London Symposium Speakers
Chris Miller
Chris Miller is Associate Professor of International History, where his research focuses on technology, geopolitics, economics, international affairs, and Russia.
He is author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology, a geopolitical history of the computer chip.
He is the author of three other books on Russia, including Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia; We Shall Be Masters: Russia's Pivots to East Asia from Peter the Great to Putin; and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR. He has previously served as the Associate Director of the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy at Yale, a lecturer at the New Economic School in Moscow, a visiting researcher at the Carnegie Moscow Center, a research associate at the Brookings Institution, and as a fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Academy. He received his PhD and MA from Yale University and his BA in history from Harvard University. For more information, see www.christophermiller.net.
Maria V. Gordon, F98
Mrs. Gordon is a tenured investment professional and an independent board member of 3 large publicly listed companies. Prior to assuming her board roles in 2015, Maria (Masha) led the emerging markets equity portfolio management team at PIMCO’s London office. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2010, she was a managing director, portfolio manager and head of global emerging markets equity strategy at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Earlier in her career, Mrs. Gordon was a reporter for the Moscow bureau of "The Washington Post". She has over two decades of investment experience and holds a master of arts degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. An avid alpinist, Masha set two Guinness world records in 2016 by becoming the fastest woman to climb the Seven Summits challenge and Explorers Grand Slam. She lives in London and is a mother to Theo (10) and Freya (12).
Welcome Remarks from Dean Rachel Kyte, F02
Rachel Kyte is the 14th dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University. Kyte is the first woman to lead the United States' oldest graduate-only school of international affairs, which attracts students from all corners of the world and at all stages of their careers.
Prior to joining Fletcher, Kyte served as special representative of the UN secretary-general and chief executive officer of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL). She previously was the World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the run-up to the Paris Agreement. She was also vice president at the International Finance Corporation responsible for ESG risk and business advisory services.
In her UN role and as CEO of SEforAll, a public-private platform created by the UN and World Bank, Kyte led efforts to promote and finance clean, reliable and affordable energy as part of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
She served as co-chair of UN Energy.
In the 2020 UK New Year Honours, Rachel was appointed as CMG for her services to sustainable energy and combating climate change.
Kyte is a member of the UN secretary-general’s high-level advisory group on climate action and an advisor to the UK presidency of the UN climate talks. Kyte is co-chair of the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI), and chair of the FONERWA, the Rwanda Green Fund. She serves on the boards of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the Climate Policy Institute and CDP. She advises investors, governments, and not-for-profits on climate, energy, and finance for sustainable development.
A British citizen, Kyte earned her undergraduate degree from University of London and a Master of Arts in International Relations (GMAP) from The Fletcher School. She is a regular contributor on global media. Kyte has received numerous awards for leadership in climate and sustainable development and was named by Time magazine as one of the 15 women that were leading climate action.