Former Governor Bill Owens

Will Russia stop with Ukraine? Will Russia continue its cyber-war against democratic institutions and norms? Are China, Russia, the DPRK, and perhaps Iran forming a military and economic alliance against NATO countries?  

Join us for an exploration of these provocative questions and more with former Colorado Governor Bill Owens, who has 39 years of experience and perspective in Russia.

Owens resigned as Chair of the Credit Bank of Moscow 48 hours after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, stating, “I stand with my country and Ukraine.”

He first went to the Soviet Union in 1985 as a tour guide leading “People to People” groups throughout the Soviet Union and has been there hundreds of times since. He has lectured in major Russian universities, met Yeltsin, Gorbachev, and Putin, and served as an independent director representing the World Bank on the boards of Russia’s second-largest railroad and – for ten years – as Chair of Russia’s fifth-largest bank.

Owens brings a unique perspective to this talk, which will focus on why Russia needs to be defeated/contained.

5:00 pm ~ Cocktails and networking
6:00 pm ~ Start dinner seating
6:05 pm ~ Brief welcome / Dinner service starts
7:00 pm ~ Speaker Introduction
7:45 pm ~ Audience questions
8:00 pm ~ Ending Announcements by DCFR

Bill Owens served as the 40th Governor of Colorado from 1999 to 2007 and is a member of the firm’s Government Law & Policy Practice Group. Prior to his service as Governor, Bill was Colorado State Treasurer, where he managed a $5 billion investment portfolio. He also served in the State Senate and State House. He focuses his practice on public policy, energy, infrastructure, and water.

As Governor of Colorado, Bill—called the “Best Governor in America” in a cover story in National Review magazine—was elected by his colleagues to serve as Chair of both the Western Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association. Bill was a frequent participant in the national policy debate, appearing on the Today Show, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, Bill O’Reilly, Hannity & Colmes, Hardball, the Wall Street Journal Report, and Lou Dobbs.

He began his career in the private sector on the Management Services staff at Touche Ross & Co (today’s Deloitte), followed by nearly a decade as Executive Director of the Colorado Petroleum Association and Executive Vice President of the Rocky Mountain Oil and Gas Association, which represented 400 energy companies active in Colorado and the Rockies.

Bill served as non-executive Vice Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland (Global Banking and Markets) and as a Senior Advisor to PCL Construction (Canada’s largest construction company, as well as the fifth largest construction firm in the U.S.), where he specialized in Private Public Partnerships (P3s). Bill served on the board of two private companies prior to their IPO launch: Keating Capital (NASDAQ: KIPO) and Century Communities (NYSE: CCS). He also served on the board of Vision Logistics, an oilfield portfolio company owned by Welsh Carson.

Bill was actively involved in the Soviet Union and Russia from the 1980s until February 2022, when he ceased all involvement following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stating, “I stand with my country and Ukraine.” During those years, he was a guest lecturer at Moscow State University, Russia New University (Moscow), Kazan State University in Tatarstan, and the Kazakh-British Technical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He addressed the Kazakh Senate in Astana, Kazakhstan, and has been the keynote speaker at the RAND US/Russia Business Forum in Moscow.

Bill served five years on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Strategy Committee of the Far Eastern Shipping Company, a Russian railroad, port, and shipping company listed on the MICEX and RTS. Bill also served from 2014 until his resignation in February 2022 as the Chairman of the Board of the Credit Bank of Moscow, an investor-owned bank listed on the Moscow Stock Exchange. Bill was an independent director on both boards, representing investors such as the World Bank and the European Bank of Recovery and Development.

Bill earned a Master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas, where he was awarded a two-year fellowship and his Bachelor of Science from Stephen F. Austin State University.