PALEY INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMIT

Frank A. Bennack Jr. is executive vice chairman of Hearst, one of the nation’s largest private companies engaged in a broad range of publishing, broadcasting, cable networking and diversified media and business-to-business information activities. He is also chairman of the company’s executive committee, a director of Hearst and a trustee of the Hearst Family Trust, established under the will of William Randolph Hearst. In addition, he sits on a number of corporate committees and the Hearst Foundations board, where he has served for nearly half a century. 

Bennack served as Hearst’s CEO for more than 28 years. He directed the company through an unprecedented period of growth from when he began his first tenure as CEO in 1979 through June 2013, when he stepped down—increasing revenues 14 times and growing earnings more than 30 times, through investments, acquisitions and startups. Today, Hearst comprises some 360-plus businesses and 25,000 employees. 

Under his leadership, the company launched three leading cable networks with its partner ABC (now the Walt Disney Company), A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime and invested in the ESPN family of networks, now in 190 countries and territories. On Bennack’s watch, Hearst marched toward diversification and global expansion, including its purchase of global ratings agency Fitch Group. Bennack was also instrumental in the decision to create what today is Hearst Television,Inc., one of the nation’s largest non-network-owned television station groups, which operates 33 television stations. During his tenure, Hearst launched such magazines as Country Living, Food Network Magazine, HGTV Magazine, Marie Claire and O, The Oprah Magazine.

His influence on corporate boards of directors—many lasting decades—has impacted the worlds of finance, at J.P. Morgan Chase and its predecessor companies Chemical Bank, Manufacturers Hanover and Chase; retail, as an outside director of Allied Stores, which became a part of the modern-day Federated/Macy’s Inc. and was the parent company of Brooks Brothers, Jordan Marsh, Stern’s and Le Bon Marché; and pharmaceuticals, as a director of Wyeth, formerly American Home Products, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2009. 

Bennack is currently a director of Ralph Lauren Corporation. He is chairman of Hearst Magazines UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst. Bennack is also a governor and chairman emeritus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and its Healthcare System, a managing director of the Metropolitan Opera of New York, chairman emeritus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and chairman of the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television & Radio). He was the 1992–93 chairman of the Newspaper Association of America (formerly the American Newspaper Publishers Association). 

Campbell Brown is the Founder and CEO of Remark, the pioneering platform connecting verified experts directly to AI systems to deliver real-time, authoritative insights at scale. 

At Meta, Brown served as Vice President of Global Media Partnerships, where she structured and negotiated over $100 million in content deals with major publishers and launched Facebook News across 50+ countries. Her experience managing the complex relationships between tech platforms and content creators—including navigating copyright, attribution, and monetization challenges—directly informs Remark's approach to the AI content ecosystem. 

Before Meta, Brown built her career as an Emmy Award-winning journalist, anchoring a prime-time show on CNN and serving as NBC's White House correspondent and Weekend Today host. Brown also founded The Seventy Four, which became a leading education news platform, demonstrating her ability to build media properties from the ground up. She currently advises Tollbit, a startup addressing AI content monetization challenges. 

Brown sits on the board of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and the Board of Governors at the Paley Center for Media. 

Dylan Byers is a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, a news media startup that covers Hollywood, Silicon Valley, Wall Street and Washington, and has fast established itself as a must-read in C-suites across the country. His private email, In The Room, takes readers behind the scenes of the American media industry and breaks news on the most consequential changes at the nation's leading media, tech and entertainment firms. Before Puck, Dylan served as the senior media reporter at NBC News, where he authored the Byers Market newsletter and hosted the Byers Market podcast. He has also worked at CNN, where he served as the senior media reporter and authored the Pacific newsletter, and Politico, where he authored the "On Media" blog. He has interviewed several notable business leaders, on stage and on his podcast, including Sheryl Sandberg, Eddy Cue, Barry Diller, Howard Schultz, Adam Mosseri, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, Maverick Carter, Wyclef Jean, Steve Wozniack, and Susan Wojcicki. Dylan is based in Los Angeles, and travels regularly to New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Seattle. Previous speaking engagements include SXSW, Cannes Lions, Collision, and the Global Financial Leadership Conference. 

Director, Consumer Tech & Culture, Wired  

Michael Calore oversees Wired 's coverage of consumer technology and internet culture, and is one of the hosts of Wired 's weekly podcast, Uncanny Valley. As a writer and editor, he covers a range of topics including consumer products, music, film, art, software, social media, and underground culture. 

Barry Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC and the Chairman and Senior Executive of Expedia Group. From 1995 to late 2010, Mr. Diller served as the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of IAC. Since December 1992, beginning with QVC, he has served as chief executive for a number of predecessor companies engaged in media and interactivity prior to the formation of IAC. From October 1984 to April 1992, Mr. Diller served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox, Inc. and was responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company in addition to Fox's motion picture operations. 

Before joining Fox, Mr. Diller served for 10 years as the Chairman and Chief Executive of Paramount Pictures Corporation. In March 1983, in addition to Paramount, he became President of the conglomerate's newly formed Entertainment and Communications Group, which included Simon & Schuster, Inc., Madison Square Garden Corporation and SEGA Enterprises, Inc. Prior to joining Paramount, Mr. Diller served as Vice President of Prime Time Television for ABC Entertainment. He has also served as Producer on numerous Broadway shows, including The Music Man, The Lehman Trilogy, West Side Story, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Humans. Through his foundation, Mr. Diller created Little Island, a park and performance center in the Hudson River and has supported various organizations including The High Line, Motion Picture & Television Fund, UCLA Foundation and Culture Shed. He is a signatory of The Giving Pledge. 

He serves on the board of MGM Resorts International. 

Mike Fries is Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Global, a world leader in converged broadband, mobile and video communications and an active investor in cutting-edge infrastructure, content and technology businesses through its $3 billion growth platform. Liberty Global delivers next-generation products through advanced fiber and 5G networks in four core European markets, providing 80 million connections across Europe and the UK. Its businesses operate under some of the best-known consumer brands, including Virgin Media-O2 in the UK, VodafoneZiggo in The Netherlands, Telenet in Belgium and Virgin Media in Ireland. The joint ventures in the UK and the Netherlands generate combined annual revenue of over $18 billion, while remaining operations generate consolidated revenue of more than $4 billion. Through its substantial scale and commitment to innovation, Liberty Global is building Tomorrow’s Connections Today, investing in the infrastructure and platforms that empower customers and deploying the advanced technologies that nations and economies need to thrive.  

As a member of the management team that founded the Company over 30 years ago, Fries launched the company’s international expansion with operations established in 50 countries around the world during that time frame, including 20 in Europe, and has overseen over $200 billion in historical transactions while serving in various strategic and operating capacities since that time. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Company in 2005 and serves as a member of its two-person Executive Committee along with Chairman, Dr. John C. Malone.  

Fries is Chairman of Sunrise Communications AG, a leading communications company in Switzerland that serves over 6 million mobile, broadband, video and voice subscribers and generates over $3 billion of annual revenue. Fries is also Executive Chairman of Liberty Latin America, a leading communications company with operations in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other parts of Latin America that serves 12 million broadband, video, voice and mobile subscribers and generates $4.5 billion of annual revenue. Both Sunrise and Liberty Latin America were spin-offs from Liberty Global. Fries also serves on the corporate boards of Grupo Televisa and Lionsgate Studios. 

