Political risk is no longer a peripheral concern—it is a core driver of financial, operational, and strategic outcomes for organizations operating in an increasingly complex global environment. This practical and insight-driven workshop equips risk professionals and business leaders with the tools to identify, assess, and mitigate political risk across jurisdictions and markets.

Participants will explore both traditional and emerging forms of political risk, examine proven analytical approaches, and work through real-world case examples to understand how exposure manifests within their organizations. The workshop then shifts to action—covering measurement techniques, internal governance processes, risk transfer strategies such as political risk insurance, and the establishment of effective risk limits.

Designed for professionals across credit, market, and operational risk—as well as investment, treasury, and executive leadership roles—this session provides a structured yet practical framework to strengthen organizational resilience and support informed decision-making in uncertain political landscapes.

Completion Certificates will be issued to those who attend the full Zoom session. 

Michael (Mike) McDonnell is the Founder and Managing Director of MMD Global Advisory, established in Starnberg, Germany, and now based in Northern California. MMD focuses on country risk, the global capital markets and emerging market developments. MMD has served client needs in the sovereign wealth space, insurance & pension management, and institutions in the multi-lateral and subnational state lending areas. Prior to forming MMD, Mike held positions at the global insurance company Allianz SE in Munich. At Allianz, Mike served as Head of Credit Risk Analysis in Group Risk, where he was responsible for the monitor of obligor credit risk quality in the AZ Group insurance investment portfolio, and as an Advisor for the Allianz Group Public Policy and Economic Research team. In addition to his tenure at Allianz, Mike has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked in the Corporate Risk Management group at Merrill Lynch in New York, where he was Director and Co-head of Country Risk. Mike was also the Founder and Research Director for Berkeley Global Advisory, an investment research firm focusing on the global equity markets. And, prior to joining Allianz, Mike was a Principal and Investment Risk Manager at Barclays Global Investors (BGI)/BlackRock in San Francisco. While at BGI, Mike focussed on investment risk management applied toward US HY and EM fixed income strategies, country risk analysis and risk policy. He has also lectured on country risk at a New York University conference, the Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet in Munich, for the Institute of International Finance (IIF), at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, and for the Professional Risk Managers International Association (PRMIA).

Mike received a Masters Degree in Applied Statistics from Columbia University in New York City as well as a Masters Degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago. Mike has also received course certifications from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Macro-econometric Forecasting, Debt Sustainability Analysis and Macroeconomic Diagnostics. In addition, Mike has a Financial Risk Manager certification (FRM) from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). He is a native English speaker, and business proficient in French and German.