Our businesses, communities and governments work better when we have a deeper understanding of each other.

Mary K. Cline

Senior Advisor, Geostrategic Business Group

Intrepid business and political strategist. Passionate about connecting the dots between politics, economics and business. Committed to delivering insights on critical global challenges.

Areas of focus

With more than 20 years of experience across the private, public and academic sectors, Mary is a political risk leader, problem solver, writer and analyst who drives strategic initiatives in the Office of the EY Global Chairman. She is a team member with the EY Geostrategic Business Group.

Her perspectives have been leveraged by presidential campaigns, including as a national security coordinator in 2016, as well as by top multinational companies and leading higher-education institutions spanning the globe.

Mary shapes how we talk about crucial topics surrounding business and its social impact. She serves as a strategy officer for the World Economic Forum, bringing perspective to its initiatives on economic progress, gender parity and the future of education and work.

In prior careers, she has worked in consulting, academia at Georgetown University and foreign policy for the US Department of State. Mary holds a PhD in Political Science and Government from UCLA.

How Mary is building a better working world

“I focus on the critical intersection between business, government and society in a way that recognizes the important role the business community has in political and social change. I was honored to contribute to the Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism, an initiative involving over 30 global companies, including some of the world’s largest investors and companies, to define and measure how companies create long-term value for all their stakeholders.”

Mary's latest thinking