Michael Roberts

Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology

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At A Glance:

Michael Roberts is a senior fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology.

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Biography

Michael Roberts is a senior fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology. His work focuses on policy issues impacting the American commercial maritime industry in light of geopolitical competition with China.

Mr. Roberts joined Hudson Institute in 2022 following a decades-long career in the American maritime industry. Prior to joining Hudson Mr. Roberts was a senior executive of a leading American maritime company (Crowley), serving as general counsel, board secretary, and senior vice president of government relations. He provided senior leadership on key Crowley initiatives, including in risk management (updating risk mitigation strategies and founding a for-profit insurance company), corporate business strategy (increasing focus on government business), and ESG (founding a non-profit charitable foundation). Roberts also helped establish and lead key industry groups. He was a founding board member of the American Maritime Partnership and its immediate past chairman and president (2020-2022).

Mr. Roberts is an av-rated lawyer admitted in Washington, DC, and Florida. He holds a BA with high honors from Michigan State University and a JD cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law.

Events
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15
April 2024
Past Event
Is China the Big Winner in the Red Sea?
Featured Speakers:
Salvatore Mercogliano
Michael Roberts
Moderator:
Michael Doran
The cargo ship Rubymar sinking after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces in international waters on March 7, 2024, in the Red Sea. (Photo by Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
15
April 2024
Past Event
Is China the Big Winner in the Red Sea?

Shipping experts discuss the Houthi attacks’ consequences for the global economy and the balance of power between the US and its global rivals.

The cargo ship Rubymar sinking after it was targeted by Yemen's Houthi forces in international waters on March 7, 2024, in the Red Sea. (Photo by Al-Joumhouriah channel via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Salvatore Mercogliano
Michael Roberts
Moderator:
Michael Doran
Learn More
09
April 2024
Past Event
Restoring America’s Commercial Maritime Industrial Base
Featured Speakers:
Joe Courtney
Michael Roberts
(Courtesy of Crowley Maritime)
09
April 2024
Past Event
Restoring America’s Commercial Maritime Industrial Base

Join Michael Roberts and Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) for a discussion on America’s critical shipping and shipbuilding industries.

(Courtesy of Crowley Maritime)
Featured Speakers:
Joe Courtney
Michael Roberts
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13
March 2023
Past Event
Rethinking Supply Chains and Shipping to Reduce America’s Vulnerability to China
Featured Speakers:
Hon. Peter DeFazio (D-OR, ret.)
Michael Roberts
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 07: Shipping containers are stacked on a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The Commerce Department reported today that the U.S. posted its largest-ever trade deficit in 2022, $948.1 billion, as Americans imported large quantities of machinery, medicines and industrial items amid weakened global demand and high inflation. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
13
March 2023
Past Event
Rethinking Supply Chains and Shipping to Reduce America’s Vulnerability to China

Former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio joins Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Roberts for a conversation on shipping and international trade.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 07: Shipping containers are stacked on a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. The Commerce Department reported today that the U.S. posted its largest-ever trade deficit in 2022, $948.1 billion, as Americans imported large quantities of machinery, medicines and industrial items amid weakened global demand and high inflation. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Hon. Peter DeFazio (D-OR, ret.)
Michael Roberts
Learn More
27
February 2023
Past Event
Where Are the Ships? Fighting a Pacific War without American Sealift
Featured Speakers:
Rear Admiral Mark Buzby
Michael Roberts
A shipbuilder walks in the yard, with partial ship assemblies behind him, at Bath Iron Works in Bath on Wednesday, December 10, 2014. (Photo by Carl D. Walsh/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
27
February 2023
Past Event
Where Are the Ships? Fighting a Pacific War without American Sealift

Hudson hosts a conversation with RADM Mark Buzby that examines the state of the US maritime industry, its potential role in a western Pacific conflict, and options for restoring an American industry.

A shipbuilder walks in the yard, with partial ship assemblies behind him, at Bath Iron Works in Bath on Wednesday, December 10, 2014. (Photo by Carl D. Walsh/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Rear Admiral Mark Buzby
Michael Roberts
Learn More
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