Former US Secretary of States General Colin Powell and Bob Geldof will be among the speakers at the global risk conference hosted by Bermuda-based XL Capital in Washington, DC next month.

Under the theme of "Intelligent Change for a World at Risk", the XL Congress will attempt to address the biggest risks facing humanity.

Other speakers in an impressive line-up for the October 2 and 3 event include Senator George Mitchell, former US Senate Majority Leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Jeffrey Sachs, director of The Earth Institute and Special Advisor to the UN, and Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard (1999-2005) and author of the best seller Tough Choices.

The conference will be modelled on previous XL Congresses in 2003 and 2006.

Gen. Powell will speak about "Global Change in a World at Risk". He served as US Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005 and was the first African American appointed to that position. As a General in the US Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987-1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War.

"Making a Difference in an Ever Changing World" will be the subject of poverty campaigner Mr. Geldof's speech. Mr. Geldof, who made his name as a rock singer with the band The Boomtown Rats, was the architect of the Live Aid and Live 8 events that raised money to combat poverty and hunger in Africa.

XL chief executive officer Michael McGavick said: "To better understand extraordinary times such as these, we need access to extraordinary insights and guidance.

"The XL Congress is our way of providing that access by bringing some of the world's most talented leaders together and inviting them to share their unique perspectives with us and with our customers.

"This is not just another business conference. This is a very special forum for the discussion of risk and it will be staged at a critical point in the United States' political calendar.

"I'm looking forward to opening it and to welcoming friends and colleagues to what promises to be one of the most challenging and rewarding meetings of its kind."

Among the other speakers are Ambassador Henry Crumpton, the former coordinator of counter-terrorism at the US State Department, whose 24-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency included many years in the foreign field.

Mr. Crumpton, president of Crumpton Group LLC, will speak on "A New Era of Global Conflict and Co-operation". Mr. Crumpton was a speaker at the World Insurance Forum held in Dubai earlier this year, an event organised by the Bermuda insurance industry.

Other speakers at the two-day XL Congress include Hernando de Soto, president of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy; Parag Khanna, director of the Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation and Sir Ken Robinson, Ph.D., internationally renowned author, speaker and adviser on creativity.

Also expressing their views will be John Kao, innovation strategist and practitioner with Transformation Catalyst, and Dr. Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Founder of the Green Belt Movement.

The XL Congress is intended to reveal new perspectives in an intellectually challenging forum, exploring topics ranging from trade, economics and wealth, to ethics and humanitarianism. Invited clients, brokers and media will hear from leading political, economic and social figures.