Mary Kissel

Mary Kissel is a nonresident senior fellow at Hudson Institute. Her work at Hudson focuses on United States foreign policy, alliances, and the intersection of politics, business, and finance. She is also executive vice president and senior policy advisor at Stephens Inc., a privately held, independent financial services firm.

Ms. Kissel joined Stephens in March 2021 following her role as senior advisor to the US secretary of state. While serving in government, Ms. Kissel played a key role in the reorientation of the US-China relationship, conducted special projects for the secretary, and traveled to more than 60 countries.

Prior to joining the State Department, Ms. Kissel had a long and distinguished career on the Wall Street Journal editorial board. There, she served as chief foreign policy commentator, based in New York, and editorial page editor for Asia-Pacific, based in Hong Kong. She began her career at Goldman Sachs.

Ms. Kissel is vice chairman of the board of directors of RXO Inc. and serves as a director of QXO Inc. and the American Australian Council. She appears regularly on major television stations, radio networks, and podcasts around the world. Ms. Kissel is a graduate of Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.