Keith Olson

CFR Staff

Keith Olson

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Keith Olson joined the Council on Foreign Relations in 2012 as EVP and CFO with responsibilities for CFR’s financial management, risk management, IT, digital, and facilities operations. Prior to joining CFR, he spent eight years with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, after beginning his career in corporate finance. He holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and BS degrees in economics and industrial management from Purdue University.

Foreign Affairs

Published by the Council on Foreign Relations since 1922, just a year after the organization’s founding, Foreign Affairs has long been America’s leading forum for serious discussion of foreign policy and international affairs.

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Will the Gaza Cease-Fire Last?

with via Foreign Affairs January 17, 2025

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America Is Winning the Race for Global AI Primacy—for Now

with via Foreign Affairs January 16, 2025

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How to Get the Right Kind of Growth

with via Foreign Affairs January 16, 2025

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Southeast Asia

What Is ASEAN?
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization that brings together disparate neighbors to address economic and security issues, but the group’s impact remains limited.

Backgrounder by CFR.org Editors January 15, 2025

Taiwan

Why China-Taiwan Relations Are So Tense
Differences over Taiwan’s status have fueled rising tensions between the island and mainland. Taiwan is the likeliest potential flash point in U.S.-China relations.

Backgrounder by Lindsay Maizland and Clara Fong January 15, 2025

China

China’s Growing Influence in Latin America
For more than two decades, China has developed close economic and security ties with many Latin American countries, including Brazil and Venezuela. But Beijing’s growing sway in the region has raised concerns in Washington and beyond.

Backgrounder by Diana Roy January 10, 2025

Top Stories on CFR

Technology and Innovation

Why the TikTok Ban Harms U.S. Interests at Home and Abroad
U.S. government officials should quickly declassify information about the national security threat posed by Chinese-owned TikTok or risk huge public backlash and a global loss of stature as a free speech champion.

Expert Brief by Kat Duffy January 17, 2025

United States

Trump and the Future of the USMCA
President Trump has threatened new tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico. His trade plans threaten the future of the United States’ largest free trade agreement.

Expert Brief by Shannon K. O'Neil and Julia Huesa January 17, 2025

Cuba

U.S.-Cuba Relations
Since Fidel Castro’s ascent to power in 1959, U.S.-Cuba ties have endured a nuclear crisis, a long U.S. economic embargo, and persistent political hostilities. The diplomatic relationship thawed under President Barack Obama, but many restrictions have since been renewed.

Timeline by CFR.org Editors January 15, 2025