Fries is an engaged industry and community leader. He serves as board member for GSMA and Cable Labs, is a trustee & finance committee member of The Paley Center for Media and an ICT Governor of the World Economic Forum. He is Honorary Co-Chair for the Biennial of the Americas and is Trustee Emeritus and former Chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver. Recognition for his achievements includes EY Entrepreneur of the Year in Media, Entertainment and Telecommunications and inductions into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and the Cable Hall of Fame, which recognize pioneers and leaders in the media, communications and cable industries. Mike holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, where he is a Trustee Emeritus, and an M.B.A. from Columbia University, where he is a member of the Board of Overseers for the Business School. 

As EVP, Chief Marketing Officer, Nicole Graham leads Nike, Jordan and Converse storytelling to inspire consumers and shape the brands for distinction through the passion and emotion of sport. Nicole is a visionary leader experienced at building iconic brands. She re-joined Nike as the CMO in 2023 and has a proven track record of creating world-class marketing for Nike that has energized global sports moments from the Olympics and Paralympics to World Cup and the NBA Finals to the Super Bowl. In 2020, Nicole co-founded Adopt, a creative agency that partners with athletes, start-ups and top consumer companies. Prior to that, she spent 18 years at Nike, honing her expertise in all facets of marketing across global, geo, and key cities.

Sarah Guo is the Founder and a Partner at Conviction, an AI-native venture capital firm founded in 2022. Prior, she was a General Partner at Greylock. She has been an early investor and partner to 50+ companies including Figma, Harvey, Sierra, HeyGen, Mistral, Cognition, Stackblitz and more. Sarah is from Wisconsin, has four degrees from University of Pennsylvania, and lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three kids. She co-hosts the AI podcast "No Priors" with Elad Gil. 

Stephen Hadley is a principal of Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC (RHGM), an international strategic consulting firm founded with Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, and Anja Manuel. RHGM assists senior executives of major corporations in overcoming the challenges to doing business successfully in major emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, Turkey, and the Middle East.

Mr. Hadley served for four years as the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs from 2005 to 2009. In that capacity he was the principal White House foreign policy advisor to then President George W. Bush, directed the National Security Council staff, and ran the interagency national security policy development and execution process.  From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Hadley was the Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor, serving under then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. In addition to covering the full range of national security issues, Mr. Hadley had special responsibilities in several areas including a U.S./Russia political dialogue, the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, and developing a strategic relationship with India.

From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Hadley was both a partner in the Washington D.C. law firm of Shea & Gardner (now part of Goodwin Proctor) and a principal in The Scowcroft Group (a strategic consulting firm headed by former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft). In his law practice, Mr. Hadley was administrative partner of the firm. He represented a range of corporate clients in transactional and international matters – including export controls, foreign investment in U.S. national security companies, and the national security responsibilities of U.S. information technology companies. In his consulting practice, Mr. Hadley represented U.S. corporate clients investing and doing business overseas.

From 1989 to 1993, Mr. Hadley served as the assistant secretary of defense for international security policy under then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney. Mr. Hadley represented the Defense Department on arms control and defense matters, including negotiations with the Soviet Union and then Russia, security issues involving NATO and Western Europe, and export and technology control matters.

Prior to this position, Mr. Hadley alternated between government service and law practice with Shea & Gardner. He was counsel to the Tower Commission in 1987, as it investigated U.S. arms sales to Iran, and served on the National Security Council staff under President Ford from 1974 to 1977.

During his professional career, Mr. Hadley has served on a number of corporate, nonprofit, and advisory boards. He is currently an Executive Vice Chair of the Board of Directors at the Atlantic Council, a member of the Board of Directors of The Council on Foreign Relations, a member of Yale University’s Kissinger Papers Advisory Board, a member of the Board of Managers of the John Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, and a Trustee of the International Crisis Group. Other positions have included past service as a member of the Department of Defense Policy Board, a member of the National Security Advisory Panel to the Director of Central Intelligence, former Board Chair and Board Director of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), and a member of the State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

Mr. Hadley graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1969. In 1972, he received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School, where he was Note and Comment Editor of the Yale Law Journal.  From 1972 to 1975 he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

He is the editor of the book Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama.

Business Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

Tim Higgins is a business columnist for The Wall Street Journal, frequent contributor to CNBC, and author of books about Apple (iWar) and Tesla (Power Play). He also co-hosts Bold Names, the Journal’s weekly interview program with top business leaders.  

As Co-CEO, Mellody is responsible for management, strategic planning and growth for all areas of Ariel. Additionally, she chairs the board of Ariel Investments’ publicly traded mutual funds. Prior to being named Co-CEO, Mellody spent nearly two decades as Ariel’s President. In 2025, she founded Project Level® to change the game in women’s sports. Mellody co-founded Ariel Alternatives, LLC in 2021 and its inaugural private equity fund, Project Black®. Beyond Ariel, she serves as a director of JPMorgan Chase and is the former chair of Starbucks Corporation. Mellody was a long-standing board member of the Estée Lauder Companies and chairman of the board of DreamWorks Animation until the company’s sale in 2016. 

She is a well-recognized financial literacy advocate. Mellody wrote a New York Times bestselling children’s book, Priceless Facts about Money, to demystify money for young readers. Mellody’s community outreach includes her role as chairman of After School Matters, a Chicago non-profit that provides area teens with high-quality after-school and summer programs. She is also co-chair of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and a board member of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the George Lucas Educational Foundation, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Mellody is a member of the Executive Committee of the Investment Company Institute, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the LA28 Olympic Games and past chair of the Economic Club of Chicago. 

She earned her AB from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. In 2019, Mellody was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award, the university’s highest honor presented annually to a Princeton graduate whose career embodies a commitment to national service. She has also received honorary doctorate degrees from Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, St. Mary’s College and the University of Southern California. In 2015, Time magazine named her one of the “100 Most Influential People” in the world. 

Sabrina Ionescu is a WNBA Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, and 4x All-Star from Walnut Creek, California, currently playing for the New York Liberty. One of the most marketable athletes in basketball, she partners with major brands like Nike, AT&T, Dove, Michelob Ultra, and Home Depot. She’s also a part owner and Commercial Advisor for Bay FC (NWSL) and serves as Chief Athlete Officer at Division Street, the NIL collective for her alma mater, the University of Oregon.

Sabrina made history with Nike as their first female athlete to launch a unisex signature shoe. Her "Sabrina" line has become a global hit, with the Sabrina 2 ranking as the second-most worn sneaker in the NBA last season. She recently launched the Sabrina 3 while touring the Philippines and Greater China.

Beyond the court, she leads the SI20 Foundation, which provides equitable access to sports for underserved youth in NYC, the Bay Area, and Oregon—often supported by her brand partners. A face of the modern WNBA, Sabrina balances elite performance with a growing global business and philanthropic impact.

Michael Kassan is the founder and CEO of 3C Ventures, a leading firm that accelerates clients’ growth through three core pillars: consulting, convening, and co-investing. Known for his uncanny ability to identify – and seize – growth opportunities across industries, Kassan is a trusted advisor to top executives in media, marketing, entertainment, and technology, helping to solve their most complex business challenges. He is frequently called upon as a keynote speaker and media commentator on the future of marketing and digital disruption.

Previously, Kassan founded MediaLink in 2003, a strategic advisory firm that became the go-to resource for Fortune 500 brands, media moguls, and technology pioneers. He has also held senior leadership roles, including President/COO of Initiative Media Worldwide, where he grew billings from $1.5 billion to over $10 billion. Earlier in his career, he was President and COO of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment).

