Bronwen Maddox

Bronwen Maddox is Director and CEO of Chatham House, renowned for her incisive analysis of global politics and her ability to cut through complexity with clarity and judgement. A former Wall Street analyst who became Foreign Editor at The Times and editor of Prospect magazine, she led the Institute for Government before taking the helm of one of the world's most influential foreign policy think tanks. With deep experience spanning finance, journalism, and governance, and having interviewed leaders from Putin to Merkel, she equips business leaders and policymakers with the strategic insight needed to navigate superpower competition, geopolitical upheaval, and the fundamental questions facing Western democracies in an era of profound international realignment.

When the Kremlin selected Bronwen Maddox as the sole British journalist to interview Vladimir Putin ahead of a controversial G8 summit, it recognised what Westminster, Wall Street, and Washington already knew: her ability to ask the questions that matter and deliver judgement without flinching. From leading an award-winning investigation into Robert Maxwell at the Financial Times to directing The Times' foreign coverage through 9/11 and the Iraq war, she built a reputation for incisive analysis that cuts through complexity. Her career has taken her from directing a highly ranked media investment analyst team at Kleinwort Benson Securities to serving as US Editor and Washington Bureau Chief, then Foreign Editor and Chief Foreign Commentator at The Times, before editing Prospect magazine and leading the Institute for Government. In August 2022, she became Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House, one of the world's most influential foreign policy think tanks.

Bronwen's credentials span finance, journalism, and governance in ways that few can match. She authored "In Defence of America" in 2009, arguing the case for supporting the United States after the Iraq war, and has interviewed some of the world's most powerful and controversial leaders, including George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Angela Merkel, and Benazir Bhutto shortly before her assassination. Under her foreign editorship, The Times won the prestigious Foreign Press Association award for best UK coverage of 9/11 and maintained the only British newspaper bureau in Baghdad throughout the Iraq war. She has served as a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and as a governor of the Ditchley Foundation, and currently sits as a non-executive board member of the Law Commission. Her extensive contacts across government, finance, business, and military circles position her uniquely to interpret the forces reshaping international relations.

At Chatham House, Bronwen helps organisations understand what comes next in a world where superpower competition threatens stability and long-held principles face unprecedented challenge. In her 2026 Director's Annual Lecture, she described US policy under President Trump as "a revolution" and argued that the end of the western alliance requires bolder, more independent thinking from Britain and Europe. She equips business leaders and policymakers with the strategic insight to navigate trade wars, geopolitical realignment, and the fundamental questions facing democracies when traditional alliances fracture. Whether addressing the implications of Iran's instability, Europe's defence posture, or the UK's balancing act between Washington and Beijing, she delivers clarity on how to protect interests and uphold values in a moment that requires governments to define where they stand. Audiences leave with practical frameworks for decision-making in an era when decades happen in weeks.