Robert ("Bob") McNally is an energy expert, author, consultant, and president of Rapidan Energy Group, a

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

-based energy market, policy, and geopolitical consulting firm he established in 2009. During the first term of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

, McNally served on the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

staff as Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council and Senior Director for International Energy on the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

. He is the author of the award-winning book ''Crude Volatility: The History and the Future of Boom-Bust Oil Prices'' (Columbia University Press, 2017), which received a strongly favorable review by the ''Wall Street Journal'' and the leading energy academic publication
The Energy Journal
'. ''Crude Volatility'' won the Honorable Mention in Economics in the 2018 PROSE Award recognizing outstanding scholarship and prose. The International Association for Energy Economics selected ''Crude Volatility'' as the winner of the 2023 Marcel Boiteux Best International Energy Economics Book Award. In 2021, '' The Washingtonian'
named Bob McNally one of Washington's Top 500 Most Influential People
McNally's professional career has focused on energy markets and

policymaking Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

, specializing in global oil fundamentals,

geopolitical Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

risk, and

regulatory Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

policies affecting conventional and alternative fuel markets. He received a BA/BS in International Relations and Political Science from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

and an MA in International Economics and American Foreign Policy from The

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

(SAIS). McNally served in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

from 1988–1990 and was stationed in

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

. He began his energy career in 1991 as an analyst at Energy Security Analysis, Inc. in Washington, DC. In 1994, he joined

Tudor Investment Corporation Tudor Investment Corporation is an American investment firm based in Stamford, Connecticut. The firm invests in both Public equities, public and Private equity, private markets globally. Background In 1980, Paul Tudor Jones founded the Tudor ...

, where he advised portfolio managers on energy markets, macroeconomic policy and geopolitics. McNally co-authored an essay with Michael Levi in the July/August 2011 issue of ''

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

'' titled "A Crude Predicament: The Era of Volatile Oil Prices". He has been interviewed by publications such as ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'', ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and regularly appears on news networks such as CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg News, and NPR's Marketplace radio. McNally frequently speaks on energy markets, policy, and geopolitics at industry conferences. His articles on oil and OPEC have been published in the ''Financial Times''. McNally testifies to Congress on energy markets and policy and informally advises officials on energy market trends and developments. In March 2011 was invited by the

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

to brief a Senate member-only meeting on oil price developments. He is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. McNally was co-chair of the energy policy advisory group on the 2008

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

presidential campaign and energy advisor on Senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

(R-FL)'s 2010 campaign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McNally, Bob American consultants Living people Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni United States National Security Council staffers American University alumni 21st-century American non-fiction writers George W. Bush administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people)