Robert McNally is the founder and President of Rapidan Energy Group, an independent energy consulting and market advisory firm based in the Washington DC area. He has over 25 years of government and market experience as an international energy consultant, senior White House policy official, and hedge fund strategist. His expertise spans government, economic, security, and environmental sectors. He is the author of the acclaimed and award-winning book Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices (Columbia University Press, 2017).

Robert has testified before Congress on energy markets and national security, published on energy in Foreign Affairs (co-authored with Michael Levi), and has been interviewed by CNN, The Economist, NPR, Financial Times, Washington Post, New York Times, PBS’ Great Decisions in Foreign Policy series, Bloomberg News, and other leading journals and programs. He is a Member of the National Petroleum Council and is a non-resident fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. From 2001 to 2003, he served as the top international and domestic energy advisor on the White House staff, holding the posts of Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council and, in 2003, Senior Director for International Energy on the National Security Council. He started his professional career as an oil market analyst and for 12 years analyzed energy markets, macroeconomic policy, and geopolitics for portfolio managers at Tudor Investment Corporation. Robert earned his B.A./B.S. in Political Science and International Relations from American University and his M.A. in International Economics and Foreign Policy from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).