Bruno Maçães Keynote Speaker

Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs (2013-2015)
Author of the bestselling book, 'Geopolitics for the End Time' (2021)
Frontline reporter in Afghanistan and Ukraine, and regular columnist for the New Statesman

Bruno Maçães's Biography

Dr. Bruno Maçães is a geopolitical strategist, and bestselling author. Previously, he was a member of the Portuguese government. Bruno served as Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2013 to 2015. He was known for his proactive role in searching for solutions to the country’s ongoing financial crisis and tabled several proposals for eurozone reform. He also took a tough stance with Russia, becoming a prominent defender of an energy pact between the United States and Europe.

After leaving government, Bruno took up fellowships with The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) and the Hudson Institute. His insightful writings on international affairs soon made Bruno a highly acclaimed and sought after journalist. In 2021, he reported extensively from Afghanistan, living in and reporting from Kabul as the US and remaining allied forces left the country. In recent months, he has reported from Ukraine during the Russian invasion. Bruno detailed these experiences in his regular column for the New Statesman.

Bruno is also the author of several bestselling books: ‘The Dawn of Eurasia‘ (2018), ‘Belt and Road: A Chinese World Order‘ (2019), and ‘History Has Begun: The Birth of a New America’ (2020). His most recent work, ‘Geopolitics for the End Time‘ was released in September 2021. In it, Bruno predicts that the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic will be the dawn of a new strategic era heralding a profoundly different geopolitical landscape. Reviewing the book, Professor Adam Tooze said, “Endlessly inventive, restlessly cosmopolitan, Bruno Maçães has written an essential book with which to think about the Covid crisis and its implications for our future.”

He is a senior adviser with Flint Global where he works with clients in the tech, life sciences and financial services sectors on EU political issues and policy.

Bruno received his doctorate in political science from Harvard University in 2007. He has taught at Yonsei University in Seoul and Bard College in Berlin. In 2008 he was a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, where his work focused on the political implications of the biotechnological revolution.

He brings rare, first-hand experience from the heart of European policymaking as Portugal’s Secretary of State for European Affairs during the eurozone crisis, translating complex EU dynamics into board-level strategic insight.
He offers a clear framework for navigating a more fragmented world order, grounded in bestselling books on Eurasia, China’s Belt and Road ambitions, and the post-pandemic strategic era.
He pairs analytical authority with on-the-ground reporting from conflict zones including Afghanistan and Ukraine, helping leaders understand geopolitical risk through lived reality rather than abstract theory.
He advises global clients across technology, life sciences and financial services on EU policy and political risk, giving audiences practical guidance on regulation, power and competition in Europe’s shifting landscape.
He challenges senior teams to rethink assumptions about globalisation, sovereignty and technology, equipping audiences to anticipate strategic disruption before it hits their markets and operating models.