Kassan is a lifelong philanthropist and community advocate, and serves on several boards including the American Advertising Federation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Ad Council, and the Paley Center for Media. Kassan is also a Trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 2019, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Fame.

Jeffrey is an entrepreneur and entertainment industry executive who has reshaped the media landscape throughout his career.  Today, he is a Founding Partner at WndrCo, an investment company focused on supporting founders who are building category-defining companies.  Jeffrey works closely with WndrCo portfolio companies Aura, Airtable, Alembic, Netomi, and Writer on their enterprise GTM strategy. 

Prior to WndrCo, Jeffrey co-founded DreamWorks, serving as CEO of DreamWorks Animation, which he grew into the world’s largest animation studio.  Before founding DreamWorks, Jeffrey was Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios and previously served as President of Production at Paramount Studios. 

Jeffrey is a donor and board member to many civic organizations, including University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, California Institute of the Arts, and is on the Board of Directors for Olympics LA28.  Among his many awards and recognitions, he has received the Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the TIME100 Impact Award. 

YouTube Creator and Host, Challenge Accepted

Michelle Khare (5M+ subscribers) lives life to the extreme by taking on intense physical and mental challenges in her docuseries, Challenge Accepted. With a mission to highlight diverse communities, Michelle brings compassion to each project and community she becomes a part of. With disarming wit and emotional openness, Michelle draws out stories from those reluctant to be on camera while bravely sharing her own struggles. Lauded for her emotional awareness, exceptional interviewing, and raw storytelling, Michelle showcases that with enough hard work, dedication, and failure — anything is possible. 

Ynon Kreiz is Chairman and CEO of Mattel, a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world.
 
Ynon led a multiyear transformation strategy that established Mattel as an IP-driven, high-performing toy company. Per Circana, in 2024 Mattel ranked #1 globally in each of its leader toy categories: Dolls, Vehicles, and Infant, Toddler, and Preschool. Mattel has also been growing its entertainment offering in film, television, consumer products, digital games, live events and experiences, publishing, and music.
 
Under Ynon’s leadership, Mattel has a robust movie slate in development and two films in production. The company’s first movie, Barbie, became a cultural phenomenon, achieving the largest global box office in 2023 and the industry’s fourteenth-highest grossing movie of all time.
 
Ynon has extensive experience as a corporate leader in the media and entertainment industry. Prior to joining Mattel, he was Chairman and CEO of Maker Studios, a global leader in short-form video content and one of YouTube’s largest multichannel networks. Prior to Maker Studios, Ynon was Chairman and CEO of the Endemol Group, the world's largest independent television production company and owner of major programming franchises including Big Brother and Deal or No Deal.
 
Before Endemol, Ynon was a General Partner at Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Capital Europe), one of the leading early-stage startup investors in Europe. Prior to Balderton, Ynon cofounded Fox Kids Europe NV where he served as Chairman and CEO. Under his leadership, Fox Kids became one of the fastest growing pay TV channels in Europe and the Middle East.
 
Ynon serves on the Board of Directors of Warner Music Group and is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Paley Center for Media. Ynon was named in 2024 one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and Entertainment Person of the Year by Cannes Lions.

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

Cynthia Littleton is Co-Editor-in-Chief at Variety. She has covered the television beat for the past 20 years. She began her career at United Press International, followed by stints at Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter, where she rose to Editor before rejoining Variety in 2007. At Variety she has also served as Business Editor. Cynthia is the author of TV on Strike: Why Hollywood Went to War Over the Internet (Syracuse University Press, 2013), the definitive account of the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and the impact of the disruptive digital advancements that fueled the labor strife. She is also the co-author with Susanne Daniels of Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB Network and UPN (HarperCollins, 2007)

Xiao Liu is Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Alkeon Capital Management, a global asset management firm founded in 2002. She leads the firm’s investments in Artificial Intelligence, spanning compute, networking, power infrastructure, software, and select consumer applications including media, entertainment, and gaming. She also oversees investments in Japan and Pan-Asia technologies. 

Prior to joining Alkeon Capital in 2012, Xiao spent six years at Morgan Stanley, where she specialized in Japanese and Greater China equities. She is fluent in English, Chinese, and Japanese. Xiao earned a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Foreign Studies University and a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Stanford University. 

Chairman, Liberty Media, Liberty Global, Liberty Broadband, and GCI Liberty; Chair Emeritus, Warner Bros. Discovery

Dr. John C. Malone is Chairman of the Board of Liberty Media Corporation, Liberty Broadband Corporation, GCI Liberty, Inc. and Liberty Global plc. From 1996 to March 1999, when Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) merged with AT&T Corp., he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TCI. Previous to that, from 1973 to 1996, Dr. Malone served as President and Chief Executive Officer of TCI. Additionally, Dr. Malone is Chair Emeritus of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., a director emeritus of Liberty Latin America Ltd., and Chairman Emeritus of the Board for Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.

Born in 1941 in Milford, Connecticut, Dr. Malone was a Phi Beta Kappa and merit scholar at Yale University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Economics in 1963. He also received a Master of Science in Industrial Management from Johns Hopkins in 1964 and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Operations Research from Johns Hopkins in 1967. He has received two Honorary Degrees for Doctorate of Human Letters; the first from Denver University in 1992 and the second from Johns Hopkins University in 2012.

Dr. Malone began his career in 1963 at Bell Telephone Laboratories/AT&T in economic planning and research and development. In 1968, he joined McKinsey & Company and in 1970 he became Group Vice President at General Instrument Corporation (GI). He was later named President of Jerrold Electronics, a GI subsidiary.

He served as Director of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) from 1974 to 1977 and again from 1980 to 1993. During the 1977-1978 term, Dr. Malone was the NCTA's Treasurer.

In 1983, Dr. Malone received the NCTA Vanguard Award, one of the highest honors in the cable television industry. He has received many other awards and honors which include: TVC Magazine Man of the Year Award - 1981; Wall Street Transcript's Gold Award for the cable industry's best Chief Executive Officer - 1982, 1985, 1986 and 1987; Wall Street Transcript’s Silver Award in 1984 and 1989; Women In Cable's Betsy Magness Fellowship Honoree; University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Center Award of Merit for Distinguished Entrepreneurship; American Jewish Committee Sherrill C. Corwin Human Relations Award; Communications Technology Magazine Service and Technology Award; Bronze Award - 1993 Financial World CEO of the Year Competition; The Hopkins Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1994 and in 2004 the Hopkins Medal, the school’s highest award. He is also recognized as a Yale Sterling Fellow (Harkness Circle) and in May of 2016 he was awarded the Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award. In October of 2016, Dr. Malone was honored by the Television Academy with the Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. On January 9, 2017 he received the Citizen of the West award which is an honor bestowed upon him through the National Western Association in Colorado. 

Former diplomat, author, and advisor on foreign policy, Anja Manuel is Co-Founder and Principal along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, in Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm that helps US companies navigate international markets.  

Anja is the author of the critically acclaimed This Brave New World: India, China, and the United States, published by Simon and Schuster, and numerous articles and papers. 

She is the Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum, a premier bipartisan forum on foreign policy in the United States. 

From 2005 to 2007, she served as an official at the U.S. Department of State, as Special Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, responsible for Asia policy.   

Earlier in her career, Anja was an attorney at WilmerHale, working on Supreme Court and international cases and representing clients before the US Congress, Supreme Court, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, and the SEC.  She began her career as an investment banker at Salomon Brothers in London.   

A cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School and Stanford University, Anja also lectured and was a research affiliate at Stanford University from 2009 - 2019, and 2024-now, teaching courses on US Foreign Policy in Asia and Technology Policy.  

Anja is a frequent speaker on foreign policy and technology policy, is a commentator for TV and radio (NBC/MSNBC, Bloomberg News, Fox Business, BBC, NPR, etc.), and writes for publications ranging from the Washington Post, New York Times, Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, and Fortune, among others. 

Anja currently serves on the corporate boards of Ripple Labs Inc. and Hims & Hers Health, Inc. and the Applied Materials Secure Innovation Advisory Board. Additionally, she is a former member of the Defense Policy Board for the U.S. Department of Defense  

She has serves/d on the boards/advisory boards of National Committee on US-China Relations, CARE.org, Center for a New American Security, Flexport Inc., Synapse Inc., and the boards of the Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc., American Ditchley Foundation, and formerly Governor Brown’s California Export Council. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Anja lives in San Francisco with her husband and two children. 

Crystal McCrary is an award-winning filmmaker, television producer, author, and entrepreneur. She began her career practicing entertainment law with the New York City firm Paul Weiss before leaving to pursue a full-time career in writing, producing, and directing. Since that time, she has published two New York Times best-selling novels Homecourt Advantage and Gotham Diaries and written the critically acclaimed non-fiction book Inspiration: Profiles of Black Women Changing the World. She also produced the independent film Dirty Laundry. For six seasons, Ms. McCrary served as executive producer for the NAACP Image Award nominated BET series Leading Women and Leading Men. Ms. McCrary also created, produced, and directed the Nickelodeon Sports series Little Ballers and Little Ballers Indiana. Additionally, Ms. McCrary directed seven short films on the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. In 2022 she directed a short film about the life and career of Kenneth Frazier, former CEO of Merck. Most recently she co-founded Get To Yes, a full-service production company creating scripted and non-scripted content at the intersection of culture, sports and the socio-political landscape. Current Get To Yes projects include documentaries on the Olympian Allyson Felix, The Drug in Our Pocket and Fatherless No More.  To commemorate Ariel Investments 40th Anniversary, she directed a documentary on the journey of John W. Rogers Jr. and Mellody Hobson in building the first Black-owned mutual fund firm in the country.    

In 2023, Ms. McCrary along with her son Cole Anthony launched the youth sports tech platform GameUp which is a resource for families to help navigate the highly fragmented youth sports landscape.   

Ms. McCrary has appeared on numerous networks from CNN to MSNBC as a cultural, legal, and political pundit as well as co-hosted ABC’s The View. She currently sits on the Board of The Paley Center for Media. Ms. McCrary has received honors and distinctions including being honored by The Children’s Defense Fund, Precious Dreams Foundation, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, and Urban Tech for her contributions to youth and the arts. She was also named to Crain’s 40 under 40 Young Professionals list. 

Ms. McCrary lives in New York City with her husband, financier Raymond J. McGuire and their son Leo. Their two older children are Ella and Cole Anthony. Ella is a senior at Harvard College, and Cole plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Ms. McCrary received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her Juris Doctor from American University and New York University. 

Neal Mohan is the Chief Executive Officer of YouTube, the world's largest video sharing service. He is responsible for the company's overall strategy, product innovation, strategic partnerships across the creative industries, and global operations. His focus is on empowering creators, fostering community, and driving the future of video. 

Prior to becoming CEO in 2023, he served as YouTube's Chief Product Officer, responsible for the company’s successful forays into streaming, Shorts, subscriptions and podcasting; growing contributions to the creator economy, and scaled Trust & Safety efforts.  

Before joining YouTube, Neal was a pioneer in digital advertising, first leading product development and strategy at DoubleClick, then overseeing its acquisition and integration with Google. He went on to become Senior Vice President of Display and Video Advertising at Google, transforming the company from a new entrant to a global leader in advertising technology.  

Neal serves on the Board of Directors of Starbucks. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Board of Trustees of The Paley Center for Media, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  

Neal lives in the Bay Area with his wife and kids. He holds a degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. 

Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) is the Head of Instagram, where he is responsible for overseeing the engineering, product, and business teams, shaping the app experience. He is also responsible for leading the Threads team as the company’s newest app. A designer by training, Adam enjoys the challenge of marrying sharp design thinking with thoughtful product strategy to create experiences that bring people together. 

Adam has been at Meta for over fifteen years. He started at Meta as a designer for Facebook's mobile app before moving to product management, where he led the Facebook News Feed product and engineering teams, and served as the Head of Facebook News Feed.  

Adam began his career founding a design consultancy focused on graphic, interaction, and exhibition design before joining TokBox as the company’s first designer. Adam holds a BA from the Gallatin School of Interdisciplinary Study at NYU, where he studied Information Design and Media. 

Born and raised in New York, Adam lives in the Bay Area with his wife and three sons. 

Bob Pittman is the Chairman, CEO and cofounder of iHeartMedia, Inc., the leading audio company in America, with the largest audience in broadcast radio, streaming radio, podcasting and national live music events.  Pittman is a media innovator who has been at the forefront of change in the media business for his entire career – from pioneering the cable revolution as the leader of the team that created MTV and as CEO of MTV Networks, to leading the mass market adoption of the internet as COO of America Online (AOL) at a time when AOL had half of all internet traffic in the U.S., to leading the audio revolution at iHeartMedia. Pittman also led transformations as the CEO of Six Flags Theme Parks, Time Warner Enterprises and Century 21 Real Estate and as COO of AOL Time Warner, and was the cofounder of Casa Dragones Tequila. 

 Pittman has been inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame, the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and the Cable Hall of Fame and received AdWeek’s first ‘Media Visionary’ award and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Award, among many other honors. He’s also a committed philanthropist, and has served as Chairman of both the New York poverty-fighting Robin Hood Foundation and the New York Public Theater. 

Michael D. Ratner is the CEO & Founder of OBB Media, the next-gen entertainment studio driving pop culture through innovative storytelling across film, television, digital, branded content, live experiences, and more. Ratner is also the Co-Founder of rhode skin and has guided the company since its formation alongside Hailey Bieber. In his dual role as Co-Executive Chairman, Ratner has run the Board of Directors from inception through its acquisition, most recently spearheading the $1 billion exit to e.l.f. Beauty.

Since founding OBB in 2016, Ratner has led the company through explosive growth, building a bicoastal, vertically integrated content studio known for both its award-winning entertainment and its unique ability to launch and grow brands through storytelling. Ratner has established himself as a creative and strategic force at the intersection of content and commerce, with a variety of formats and a multi-platform approach. Recent work includes a groundbreaking partnership with IShowSpeed and DICK’S that spans a primetime commercial, premium docu-series, and live event; the three-day sports festival, Fanatics Fest NYC; and the creation of Hailey Bieber’s YouTube channel, which served as a natural launchpad for rhode skin, the most disruptive powerhouse in beauty. 

Ratner’s directing and producing work has received a Grammy nomination for Justin Bieber: Our World; amassed more than 2 billion views with Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls; gone #1 globally and driven legislative reform with Demi Lovato’s Child Star documentary (Hulu); and won Peabody and Emmy awards with Mountain Queen (Netflix). Ratner is also behind the critically acclaimed and chart-topping Sabrina Carpenter’s A Nonsense Christmas special (Netflix), Spotify’s Billions Club series starring the biggest artists in the world, and Kids Are Growing Up: A Story about a Kid Named LAROI (Amazon), and more. 

