Briefing on Ukraine with Michael Morell, Fmr. Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

On March 8, 2022, the Meridian Corporate Council partnered with Temasek Holdings to host a virtual conversation with Mr. Michael Morell, Former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Senior Counselor at Beacon Global Strategies. The discussion, moderated by Managing Director at Global Beacon Strategies and Meridian Board of Trustees Member, Michael Allen, covered insight into the developments in Ukraine and their economic implications for private sector companies.  

Mr. Morell is one of the country’s most renowned national security professionals, most recently serving as Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and twice as its Acting Director. He started his career at the CIA in 1980 and became the Director of the Office of Asian Pacific and Latin American Analysis by 1999. In July 2006, Mr. Morell was named the Executive Director of the CIA, and in 2008, Mr. Morell became the Director for Intelligence at the Agency, leading the CIA’s large analytic effort. In this assignment, he strengthened the quality of CIA analysis and enhanced professional development opportunities for analysts. He served in this role until he was appointed Deputy Director in May 2010. 

Mr. Morell served as Acting Director longer than anyone in the history of the CIA, most recently for four months before the appointment of current CIA Director John Brennan in March 2013. He served as a member of the National Security Council’s Deputies Committee. In his over thirty years at the Agency, he played a central role in the United States’ fight against terrorism, its initiatives to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and its efforts to respond to trends that are altering the international landscape—including the Arab Spring, the rise of China, and the cyber threat. 

Mr. Morell received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Akron and a M.A. in Economics from Georgetown University.