Juan C. Zarate

Former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism

A noted expert on national security and top cybersecurity keynote speaker, Juan Zarate served as the deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism from 2005 to 2009. In this role, Zarate was responsible for developing and overseeing the effective implementation of the U.S. government’s counterterrorism strategy.

  • Juan C. Zarate Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type

    $20,001 - $30,000

  • Languages Spoken

    English

  • Travels From

    Washington DC, USA

  • Juan C. Zarate Keynote Speaker Fee Fee range is for U.S. events, depending on location and organization type

    $20,001 - $30,000

  • Languages Spoken

    English

  • Travels From

    Washington DC, USA

Suggested Keynote Speaker Programs

National Security Challenges, Global Risk, and Emerging Opportunities in an Age of Terror and Uncertaint

In an age of terrorism, growing threats from rogue states, non-state actors, and intensifying globalization, Juan Zarate – the U.S. government’s counterterrorism czar – explains current threats and trends, those on the horizon, and the risks...

In an age of terrorism, growing threats from rogue states, non-state actors, and intensifying globalization, Juan Zarate – the U.S. government’s counterterrorism czar – explains current threats and trends, those on the horizon, and the risks and opportunities to governments and businesses operating in a global environment. With deep experience in managing U.S. domestic and international responses to transnational threats from the White House, Zarate puts these issues – from terrorism and piracy to cyberthreats and nuclear proliferation – in strategic and economic context, while explaining the systemic and interconnected nature of the challenges the United States and its allies face. There are few who understand as broadly and deeply as Zarate the national and homeland security implications of the threats we will be facing for years to come and the likely responses and opportunities that will arise as a result.

 

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Understanding the Financial Furies: Economic Sanctions, Financial Regulation, and the Evolution of Smart Financial Power

The international financial system and economy have undergone enormous change and stress during the current economic downturn, and – as a result – they will be subject to increased international regulation and government intervention. This new ...

The international financial system and economy have undergone enormous change and stress during the current economic downturn, and – as a result – they will be subject to increased international regulation and government intervention. This new environment will create additional burdens and opportunities for the private sector, while governments will be more reliant on additional sanctions and regulations to protect the integrity and security of the financial system. This will feed a new brand of financial power determined by reputational risk and market forces, economic sanctions, and financial regulation, which will be used to pressure and isolate terrorists, drug traffickers, money launderers, international organized criminals, and rogue states. Zarate – who helped establish this new brand of smart financial power as the first assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes – oversaw the largest expansion of the anti-money laundering system in the U.S. since the 1980s. With that experience, he addresses the evolution of the global regulatory structure, the increasing use of financial influence in national security, and the likely costs to the private sector.

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The Expanding Role and Importance of the Private Sector, Transnational, and Non-State Actors in Homeland and International Security

Governments around the world rely heavily on the private sector to address security-related issues of local, regional, and global concern. From physical and systems security to data integration and analysis, private sector entities are asked to play a...

Governments around the world rely heavily on the private sector to address security-related issues of local, regional, and global concern. From physical and systems security to data integration and analysis, private sector entities are asked to play a more direct role in countering increasingly complex threats. In addition, the work of non-state actors, like NGOs and international commercial ventures, are viewed as critical elements of national security. This trend is especially important as state and non-state networks and actors work to thwart national defenses. With growing reliance on the private sector, governments will also be creating opportunities for greater investment by the private sector in all facets of homeland security. Zarate – who managed policies related to transnational threats in the White House and led outreach to the private sector in his career as a senior Treasury official – addresses the growing reliance by governments on the private sector to address a wide range of issues including homeland security, data and information analysis, counter-radicalization, maritime security, infrastructure protection, supply-chain security, financial regulation, and smart development.

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Managing, Innovating and Executing in Times of Crisis and Transition

In turbulent economic times, it is critical to manage crises with an eye toward emerging stronger and with a clear focus and capacity to succeed in the new environment. Juan Zarate – who helped establish the Office of Terrorism and Financial ...

In turbulent economic times, it is critical to manage crises with an eye toward emerging stronger and with a clear focus and capacity to succeed in the new environment. Juan Zarate – who helped establish the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury – speaks to the historic transitions at the Treasury Department after 9/11, the steps taken to downsize and restructure Treasury’s mission, and the resulting paradigmatic shift in the way the U.S. government and world leverage financial power. Zarate explains how a small group of individuals banded together under enormous pressure to rebuild Treasury’s role in the national security field by leading efforts to isolate terrorist financiers. Zarate also addresses how he led the government’s counterterrorism community, helped reshape U.S. government policies; coordinated the military, intelligence, diplomatic, financial, and law enforcement communities; and innovated new strategies to address the evolving threats facing the international community.

