats Series on Saturday, June 6, with leaders from the intelligence, finance, law enforcement, corporate and cyber sectors. The other three virtual events will occur in late June, July and August.

The subject of the first of the four forums is The Pandemic Threat: Risks and Impacts of COVID-19, and will focus on the latest threats, trends and strategies on how to address the most critical issues of the pandemic. The forum is scheduled 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central Time (USA). There will be a break halfway through.

Over the four sessions, attendees will gain knowledge of real-world solutions, with valuable insights from decision makers in the public and private sectors about their experience handling today’s most complex global challenges. Because of the pandemic, the series will take place as easily accessible virtual forums, presented online via Zoom. Questions for the speakers can be sent in before the forums.

Registration for the first event is US$30. Additional information, including a full agenda and presenter bios, is available online at price. ou.edu/GRTS, and the registration website is price.ou.edu/GRTSregistration.

Adriana Sanford, J.D., dual LL.M, the founding director of OU GRTS, Senior Fellow at the OU Center for Intelligence and National Security, and Assistant Director of Executive Education Programs at the Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business, will be the leadoff speaker at the events and preside throughout the series.

The lineup for the COVID-19 virtual event on Saturday, June 6, is:

Special Guest Speaker

Honorable Eduardo Aninat, Former Finance Minister of Chile, former Chairman of the Board of Governors and member of the Development Committee of the World Bank and the IMF

Keynotes and Featured Speakers

Adriana Sanford, J.D., dual LL.M., Former Fortune 500 Senior Counsel, Global Threats Expert, and International Television Commentator

Lou Bladel, former Chief of the FBI’s Counterespionage Section and current Managing Director of Assurance Services at Ernst & Young

Tom Finan, former FBI Assistant General Counsel and current Cyber Growth Leader at Willis Towers Watson

Cheemin Bo-Linn, ED.D., former Vice President of IBM and current Board of Director Member and Global Risk and Recovery Expert

Bruce Zagaris, global anti-corruption and antimoney laundering expert

Ross S. Delston, former FDIC regulator and global AML pundit

Scott B. MacDonald, global economist and former OCC International Economic Adviser

Jeff Schermerhorn, complex cyber risk expert at Willis Towers Watson

Future speakers include:

Spotify’s Head of Global Affairs and Chief Legal Officer and former Microsoft General Counsel and Corporate Vice President for Legal Affairs, Horacio Gutierrez

Chief Commercial Officer for Aon Intellectual Property Solutions, and former Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Philips and IBM Vice President of IP and Licensing, Brian Hinman

Former Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent and CIA Operations Officer (Narco-Terrorism and Global Security Threats), Matt Addington

Group Chief Risk Officer for Coca-Cola HBC, Gerold Knight

OU GRTS is a collaborative effort between the Michael F. Price College of Business and the OU Center for Intelligence and National Security, consistent with the University’s initiative “to solve real-world problems in ways that both build human knowledge and improve the communities that we serve.”

“The OU Global Risks & Threats Series provides a unique opportunity to leverage the insights of a diverse, talented group of international experts to better understand the risks and opportunities created by the COVID-19 pandemic and other major global concerns,” said James L. Regens, Ph.D., Regents Professor and director of the Center for Intelligence and National Security – an Intelligence Community Center of Academic Excellence.

OU GRTS maintains a cross-industry speaker ecosystem of world-renowned experts, visionaries, strategic decision-makers, and industry leaders that provide guidance, direction and insights.

“We think it is important to share our work and our vision with the global community and to help shape the next generation of world leaders, decision-makers, senior executives and skilled students,” said Wayne Thomas, interim dean of the Price College of Business. “By bringing world experts together, we can better understand the threats that have political, economic and social implications on all of us, and we can advance real-world solutions and work together on a multilateral basis,” he added.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. More information is online at www.ou.edu.

About the Michael F. Price College of Business

The Michael F. Price College of Business has experienced significant growth over the past five years in the number of faculty, staff and students and has become OU’s second-largest college, with more than 4,900 students. The College offers undergraduate, master’s, executive and doctoral programs across six academic divisions in Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Finance, Management and International Business, Management Information Systems, and Marketing and Supply Chain Management. The College’s Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business is a 27,000-square-foot facility located in the heart of Oklahoma City’s Innovation District and is home to the College’s full-time and professional MBA programs, as well as the Executive MBA in Aerospace and Defense and the Graduate Certificate in Aerospace and Defense.

The Price College of Business’s website is price.ou.edu and the Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business’s website is ou.edu/price/mba.