Fmr. CIA Director William Burns – America’s Role in Global Affairs

PLEASE NOTE EARLIER START TIME

4:30-5:00 PM – Registration
5:00-6:00 PM – Program

About the Event

At a moment when global threats are multiplying and traditional alliances are being tested, how should the United States navigate an increasingly complex international landscape? What role do diplomacy and intelligence play in addressing challenges from great power competition to regional conflicts, emerging technologies to transnational threats?

The World Affairs Council of Greater Houston and the Baker Institute for Public Policy welcome Ambassador William Burns, the 8th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, for a timely discussion on the most pressing issues facing America and the world today.

With more than three decades serving six Presidents across both parties—including as the first career diplomat to lead the CIA and as Deputy Secretary of State—he has been at the center of America’s most consequential foreign policy decisions. His experience spans the full spectrum of national security challenges, from managing U.S.-Russia relations during critical periods to navigating Middle East diplomacy.

Now serving as Senior Advisor for Global Affairs at Evercore and former President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ambassador Burns will share his insights on the future of American statecraft, the evolving intelligence landscape, and how diplomatic engagement remains essential to addressing the defining challenges of our time.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Bill Burns is Senior Advisor for Global Affairs at Evercore. Widely regarded as one of the most distinguished and respected American statesmen of the last century, Bill has served six Presidents and Administrations of both parties.

He most recently was Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a member of President Biden’s Cabinet, the first career diplomat to lead the CIA. At the end of three and a half decades in the Foreign Service, he became only the second serving career officer in history to become theDeputy Secretary of State. He also served as Ambassador to Russia and Jordan, and in a number of other senior posts.

Burns served from 2015 to 2021 as the President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. During those years, he wrote the bestselling book, The Back Channel: A Memoir of American Diplomacy and the Case for its Renewal. Burns earned a bachelor’s from LaSalle University, and master’s and doctoral degrees from Oxford University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar.

He is the recipient of numerous U.S. government awards, foreign decorations, and honorary degrees. He was one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2024, and on TIME’s list of Forty Most Promising Global Leaders Under Forty in 1994. He is married to Ambassador Lisa Carty, and is the proud father of two grown daughters.

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Host or Publisher The World Affairs Council of Greater Houston