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The Future of National Economic Security

With his experience at the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury, Juan Zarate explains the history of our economic security, how it compares to our present situation, and what we will see in the future. He ...

With his experience at the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the Department of the Treasury, Juan Zarate explains the history of our economic security, how it compares to our present situation, and what we will see in the future. He discusses whether we are safer as a nation now than we have been in the past and what affects our threat level. An expert at the intersection of finance and security, Zarate also explains how businesses are now playing a central role in national security. He discusses how governments and the business world will increasingly collaborate in order to address the undercurrents of conflict that jeopardize the security of business and everyday life.

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The Changing Nature of Security

Before the spread of terrorism, our country’s enemies had a face and a name. We could identify the Nazis and locate the Soviet Union on a map. Today’s biggest security threats are very different. Battling terror networks that proliferate ...

Before the spread of terrorism, our country’s enemies had a face and a name. We could identify the Nazis and locate the Soviet Union on a map. Today’s biggest security threats are very different. Battling terror networks that proliferate over multiple continents and through cyberspace requires a different methodology than what we have used and dealt with in the past. Juan Zarate, with his vast experience as national security advisor and on the National Security Council, has both the breadth and depth of knowledge required to tackle such a complex issue as the changing nature of our nation’s security. An expert at the intersection of finance and security, Zarate takes audiences through the old way of thinking and challenges what we know, what we need to know, and what we need to be thinking about in today’s security environment.

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About Keynote Speaker Juan C. Zarate

The Honorable Juan Zarate is the global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer for the global consulting firm, K2 Integrity. He is also the co-founder and Chair of the Board of Consilient, an innovative new fintech.

Mr. Zarate is a Trustee, board member, and Audit Committee Chair for Northwestern Mutual. He serves on the board of Guardian Space Technology Solutions, and since 2014, Mr. Zarate has served as an independent adviser to Coinbase, the largest virtual asset service provider in the United States.

He is the chairman and co-founder of the Center on Economic and Financial Power (CEFP) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Class of 1971 Senior Fellow at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center. He is currently an advisor to the National Security Institute, the Harvard National Security Journal, FDD’s Center on Cyber & Technology Innovation, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He was a visiting lecturer in law at the Harvard Law School for eight years and is a published author, including his books “Treasury’s War” (2013) and “Forging Democracy” (1994). Mr. Zarate was appointed by Pope Francis twice to sit on the board of the Vatican’s Supervisory
and Financial Information Authority; sat on the boards of Boston Dynamics and Cambridge Quantum Computing North America; and for seven years, he was the U.S. advisor on HSBC’s Financial System Vulnerabilities Committee and remains an advisor to HSBC’s Group Risk Committee. For fourteen years, Zarate was a senior national security analyst for CBS News and later NBC News.

Mr. Zarate has served on multiple commissions and task forces, including the CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism; CSIS Commission on Strengthening America’s Health Security; the Council on Foreign Relation’s Independent Task Force on North Korea; the Center for A New American Security’s Future of U.S. Sanctions Task Force; and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council Subcommittee on Countering Violent Extremism.

Mr. Zarate served as the deputy assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Adviser for combating terrorism from 2005 to 2009, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the U.S. counterterrorism strategy as well as policies related to weapons of mass destruction/terrorism, transnational security threats, maritime security, international energy infrastructure protection, hostage-taking, anti-money laundering, kleptocracy, and transnational organized crime. He was responsible for conceiving and leading major initiatives in the post 9/11 period, including the establishment of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT).

He was the first ever Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing and financial crimes. In this role, he led the post-9/11 anti-money laundering and sanctions regime expansion in the United States; helped develop the international standards for AML/CFT and proliferation finance; supervised the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Treasury’s Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture (TEOAF); drove the innovative use of the Treasury’s national security–related powers and ultimately led the establishment of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI). He has also led some of the largest asset recovery ventures in history, including the return of over $3 billion in Iraqi assets. He was awarded the Treasury Medal.

Mr. Zarate is a former federal terrorism prosecutor prior to 9/11, serving on the prosecution teams in the East Africa bombings and USS Cole cases, among others. He is magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and a cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School. At Harvard College, he won the John P. Reardon Award, as the best male student athlete. He was a Rotary Scholar at the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. In 2002, he was inducted into Mater Dei High’s School’s Ring of Honor.

Media

Article

Dec 3, 2014

Big Blessings: Juan Zarate Appointed to Vatican Finance Department

There’s a New Sheriff in Town at the Vatican Finance Dept. and It’s Not His First Showdown. Questions? Contact Us...

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