Ratner’s entrepreneurial approach has landed him on Goldman Sachs’ Top 100 Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs (2023 & 2024), The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen: 35 Rising Hollywood Executives Under 35 (2024), Variety’s New Leader Creatives (2018), and Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019). He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Tisch (MFA). 

Ryan Roslansky is the CEO of LinkedIn, the world’s largest and most powerful network of professionals. Ryan joined the company in May 2009 and has since held leadership roles in every part of LinkedIn’s business. As the CEO, Ryan has more than doubled LinkedIn’s business to north of $17 billion in annual revenue, while growing the platform to record levels of engagement, with over 1 billion members, 67 million companies, 140 thousand schools and 41 thousand skills. 

In addition to leading LinkedIn, Ryan serves as Executive Vice President of Microsoft Office and is a member of Satya Nadella’s senior leadership team at Microsoft. Through these roles, Ryan aims to help LinkedIn, Microsoft, and the global labor market transition into an AI-powered future. 

Prior to becoming CEO in June 2020, Ryan held the role of global head of product where he oversaw all teams responsible for building and creating the next generation of LinkedIn products and experiences. He set the company’s product strategy and oversaw product development, user experience, business development, and customer operations. 

Ryan also serves on the board of directors for Intuit and on the Board of Trustees for the Paley Center for Media. He is the host of a successful video series, podcast and newsletter called The Path where he interviews notable CEOs and leaders about their career journeys.

Faiza Saeed is the Presiding Partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. She has spent her career at Cravath, advising on M&A, corporate governance and crisis management, with a focus in the media, entertainment, and biotech sectors. She serves as a Trustee of The Paley Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the William Nelson Cromwell Foundation, and on the Boards of Directors of the Partnership for New York City and The Paley Foundation. She is a member of The Council on Foreign Relations and The Economic Club of New York. Ms. Saeed is a recipient of the Paley Center’s highest honor, The Paley Honors Award, the Foreign Policy Association’s highest honor, the Foreign Policy Association Medal, the American Jewish Committee’s Judge Learned Hand Award and the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Judge Simon Rifkind Award, and she was named one of the Asia Society’s Game Changers of 2019. Earlier in her career she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. She received her J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School and her B.A. in Economics and Molecular Biology with Highest Distinction from the University of California at Berkeley. 

Tim Schafer is the founder of Double Fine Productions, the studio behind acclaimed titles such as Brütal Legend, Psychonauts, and the upcoming lighthouse adventure Keeper. His games have earned many awards including a BAFTA for Best Narrative. A pioneer in independent development, Schafer helped redefine how games are funded and produced through early crowdfunding initiatives and creative collaborations. Recognized with the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship in 2018, he continues to champion innovation and diverse storytelling in interactive entertainment.

Phil Spencer is Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft Gaming, responsible for Microsoft’s global interactive entertainment business across all devices and services. He has worked in the technology and entertainment business for more than 30 years, bringing the joy of gaming to more than 500 million players every month and advocating for players and innovative gaming experiences. 

Phil has led the organization through multiple console launches, including the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One consoles. His role includes leadership of Xbox, Activision, Bethesda, Blizzard Entertainment, King, Mojang Studios and Xbox Game Studios. Phil has influenced global entertainment franchises across video games, television and movies, including Call of Duty, Candy Crush, Fallout, Halo, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Forza, Doom and Minecraft. 

He and his teams have led the unification of fractured gaming communities through cross-platform gaming and reduced barriers to entry for players through the advancement of subscription business models with Xbox Game Pass, and the introduction of Xbox Cloud Gaming. He is also a champion of opportunities for independent and diverse creators with programs like ID@Xbox, the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, and Minecraft Marketplace where anyone can become a game creator. 

Phil has earned industry recognition for pushing the boundaries of creativity, technical innovation, and fun across genres, audiences, and devices. In 2022 he was the recipient of the D.I.C.E. Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2023 he won the Andrew Yoon Legend award from the New York Game Awards. 

Phil began his career as an intern at Microsoft in 1988 after graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in Human Centered Design and Engineering. He currently sits on the College of Engineering Advisory Board at the University of Washington and serves on the Board of Trustees of The Paley Center for Media. Phil has two daughters and lives with his wife and his dog Oogie in the Seattle area. 

Mustafa Suleyman is the CEO of Microsoft AI. Before that he was cofounder and CEO of Inflection AI. Previously he was cofounder and Head of Applied AI at DeepMind for a decade. He is the bestselling author of The Coming Wave: Technology, Power and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma. Suleyman is on the board of The Economist. 

Gabriela Tafur is a lawyer, TV host, author, and entrepreneur shaping the future of entertainment. She is the founder and CEO of Idilio, the first premium short-form streaming platform for the 800 million Spanish speakers worldwide—fusing Hollywood storytelling with Silicon Valley innovation to deliver the next generation of global content. 

A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Gabriela began her career as a corporate lawyer before transitioning to television, where she hosted major primetime shows and connected with millions of viewers across Latin America. She is also the author of En Todo su Derecho, a bestselling memoir and social reflection on gender, power, and resilience. 

Named Miss Colombia and a Top 5 finalist at Miss Universe, Gabriela has used every stage of her career to amplify Latin voices and champion creative innovation. Today, through Idilio TV, she’s building a bridge between culture and technology—redefining how stories from Latin America reach the world 

Hiroki Totoki is President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation. Totoki began his distinguished career at Sony in 1987 and advanced through key leadership roles across the company’s diverse portfolio. In 2001, he co-founded Sony Bank, one of Japan’s first internet banks. He then took on leadership positions at Sony Communication Network Inc. (So-net), the company’s internet service and entertainment arm in 2005. Totoki later held key roles within Sony’s Corporate Planning, Finance and Strategy divisions, and became President and CEO of Sony Mobile Communications in 2014.  He was appointed Sony’s CFO in 2018 and subsequently served as President, COO and CFO. In 2025, Totoki was named Director, Representative Corporate Executive Officer, President and CEO of Sony Group Corporation, marking a pivotal step in his sustained stewardship of the company’s evolution.  As President and CEO, he is leading Sony’s strategic emphasis on entertainment and intellectual property, aligning the company’s long-term “Creative Entertainment Vision” with its solid foundation in technology.

Gary Vaynerchuk is a serial entrepreneur and serves as the Chairman of VaynerX,  the CEO of VaynerMedia, and the CEO and Creator of VeeFriends. Gary is considered one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, business, and the internet. 

Known as “GaryVee,” he is described as one of the most forward thinkers in business. He acutely recognizes trends and patterns early to help others understand how shifts in consumer attention impact the realities of the business world today. Gary’s approach sits at the intersection of business and pop culture. He keenly understands how to bring brand relevance to the forefront. He is a prolific angel investor with early investments in companies like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Venmo, Snapchat, Coinbase, and Uber. 

Gary is an entrepreneur at heart – he builds businesses. Today, he helps Fortune 1000 brands leverage consumer attention through his full-service advertising agency, VaynerMedia, which has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Amsterdam, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Bangkok, Delhi, and Kuala Lumpur. VaynerMedia is part of the VaynerX holding company, which also includes Eva Nosidam Productions, Gallery Media Group, The Sasha Group, VaynerSpeakers, VaynerCommerce, and Tingley Lane Trading. Gary is the Co-Founder of VaynerSports, VCR Group, VaynerWatt, ArtOfficial, Resy, and Empathy Wines. He guided Resy and Empathy to successful exits — which he later sold to American Express and Constellation Brands, respectively. He also owns a Major League Pickleball team called the 5s, is part owner of a Big3 basketball team, and is an investor in the revival of the SlamBall League. 

