Biography

Bethany McLean is a columnist for Slate and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. She joined Slate in October 2010 and Vanity Fair in July 2008 after spending thirteen years at Fortune, where she was an editor-at-large. In early 2001, McLean was one of the first reporters to raise questions about Enron, with her story Is Enron Overpriced? She and fellow Fortune senior writer Peter Elkind exposed the Enron scandal and wrote the national bestseller The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron, which went on to become an Oscar-nominated documentary.

McLean has also written in-depth pieces about the credit rating agencies, Goldman Sachs, President Clinton’s global philanthropy, Australia’s Macquarie Bank, and more. Before joining Fortune, she spent three years as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. She graduated from Williams College in 1992 with a double major in mathematics and English.

Read More

Videos

Ten Years Hence Lecture: Two Decades of Covering Business: A Journalist’s View

Bethany McLean — The Knowledge Project #85

Bethany McLean Has Something To Say, and You Should Listen

Bethany McLean at 2020 UW-Stevens Point Business and Society Lecture

The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

Request Availability

Speech TopicsExpand each topic to learn more

Fracking and Environmental Justice

Author of Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It’s Changing the World, Bethany McLean shares her expertise on fracking with audiences. McLean shares her insights on the issues surrounding fracking as well as its causes and effects on other areas of our society – how low-interest rates are driving fracking, the shifting world of energy, and changing relationships between Russia and Europe. She discusses the issue of the development of fossil fuels not aligning with the math of the Paris climate accord, posing the question of what might be next for fossil fuels and how we can protect the environment in finding the answer.

Business Ethics

From her experience as an analyst at Goldman Sachs through her work at Fortune exposing the Enron scandal, Bethany McLean gives audiences a look into what it means for a business to be ethical. In her talks, she delves into the discrepancies between morality and illegality and offers insight into the corruption that occurs when the people at the top take on all of the reward and none of the risk. In these talks, McLean draws on her published works and her personal findings as a member of the business world.

The Financial Crisis (All the Devils Are Here)

This speaker tailors this topic for each event. Please let us know if you'd like us to source a topic description.

Government Regulation of Business

This speaker tailors this topic for each event. Please let us know if you'd like us to source a topic description.

Wall Street

This speaker tailors this topic for each event. Please let us know if you'd like us to source a topic description.

Print Journalism

This speaker tailors this topic for each event. Please let us know if you'd like us to source a topic description.

Enron (The Smartest Guys in the Room)

This speaker tailors this topic for each event. Please let us know if you'd like us to source a topic description.

Booksby Bethany McLean

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

Saudi America: The Truth About Fracking and How It's Changing the World

Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants

Blog Posts

Why Top Event Planners Build a Strong Community First (And You Should Too)

Transform attendees into collaborators with proven community-building strategies that make your events memorable, meaningful, and worth returning to.

Read More

Audience Engagement Through Laughter Works Better Than Any Agenda

Audience engagement transforms when humor creates connection. Learn from Scott Bloom how laughter turns passive attendees into active participants at events.

Read More

Crisis Leadership That Holds When Everything Falls Apart: Lessons from Inside the White House Bunker with Robert J. Darling

Robert J. Darling shares crisis leadership frameworks and strategies for leading through chaos from his experience inside the President's bunker on 9/11.

Read More

Why Veterans Teach the Leadership Skills Your Team Needs Most

Veterans Day reminds us that commitment means showing up for others—discover how veteran speakers teach steadiness, trust, and service.

Read More

How to Find Happiness by Loving the Process (And Not the Prize)

Discover how Olympic legend Apolo Ohno found happiness by prioritizing purpose over prizes and loving the journey more than the destination.

Read More

Energy Management Strategies with Erin King

Energy management expert Erin King discusses balancing energy in this episode of The Keynote Curators Podcast, sharing strategies for peak performance.

Read More

Related Storytelling Speakers

Contact Us Today

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • Fill out the form so we can best understand your needs.
    A representative from The Keynote Curators will reach out to you.

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form
  • This field is hidden when viewing the form