This week’s panel of LSE IDEAS’ Russia-Ukraine Dialogues will focus on corporate responses to Putin’s February escalation. Speakers will analyse actions undertaken by the private sector, both in relation to doing business in Russia and in Ukraine, explore ongoing and future strategies, and discuss the role of business in relation to the conflict.
Meet the speakers and chair
John W.H. Denton AO became Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce in May 2018. Mr Denton is a legal expert and adviser on global policy, international trade and investment and infrastructure. His advice is sought by Australia’s most prominent corporations and by governments and international bodies alike. Mr Denton previously served on ICC’s Executive Board and in 2016 became the first Australian to hold the position of First Vice-Chair of the Paris-based organization.
Rory MacFarquhar is Senior Vice President for International Institutions Engagement at Mastercard. He served for six years in the National Security Council and Treasury Department during the Obama administration, focusing on international economic issues such as US-China relations, the G20 and G7, and the Eurozone crisis. He has worked at Google and at Goldman Sachs in the private sector, and has been a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a graduate fellow at Harvard's Davis Center for Russian Studies.
Atanas Raykov is Senior Director Growth Top Countries at Rakuten Viber. His mission is to build on the already huge popularity of Viber around the world for all over one billion users of the application, with a focus on Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Atanas works directly with Rakuten’s and Viber's global executive team to develop strategic partnerships, marketing and PR initiatives, as well as provide quality local content and key services aimed at further growing the application's users and into transforming it into a super-app.
Leon Hartwell is the Sotirov Fellow at LSE IDEAS and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in Washington D.C. His research interests include conflict resolution, genocide, transitional justice, diplomacy, democracy, and the Western Balkans. Previously, Hartwell was CEPA’s Acting Director of the Transatlantic Leadership Program and a Title VIII Fellow. From 2012 to 2013, he was also the Senior Policy Advisor for Political and Development Cooperation at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe, where his work included government and civil society engagement, political reporting, peace building projects, and supporting human rights defenders. In 2019, Hartwell completed a joint doctoral degree summa cum laude at Leipzig University (Germany) and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). His thesis analyzed the use of mediation in the resolution of armed conflicts.
More information about the event
Event hashtag: #LSERussiaUkraine
LSE IDEAS (@lseideas) is LSE's foreign policy think tank. Through sustained engagement with policymakers and opinion-formers, IDEAS provides a forum that informs policy debate and connects academic research with the practice of diplomacy and strategy.
This panel is part of LSE IDEAS' Russia-Ukraine Dialogues. Given the recent escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war (24 February 2022), the conflict continues to be fluid and requires cross-disciplinary analysis. Weekly panels, scheduled for every Tuesday, will bring together in-house and external experts to report on and discuss the war’s impacts on various global issues.