Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA with Marc Polymeropoulos (Lunch)

When:

September 18, 2025
12:00 pm
– 1:00 pm

Where:

Bear Tooth Theatre
1230 W 27th Ave
Anchorage,
Alaska
99502
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Join us for an inside look at high-stakes decision-making with former CIA Senior Intelligence Service officer Marc Polymeropoulos. Drawing on 26 years of experience in the field—including leading clandestine operations across Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia—Polymeropoulos shares powerful leadership lessons forged in crisis. Through real-world stories from the front lines of counterterrorism and espionage, this program offers insights on resilience, trust, and leading through uncertainty.

Due to popular demand we will be hosting two programs on September 18 with Marc Polymeropoulos. Please note that the Noon program will have an audience primarily made up of local students (university, high school, and middle school) and the evening program will be mostly adult community members. Please register for whichever program best fits your schedule, or feel free to attend both!

About the speaker

Marc Polymeropoulos is a nonresident senior fellow in the Forward Defense practice of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

Polymeropoulos worked for twenty-six years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) before retiring in July 2019 at the Senior Intelligence Service level. He was one of the CIA’s most highly decorated operations officers, serving in multiple field and headquarters assignments for the US government. Polymeropoulos received the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the Intelligence Commendation Medal, and the Intelligence Medal of Merit. He specialized in counterterrorism, the Middle East, and South Asia, spending extensive time in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just prior to his retirement, Polymeropoulos served at CIA headquarters and was in charge of the CIA’s clandestine operations in Europe and Eurasia.

Polymeropoulos frequently comments on international events in the US media, including the Washington Post, the New York Times, Fox News, GQ, Yahoo News, CNN, and MSNBC. He also writes a weekly column on intelligence as a Washington Examiner contributor. Polymeropoulos’s book, “Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA,” was published by Harper Collins in June 2021.

Event details
  • Check-in will begin at 11:30 AM with seating available on a first-come first-serve basis. The program will begin at 12:00 PM.
  • Those with online reservations do not need to present ticket confirmation at the door, we will have all confirmed attendees on a list at check-in.
  • Online registration closes at 6:00 PM on September 17. Tickets will be available at the door on a first come first served basis.
  • Please note this program is intended for a primarily student audience.
  • Lunch at this program will be available for individual order and purchase from Bear Tooth Theatre.
    • We encourage you to place your order in advance by calling Bear Tooth at (907) 276-4200 or by ordering online. If you would like to order in person, please plan to arrive early and note the theatre concession stand is closed – orders must be placed at the take-out counter.
Save the date! Reservations for this program will be available soon.
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