Robert N. Campbell III (Bob)

CEO, Campbell Global Services, LLC

Bob Campbell is a management consultant, corporate and nonprofit Board member, and active angel investor. He is the founder and CEO of Campbell Global Services, LLC, advising public and private sector leaders on governance and management issues.

He previously had an almost four decade career as a partner with Deloitte Consulting, where he helped build the state practice, Federal practice, global defense network, cybersecurity practice, and served as a Vice-Chairman.

He served ten years on the global Board Executive Committee of the EastWest Institute, focusing on international conflict avoidance and resolution.

As a board member of the Austin Council on Foreign Affairs, what drives your interest and involvement in foreign affairs?

I was involved in global business issues during my career at Deloitte, including defense and intelligence matters. After the EastWest Institute identified cyber risk as a potential source of international conflict, I helped plan and participated in ten annual global cybersecurity summits, bringing together representatives from the United States, the European Union, India, China, and Russia. My foreign affairs interest was also heightened by my participation in seven annual party-to-party talks between representatives of the US Republican Party, US Democratic Party, and the China Communist Party.

What foreign affairs issues concern you the most today?

I believe there are two daunting but somewhat under-recognized issues which will be viewed by history as among the most impactful of our time:

1. The disruptive impact on civil society of AI-generated misinformation, both from our international adversaries, as well as domestic extremists.

2. The growing US federal deficit and resulting national debt are limiting our ability to maintain the global leadership and stability we've provided since the post-war era — especially now that interest payments on the debt have surpassed our defense spending.

How are you involved these days to try to help?

I’m currently honored to be on the founding Board of the Trust in Media Cooperative, founded by the former United States Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research, Ellen E. McCarthy; the Advisory Board of the George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations; the Advisory Board of the Washington, D.C.- based Stimson Center; the Advisory Board of the Forward political movement; and the Board of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.