Spy Chiefs: An Overview with Dr. Christopher Moran & Dr. Mark Stout

In pop culture, the spy chief is an all-knowing, all-powerful figure who masterfully moves spies like pieces on a chessboard. How close to reality is that depiction, and what does it really take to be an effective leader in the world of intelligence? As editors of Spy Chiefs: Volume 1, Dr. Christopher Moran, an associate professor at the University of Warwick, and Dr. Mark Stout, a program director at Johns Hopkins University and former Spy Museum historian, will reveal what they have gleaned about the role of intelligence leaders in foreign affairs and national security in the US and the UK from the early 1940s to the present.

They will discuss some of the most intriguing of these shadowy figures such as William Donovan and John Grombach, who ran an intelligence organization so secret that not even President Truman knew of it. They’ll also explore questions about spy chief accountability and just how powerful they were…or weren’t.