In 2021, Gary created VeeFriends, an entertainment company that has become a rising powerhouse in modern entertainment and collectibles. Often described as Pokemon meets Sesame Street, the company leverages stories, games, events, collectibles, and technology to scale its character universe. Vaynerchuk also has negotiated partnerships with brand powerhouses such as Crocs, Fanatics, Macy’s/Toys “R” Us, Mattel’s UNO, Mattel’s Masters of the Universe, Moonbug Entertainment, Reebok, Squishmallows, Topps, and more. 

Gary is also the founder and creator of VeeCon – a contemporary super conference that converges business and pop culture with innovation and technology. He is a six-time New York Times bestselling author, with titles including Crush It!, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Twelve and a Half, and Day Trading Attention. In addition to running multiple businesses, Gary documents his daily life as a CEO through his social media channels, which have more than 45 million followers and garner more than 300 million monthly impressions/views across all platforms. His podcast, “The GaryVee Audio Experience,” ranks among the top podcasts globally. 

Gary serves on the board of MikMak, Bojangles Restaurants, Global Citizen Forum, The Paley Center, and Pencils of Promise. He is also a longtime Well Member of charity: water. 

Gary’s life ambition is to buy the New York Jets. 

Joshua Xu is the co-founder and CEO of HeyGen, the one-stop AI video creation suite that enables businesses and creative professionals to generate videos 10x faster, localize them into 175+ languages, and personalize them at scale. HeyGen’s growing array of video, audio, avatar, and post-production capabilities provides nearly 100K customers across marketing, corporate communications, social media, education, and more with the tools to create higher-quality videos more frequently. As CEO, Joshua leads the development of HeyGen’s suite of intuitive, human-centric video production capabilities, with the aim of saving time, relieving bandwidth, and improving content quality for video-makers and their teams. Before founding HeyGen, Joshua was an early Snap employee leading significant innovations in advertising technology, recommendation systems, and AI-driven camera technology.

Strauss Zelnick founded ZMC in 2001.  Mr. Zelnick has a long history of leading media and communications enterprises and is deeply involved in originating investments, advising executives and guiding the strategic and operational initiatives across all portfolio company investments.  Mr. Zelnick currently represents ZMC on the board of World Choice Investments. He serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Previously, Mr. Zelnick was on the boards of Cast & Crew Entertainment Services, L.L.C., Alloy, Inc., Education Networks of America, Inc, and Naylor L.L.C.  He also served as Chairman and CEO of Columbia Music Entertainment, Chairman of ITN Networks, Chairman of Direct Holdings Worldwide and OTX. 
 
Prior to forming ZMC, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of BMG Entertainment, at that time one of the world’s largest music and entertainment companies with more than 200 record labels and operations in 54 countries. 
 
Before joining BMG Entertainment, Mr. Zelnick was President and Chief Executive Officer of Crystal Dynamics, a producer and distributor of interactive entertainment software. Prior to that, he spent four years as President and Chief Operating Officer of 20th Century Fox, where he managed all aspects of Fox Inc.’s worldwide motion picture production and distribution business. Previously, Mr. Zelnick spent three years at Vestron Inc., two as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Zelnick also served as Vice President of International Television Sales at Columbia Pictures. 
 
Mr. Zelnick holds a BA from Wesleyan University, as well as an MBA from Harvard Business School and a JD from Harvard Law School. 

Bruce Campbell serves as Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery, overseeing Global Corporate Strategy, Networks and Platforms Distribution, Content Sales, Global Consumer Products, U.S. Advertising Sales, Global Franchises and the newly formed Global Experiences.

Campbell most recently served as Chief Development, Distribution, and Legal Officer, Discovery, Inc., where he was responsible for corporate development, domestic distribution, global legal affairs, and business affairs as well as production management. In that role, Campbell spearheaded and executed many of the company’s most important deals, including acting as the lead negotiator in the merger between AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Discovery; and the acquisitions of Scripps Networks Interactive, SBS Nordics, and Eurosport. 

Before joining Discovery in 2007, Campbell was the EVP of Business Development for NBCUniversal, where he was responsible for strategic planning and corporate transactions. He also represented the company in negotiating the online video joint venture with News Corp that became Hulu. 

Campbell holds degrees from Princeton University and Harvard Law School.

Keia Clarke is Chief Executive Officer of the New York Liberty (WNBA), where she leads all business aspects of the Liberty organization including oversight of the P&L, business operations, and strategic planning.

Clarke is in her 14th season with New York, having previously served as the Liberty’s Chief Operating Officer, Vice President for Team Business Development, Director of Marketing, and Marketing Manager. Keia began her career at the NBA/WNBA League Office, prior to joining the New York franchise.

Among her many awards, Keia was named to Adweek’s Most Powerful Women in Sports list, Sports Business Journal's Game Changers Class of 2023, and most recently, CNBC’s Changemakers Inaugural Class of 2024.

Clarke attended Canisius University where she was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team, graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor’s in Marketing. She went on to earn a Master’s in Sports Business from New York University in 2006. In 2022, Keia graduated from Harvard Business School upon completion of the Advanced Management Program (AMP).

Additionally, Clarke serves on the boards of Sports Innovation Lab and The Ladies of Hope Ministries.

Keia resides in Fanwood, NJ with her husband Brian, daughter Avery, and son Gavin.

Kerry Flynn is a media reporter based in New York. She co-authors Axios Pro: Media Deals, a daily newsletter covering companies in telecom, media and technology, including streaming entertainment and ad tech. She joined Axios in 2022 from CNN, where she covered the business of media for CNN.com and the Reliable Sources newsletter. She previously reported on tech and social media for Digiday and Mashable.

Bree Fowler covers all things cybersecurity and digital privacy ranging from global ransomware attacks and cyberwarfare to election security, disinformation, consumer scams and identity theft. She also is an accomplished public speaker, appearing regularly on network TV and on stage at cybersecurity and tech industry events. Based in New York, she joined CNET in 2021 from Consumer Reports where she covered cybersecurity, digital privacy rights and consumer technology. Previous to that, she spent 16 years as a reporter for The Associated Press in Detroit and New York covering a variety of beats including tech and cybersecurity.

Fowler is a Michigan native, graduate of Michigan State University and two-star world marathoner.

Don Garber was named commissioner of Major League Soccer, the first division professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, in 1999. During his 25 years with MLS, the league has expanded from 10 to 30 clubs, added dozens of new owners, established 26 soccer stadiums, and secured a transformative global media partnership with Apple TV. 

Through his efforts, MLS has developed into one of the top soccer leagues in the world and has helped establish the United States as a true soccer nation.

Early in his tenure, he created MLS WORKS, a league-wide community outreach initiative dedicated to addressing important philanthropic and social issues.  

Prior to joining MLS, Garber spent 16 years in a variety of sales, marketing, programming, and event management positions at the National Football League. In 1996, he launched NFL International, a division that was responsible for all aspects of the NFL’s business outside the United States, with offices in Canada, England, Mexico, Japan and Germany. 

Commissioner Garber serves on a variety of professional and philanthropic boards, including the board of directors for the United States Soccer Federation, the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee, and The Football World League Association.  Garber is a member of the Board of Directors of the Paley Center for Media and the Billion Oyster Project. 

Garber is a member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame, the National Soccer Hall of Fame and is in the Athletic Hall of Fame for his Alma mater, SUNY Oneonta. He has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from both Montclair State University and the State University of New York.  

