Carol Rollie Flynn
- 30-year Veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
- Senior Fellow – Program on National Security
Carol Rollie Flynn Speaker Biography
Carol “Rollie” Flynn is the President of The Arkin Group. Ms. Flynn is a 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) where she held senior executive positions including Director of the CIA’s Leadership Academy, Associate Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Executive Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center, and Director of the Office of Foreign Intelligence Relationships. She also has extensive overseas experience including as Chief of Station in major posts in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and as an undercover Clandestine Operations Officer in Africa and Southeast Asia.
Ms. Flynn is President Emerita and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a nonpartisan think tank in Philadelphia which produces analysis focused on the foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. She has also been an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service/Security Studies Program where she has taught graduate seminars on intelligence, counterterrorism, and security. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Advisory Board of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC and the Board of the Jamestown Foundation. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and a Master of Science degree in Cyber Security from University of Maryland, and she has also completed executive leadership certificate programs at Duke University, Georgetown University, and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
She has also served on the Foundation Board of Holy Cross Hospitals of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Ms. Flynn is President Emerita and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), a nonpartisan think tank in Philadelphia which produces analysis focused on the foreign policy and national security challenges facing the United States. She has also been an adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service/Security Studies Program where she has taught graduate seminars on intelligence, counterterrorism, and security. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Advisory Board of the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC and the Board of the Jamestown Foundation. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College and a Master of Science degree in Cyber Security from University of Maryland, and she has also completed executive leadership certificate programs at Duke University, Georgetown University, and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She has also served on the Foundation Board of Holy Cross Hospitals of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Ms. Flynn has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service/Security Studies Program where she has co-directed the National Security Critical Issue Task Force (NSCITF), which has conducted research on Lone Wolf Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism, and Insider Threat. She has taught at the Fordham University Graduate School of Business and serves as Adjunct Staff at Rand Corporation. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Ms. Flynn has a BA from Wellesley College and an MS in Cyber Security from the University of Maryland/University College. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the International Spy Museum.
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Speech Topics
Intelligence and National Security
Sprinkled with anecdotes from her extraordinary experiences as a Chief of Station and an undercover operations officer for the CIA, Ms. Flynn provides an overview of intelligence and how intelligence contributes to our national security. This talk addresses the real “spy stuff” – how the CIA recruits and runs spy networks overseas. This interactive presentation also explores the ethical dilemmas inherent in intelligence operations and current intelligence issues.
Leadership in Crisis
This presentation explores the key attributes and practices of effective leaders in crisis situations. Drawing on her experiences as a CIA Chief of Station, Ms. Flynn relates fascinating anecdotes from her clandestine career to demonstrate the best practices and pitfalls of crisis leadership. This presentation can also be adapted to address the full range of leadership topics: Leading Change and Organization Renewal, Strategic Thinking, Effective Decision-Making, Creativity and Leadership, Conflict Management, Trust and Leadership, Organizational Culture, etc.
Leadership and Cyber Security
It has been said that there are two kinds of organizations: Organizations that have been attacked by cybercriminals and organizations that don’t know that they have been attacked by cybercriminals. Why did Sony get it wrong and what could they have done more effectively? This presentation explores cybersecurity from the perspective of corporate leadership teams and examines how organizations and leadership teams should prepare and position themselves to overcome a major cyber incident.
Winning Strategies for Women
This presentation explores how women can succeed in male-dominated fields and let’s face it, many fields are male-dominated, especially at the top. Drawing on her experiences as one of a handful of female senior executives in the CIA’s National Clandestine Service, Ms. Flynn provides lessons and anecdotes from her days as an undercover CIA operations officer and Chief of Station to help the audience navigate their careers more successfully.
Executive Presence
Executive presence is a key attribute of effective leaders, and this presentation examines how to develop a more dynamic presence. The audience will have the opportunity to learn skills and techniques to become more charismatic and powerful communicators. This presentation will also feature anecdotes from Ms. Flynn’s extraordinary career as an undercover CIA Chief of Station and clandestine operations officer overseas.
