Buck McKeon left Congress and built a firm around the thing Washington rarely writes down: knowing which room matters, when it matters, and what to ask for once you get inside.
Founded in Winston-Salem in 2023, Checkmate turned a statehouse network into a federal business that reported $22.2 million in 2025 lobbying revenue - then began exporting the model overseas.
At 80, the United Nations is part parliament, part emergency room and part global standards desk. Its new UN80 reform drive asks whether an institution built for 1945 can move at the speed - and survive the politics - of 2026.