Robert Gates served as the nation’s 22nd Secretary of Defense (2006-2011). Dr. Gates served eight U.S. presidents across both parties and has the distinction of being the only secretary of defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected president. He has led a distinguished career of service and institutional reform both in and out of government. On his last day as Secretary, President Barack Obama awarded Gates the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Gates began his career at the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional, including 9 years on the National Security Council. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993 and, through the collapse of the Soviet Union, restructured the intelligence community for a post-Cold War world.

Gates next served as President of Texas A&M University, one of the nation’s largest universities, from 2002 to 2006. As President, he launched a successful campaign to make Texas A&M one of the nation’s top twenty research universities.

As Secretary of Defense, Gates reversed losing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while preparing the U.S. military for unconventional warfare and for dramatic reductions in federal spending. Among his many initiatives, Gates championed the production and deployment of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, saving the lives and limbs of thousands of U.S. servicemembers. Gates is fondly remembered as the “Soldiers’ Secretary.”

Currently, Gates is a principal in the international strategic consulting firm Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, LLC, alongside former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and Aspen Strategy Group Executive Director Anja Manuel.

Gates serves as Chancellor of the College of William & Mary. He is the first William & Mary alumnus in the modern era to serve as Chancellor. He is National Chairman of the Eisenhower Fellowships, having succeeded General Colin Powell in 2018. Additionally, he is Board Chairman of the Holdsworth Center, a Texas nonprofit institution dedicated to improving K-12 public education by supporting and developing education leaders. Gates is a member of the Board of Directors of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation and has served as National President of the Boy Scouts of America.

A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor’s degree from William & Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University, and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. In 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Gates has been awarded honorary degrees from more than a dozen universities and colleges, including Notre Dame, Yale, Morehouse College, and all three of his alma matters.

Gates has authored four books – Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World, published in 2020; A Passion For Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service, published in 2016; Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, published in 2014; and From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Bianna Golodryga is a CNN anchor and senior global affairs analyst. Based in New York she anchors One World with Zain Asher and Bianna Golodryga weekdays at 12pm ET on CNN International and CNN Max.

Golodryga has reported extensively on Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, interviewing former hostages and their families about their harrowing experiences. For the six-month anniversary of the deadliest attack in Israel’s 75-year history, she traveled to Israel to speak with family members of some of the men, women and children kidnapped by Hamas for a special episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, ‘Hostages: The Road Home.’

Prior to joining CNN in 2019, Golodryga served as co-anchor for “CBS This Morning.” In that role, she led the network’s coverage of President George H.W. Bush’s funeral and conducted numerous news-making interviews, including an exclusive with the CEO of Huawei, his first with a U.S. journalist. She also regularly contributed and filled in hosting CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning.

Golodryga’s time at CBS overlapped with her work as a CNN contributor between 2017-2019. Since joining CNN full time in 2019, Golodryga has helped lead the network’s extensive Russia related coverage, from President Trump’s historic 2018 summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, to the Mueller investigation, and most recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition to her role co-hosting One World, Golodryga continues to fill in host on signature CNN programs including Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria GPS. Previously, Golodryga was the news and finance anchor for Yahoo News and before that, she co-anchored “Good Morning America’s” weekend edition, as well as serving as ABC News’ Business Correspondent.

Golodryga began her career in television news in 2001 as a bureau producer from the New York Stock Exchange for the cable news channel, CNBC. Prior to her career in television, Golodryga worked in the financial services sector.

Golodryga has received several awards and recognition, including the Keystone Policy Center Leadership Award, the University of Texas at Austin Pro Bene Meritis Award, and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Morning Program, Good Morning America.

Golodryga graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Russian/East European and Eurasion Studies and a minor in economics. She is fluent in Russian.

Dr. Ramin Hasani is the co-founder and CEO of Liquid AI and a machine learning Scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Previously, he was jointly appointed as a Principal AI Scientist at the Vanguard Group ($8.2T AUM) and an AI Researcher at CSAIL MIT. Ramin’s research focuses on robust and explainable deep learning and decision-making in complex dynamical systems. He received his Ph.D. with distinction in Computer Science from TU Wien, Austria (May 2020). His Ph.D. dissertation and continued research on Liquid Neural Networks is recognized internationally with numerous nominations and awards.

Steve assumed his role of President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Thomson Reuters effective March 15, 2020. He leads a company of over 25,000 people who operate in more than 75 countries around the world providing its customers with critical news, information and technology. The Company’s products primarily serve professionals in the legal, tax, corporate and media markets.

Previously, Steve served as senior advisor to TPG Capital, a private equity firm, chief executive officer of CAA Global, a TPG Capital portfolio company, and global president and chief operating officer of Nielsen, an information, data and measurement firm. He spent more than a decade with McKinsey as a partner in the global media, information and technology practice.

Before joining McKinsey, Steve worked in several financial roles in the United States, Russia and Australia. He started his career with PwC, where he qualified as a chartered accountant.

Steve is a non-executive director of Appen Limited and a member of the Australia and New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. He received an MBA and master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

Janet Haven is the executive director of Data & Society. She has worked at the intersection of technology policy, governance, and accountability for more than twenty years, both domestically and internationally. Her career has spanned technology start-ups, philanthropic institutions, non-profit organizations and government roles in leadership and board capacities. Janet is a member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), which advises the president on a range of issues related to artificial intelligence.

She writes and speaks regularly on matters related to technology and society, federal AI research and development, and AI governance and policy. Before joining Data & Society, Janet spent more than a decade at the Open Society Foundations leading a global grantmaking program on technology, accountability, and human rights. She holds an MA from the University of Virginia and a BA from Amherst College.

Almar Latour is Publisher of The Wall Street Journal and CEO of Dow Jones, a world-leading news and business information services company.

A journalist-turned-business leader, Almar combines a passion for news and technology with rich global experience and an entrepreneurial drive. Under his leadership, Dow Jones has doubled digital subscriptions and achieved record profits and revenue, while safeguarding the Wall Street Journal’s reputation as one of the world’s most-trusted news organizations.

Almar has an extensive track record of building successful news media businesses in the digital age. He oversaw the creation of the Barron’s Group, quadrupling the group’s digital audience at Barron’s and MarketWatch, and led the highly-successful modernization of The Wall Street Journal’s website during the global financial crisis, setting the stage for the Journal’s first million digital subscriptions. Almar also led the development of The Wall Street Journal in Japan, Korea and China.

Almar has worked on three continents and has been stationed as a journalist in Brussels, London, Stockholm, New York and Hong Kong. Among a wide range of topics, he has reported on Central and Eastern Europe, technology and the rise of mobile phones, the Nordics and the Baltics as well as numerous mega-mergers. In addition to being a reporter, he has served as a bureau chief in New York, the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal online, and the editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones in Asia-Pacific before being appointed the Journal’s Executive Editor.

Almar regularly discusses issues including the business of media, press freedom, global affairs and journalism in the era of generative AI. He started as a news assistant in Washington, D.C.

He is a native of the Netherlands and lives in New York City.

Carol Massar is co-host of “Bloomberg Businessweek,” airing on Bloomberg TV and Radio, Bloomberg Originals and YouTube daily from 2pm-5pm ET, and co-host of the iHeart nominated “Best Business & Finance” podcast. An award-winning business and financial journalist with more than 30 years of experience, Carol joined Bloomberg Television in 1999 and has anchored and reported around the globe. She began her career as a producer at FNN; served as a producer, reporter and anchor for Dow Jones TV, and was a correspondent for “The Asian Wall Street Journal Report” and “The Wall Street Journal Report” produced by Dow Jones/CNBC. She earned a degree in economics from Barnard/Columbia.

