Image
Eric Traupe: What Matters Most as a Leader
Eric Traupe
National Intelligence Leader, Former CIA Assistant Director
- Intelligence Community leader and former U.S. Marine Corps leader for three decades renowned for his transformational strategies for developing high-performance teams and leading them to mission success
- A trusted advisor to U.S. and world leaders on geopolitical and economic trends, and managing risk in the global landscape
- Shares fascinating stories from his experiences as a CIA leader, along with valuable lessons on leadership, purpose, inclusion, and innovation
Play Video
View Fees
With over 30 years of combined experience in the CIA and the US Marine Corps, Eric Traupe stands as one of the most influential voices in the Intelligence Community. He is renowned for his strategic foresight and unparalleled expertise in national security, playing a pivotal role in the US counterterrorism efforts. Traupe’s invaluable counsel has shaped critical decisions at the highest levels of government, advising CIA directors, U.S. presidents, military leaders, and members of Congress. Celebrated for his inclusive leadership style, top CIA officials hailed Traupe as someone that “will reverberate across the agency for decades.”
Traupe leveraged his extensive leadership experience in national security and founded Azimuth Global LLC, a consulting firm that provides strategic advisory services to Fortune 500 companies in the technology, national security, and strategic risk sectors. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Traupe’s talks cover geopolitics, leadership, and risk management. His passion for fostering people-centered cultures empowers teams to innovate and collaborate across organizational and cultural boundaries. Through servant leadership principles, he inspires others to succeed even in the most challenging environments. In his speaking engagements, Traupe captivates audiences with his deep insights on risk management, national intelligence, and the constantly shifting geopolitical landscape.
As CIA Near East Assistant Director, Eric Traupe was at the forefront of global challenges, overseeing traditional intelligence operations, including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional influence. At the same time, he was responsible for strengthening U.S. partnerships across the Middle East and North Africa. Throughout his tenure, his ability to manage crises, assess risks, and guide the agency’s workforce through uncertainty—such as during the COVID-19 pandemic—ensured the CIA remained resilient. A senior Operations Officer, he served overseas as Chief of Station in two Middle Eastern countries and held senior positions in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and three conflict zones. Eric also spent nearly 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, adding to his expertise in intelligence, defense, and geopolitical challenges.
In addition to leading Azimuth Global LLC, Traupe currently serves as an operating partner with Lightspeed Venture Partners and Chief Strategy Officer for the integrated multi-family office Johnson Financial Group, LLC. He sits on the Board of Advisors for Intel Corporation and is an advisor to Anduril Industries Inc. and other emerging technology companies. Eric is a Principal at WestExec, on the Board of Advisors for the Center for a New American Security, a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center, and a panel member for the Special Competitive Studies Project focused on geopolitical rivalries associated with China and Russia. He was previously the President of Capella Federal Inc., a subsidiary of Capella Space Corp. Eric is also an Ambassador for the Third Option Foundation and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation.
At the CIA, Eric received several honors including the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, CIA’s Director Award, Intelligence Medal of Merit, ODNI’s National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, Clandestine Service Career Award, and Directorate of Operations Excellence in Leadership Award. Eric holds an MBA in International Business from American University and a BA in Communications from the University of Michigan. While at Michigan, he played Division I football as an inside linebacker and participated in two Rose Bowls and a Gator Bowl.
Speaker Video
Eric Traupe: The Nexus of Geopolitics and Leadership
Mission Focus: Five Core Principles for Successful Transformational Leadership. Widely regarded as a transformational leader who played an invaluable role in redefining the culture of the U.S. Intelligence Community’s highest-ranking agencies, former CIA assistant director Eric Traupe is credited with building high-performance teams on foundations of diversity, inclusion, creativity, and accountability. A master at seamlessly weaving lessons in leadership with fascinating stories from more than 30 years combined experience in the Intelligence Community and U.S. Marine Corps, Traupe shares five battle-tested principles for creating inclusive, purpose-driven environments that enable teams to communicate effectively, and empower them to innovate, develop solutions for overcoming any challenge, and position themselves to succeed in any situation.
Dynamic Leadership for Dynamic Environments. Impactful leadership is seldom straightforward and is often complicated by workplace disruptors that compete for our attention and demand a plan of action for navigating organizations to success, even as the world around them continues to fluctuate. As 30-year national intelligence and military leader Eric Traupe shares, this churn in organizational ecosystems is here to stay and calmness, control, and clarity — above all else — will be the traits impactful leaders need to exhibit to bring stability and growth to their teams. In this talk, Traupe draws from his experiences leading in dynamic, high-stakes environments to zero in on critical strategies for leading through times of change, lessening the duration and impact of disruptive periods, and preparing teams to weather the storm — and even thrive — when everything is working against them. Traupe’s insights and action steps are applicable to all organizations, from the smallest business units up through to the enterprise level.
Strategies for Creating Risk-Resilient Organizations. Serving for more than 30 years in leadership and command positions in the U.S. Intelligence Community and Marine Corps, Eric Traupe is a problem solver and innovator with expert-level experience and understanding of managing risk and leading through crisis. In this talk, he outlines crucial action steps to foresee, identify, and manage the challenges associated with risk, as well as capitalizing on its opportunities. Traupe’s insights on risk management can be easily adapted by leaders in any industry looking to create more cohesive, risk-resilient organizations.
Today’s Geopolitical Landscape: How Do We Make Sense of It All? As CIA assistant director, Eric Traupe’s work focused on responding to hot-button issues in the global landscape. He also served as a trusted advisor to U.S. and world leaders on solving highly complex issues with the potential to reshape our world. Providing audiences with a blend of high-level and granular context of the geopolitical and economic issues of the day, he shares an intelligence insider’s assessment of the potential outcomes of headline-grabbing global issues, as well as the possible impact on businesses, the global economy, and society. From the front lines to the White House and to the board room, Traupe offers unique perspectives on the geopolitical drivers that contribute to market volatility, supply chain disruption, and factors that are paving the way to a new world order that all organizations will need to understand in order to survive.
Recent News
Client Testimonials
Click one of these resources below for another way to find more speaker ideas for your audience.
