Cincinnati, OH – What a fun and quite unique night! Our November 12 dinner event and gathering at The Literary Club downtown – https://fplcohio.org/events/contemporary-espionage – saw a packed house for a presentation that truly stood out and reinforced the high standard for our organization’s speaker series. The event’s subject was not just timely, but quite uniquely captivating and relevant for today’s rapidly changing world.
“Challenges in Contemporary Espionage”
Our guest speaker, Mr. Jeremy Hurewitz, brought firsthand experience and a wealth of insights to the discussion. Regrettably, his flight from New York City was canceled due to the government shutdown, preventing him from attending in person. Despite this setback, we managed to connect via video call, ensuring the success of the event.
As an accomplished journalist, respected analyst, and trusted advisor to leading intelligence and corporate security bodies he shared rare and fascinating insights from years spent at the intersection of international affairs, high-stakes intelligence gathering, and global security analysis. From Prague and Shanghai to executive protection operations, his stories wove together the human and technological aspects of modern espionage.
His presentation brought to light the complexities and incredible advancement of modern Chinese espionage and its innovative tools and tactics, revealing the critical, sometimes confounding, challenges it presents for American and the rest of multinational defense and security experts. The talk went far beyond headlines, offering a detailed look at how current global actors and organizations operate in today’s intelligence environment and the great challenges the people in the field go through to counteract the advent of full body recognition and movement, and not just only the facial part. The Q&A session afterward was very engaging and lively, a testament to the presentation’s success in sparking curiosity and dialogue.
For those of you unable to attend, we don’t want you to miss out on Jeremy Hurewitz’s fascinating work. We recommend watching his recent video interview, “What Spies Can Teach Us About Persuasion”, via GZERO Media. In the video, Jeremy breaks down why true intelligence pros are more like master persuaders than action heroes and how these ‘spy skills’ have lessons for us all, from the conference room to the negotiating table. Get your own taste of the inspiration and practical insight he brought to our event!
For all interested parties, we’d like to mention that our organization has purchased a few books that we would be happy to offer at cost. All proceeds are tax-deductible and are used to support the organization and fund our future events. Please send us an email message should you be interested in purchasing your own copy.
Thank you all who came for making this event such a success! Stay tuned for more exceptional programming from FPLC in the new year, and remember, you never know what you’ll discover when you join us for nights like these!
Michelle Johns is an Assistant Professor of Management and International Business with research and teaching focused in organizational behavior and resilience, and leadership in change and crisis management across cultures. The past few decades have found Michelle working in the U.S., Spain, and Australia in corporate communications in the aerospace industry, as well as, tourism sustainability and IT projects with regional and local governments in the European Union and the United Nations World Tourism Organization. Michelle has served as the Academic Director of International Programs in the Lindner College of Business since 2019, and oversees the college’s growing International Business programs, study abroad programming, global strategic partnerships, and innovative international projects such as #BearcatsWithoutBorders and the Lindner Global Lounge podcast.
Mr. Hirte will be joining us from his office in Belgium for sharing with our members a dynamic and timely presentation on the “The Current Economic and Political Challenges of the European Union”, a very important topic part of today’s global socio-economic and political context, especially following the many changes the past year of 2020 brought to the world landscape and to the European Union in particular.
Mr. Qaisar Shareef concluded in 2011 a career of nearly 30 years with Procter & Gamble. He joined the company at headquarters in 1981, and spent a dozen years living and working abroad as P&G country manager in startup ventures in the emerging markets of Pakistan and Ukraine. The subsidiaries he led in those two countries continue to thrive today in spite of difficult circumstances. P&G Pakistan received from the U.S. State Department an Award for Corporate Excellence in 2012.