Dennis Mathew serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altice USA and Optimum, one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, delivering broadband, video, and mobile services to approximately 4.7 million residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum brand. In addition to the Optimum telecommunications business, Altice USA operates Optimum Media, an advanced advertising and data business, which provides audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional, and national businesses and clients, as well as hyper-local and international news networks through its News 12 and i24NEWS brands.

A telecommunications industry veteran, Mr. Mathew spent 17 years in senior corporate and operational leadership positions at Comcast, leading the company’s largest regions with a focus on all aspects of the residential and commercial businesses for the entire Comcast portfolio of products and services. He oversaw the organization’s strategic, financial, and operational performance in both the Freedom Region and Western New England Region, positioning these regions to become best-in-class for customer experience and employee engagement.

Prior to joining Comcast, he held positions focused on technology risk assessment with both PricewaterhouseCoopers and Andersen/Protiviti.

In addition, Mr. Mathew is a philanthropist and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chairman of Bloom India, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide high-quality education to the underprivileged throughout India. He is also the founder of ConnectEd, an organization with the goal of providing digital education to children in India, creating innovative learning tools to support those preparing for the future workforce, and has spent the last decade working with non-profit organizations focused on anti-human trafficking efforts.

Mr. Mathew currently serves on the boards of C-SPAN, The Paley Center for Media and the Partnership for New York City.

Mr. Mathew earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Mr. Miller is a senior executive and investor at the intersection of technology and media. Positions held include Chairman and CEO of AOL, INC, Chairman and CEO of News Corp Digital Media Group, President and CEO of USA Interactive (now IAC). He has been a partner in venture capital firm Advancit Capital with Paramount Global Chairperson Shari Redstone for the past eight years where he has invested in over 100 companies. Mr. Miller is CEO of Integrated Media Co, an investment partnership with private equity firm TPG.

Mr. Miller has served as a Director of a number of public and private companies including the Boards of BBC News Worldwide, RTL Broadcasting, NY Public Radio, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, Akamai, Nielsen, First Look Media, Expedia, Trip Advisor and the Interpublic Group.

Mr. Miller has been honored as a UJA ‘Media Man of the Year’ and has also been awarded the Inaugural Pioneer Prize, Producers Guild of America, the Inaugural Vanguard Award, International Emmy Association, the Digital Power Player of the Year, Hollywood Reporter, and the Monaco Media Festival, Interactive Pioneer Award.

Mr. Miller is a Trustee of the Paley Center for Media and also of the American Film Institute. He also serves as Director of Force for Good and a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was Executive Producer of Live 8, the largest charity event ever produced and an Advisor on a related follow up initiative, Live Earth. Mr. Miller is senior media Advisor to Global Citizen and its upcoming Global Live series of events. He is also an Advisor to the Office of the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning at Harvard University having previously served in this capacity with Harvard/MIT joint venture EdX.

Jonathan Nolan is an Academy Award® and Emmy Award® -nominated writer, director, and producer.  His latest series, FALLOUT, which Nolan produced and directed, is a global smash hit, one of the highest rated series ever for Amazon Prime, and received 17 Emmy® nominations in its first season.  Kilter Films, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy’s company, produces the show in partnership with Bethesda Game Studios and Amazon MGM Studios.

Nolan’s past work includes MEMENTO, THE PRESTIGE, THE DARK KNIGHT, INTERSTELLAR, and WESTWORLD.  Westworld, which Nolan co-created and directed the pilot for, concluded its run at HBO with 54 Emmy® nominations and remains the highest rated first season show in HBO’s history.  Nolan’s first venture into television was the Emmy®-nominated crime series PERSON OF INTEREST, which ran for five seasons and over a hundred episodes. 

Andrew Olmem is the Managing Partner of Mayer Brown’s Washington DC office and co-head of its Financial Services Product Team. His practice focuses on complex financial services regulatory and legislative matters, congressional and regulatory investigations, and economic policy consulting. Andrew previously served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), where he oversaw the development and coordination of the administration's domestic economic policies. He played a key role in crafting the economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining the White House, Andrew served as the Republican Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director for the US Senate Banking Committee. He served on the committee staff during its consideration of the legislative response to the 2008 financial crisis and was a lead negotiator for the Dodd-Frank Act. Washingtonian Magazine named Andrew as one of the 500 Most Influential People in Washington. 

As the Americas Market Lead for Accenture Operations, Laura Peterson drives sustainable growth and competitiveness for clients through strategic managed services. Accenture Operations offers a broad portfolio of business process services spanning R&D, procurement, supply chain, finance, HR, marketing, sales, customer service, trust and safety, as well as specialized services for industries such as banking, insurance, telecom, and health and life sciences.

In addition to her market leadership role, Laura serves as the Office Managing Director for Accenture in New York Metro, where she oversees a team of nearly 7,000 employees. Her role includes fostering client and community engagement, and as an active member of the Tech:NYC board, she collaborates with the Partnership for New York City to shape the city’s future alongside industry, technology, and civic leaders.

Previously, Laura was accountable for Accenture’s strategy, talent development, and service delivery for Communications, Media, and Technology (CMT) clients, managing a team of account leaders dedicated to aligning Accenture’s solutions with client priorities. Her experience also includes a decade driving transformation in customer, digital, and enterprise functions for clients in the CPG and retail sectors.

An advocate for diversity and inclusion, Laura has been honored with awards such as Seramount’s 2022 Women of Excellence, Crain’s New York Business “Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting,” and Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business. She actively participates in local causes and volunteerism in New York and serves on the WICT Network’s global board and as a member of the Women’s Forum of New York.

Richard Plepler is Founder of EDEN Productions, a film and television production company
formed in January 2020 with an exclusive multi-year deal with one of the hottest new streaming
services, AppleTV+.

Since its launch, EDEN has produced such critically acclaimed fare as the riveting and award-
winning limited series Black Bird (July 2022) written and produced by best-selling novelist
Dennis Lehane, starring Taron Egerton and Paul Walter Hauser (winner of a Golden Globe and
Critics Choice Award); the powerful four-part documentary series Lincoln’s Dilemma (February
2022), which The Daily Beast wrote “should be required viewing for every American”; the
highly provocative talk show The Problem with Jon Stewart (2021-23), which impacted change
in government policy and the critically acclaimed limited series Franklin focused on Benjamin
Franklin’s vital eight years in France, starring Michael Douglas in the lead role and based on
Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff’s book. Atop its upcoming slate is a crime drama series with
Dennis Lehane as creator, writer and executive producer; Taron Egerton as star and executive
producer; and starring Jurnee Smollett, John Leguizamo and Greg Kinnear, inspired by true
events around serial arsonists in California; a documentary series on Formula One racing legend
Lewis Hamilton who broke many records and barriers and another drama series from Dennis
Lehane based on his book “Small Mercies” dealing crime families in South Boston in the 1970s.

Plepler had a 28-year career at Home Box Office, Inc., where he started as Executive Vice
President from 2002 - 2007, Co-President from 2007 - 2012 and was named Chairman and CEO
in September 2012, leaving the company in March 2019. A brand known for excellence, HBO
curated over 3,000 hours of content on its platforms, including original series, documentaries,
specials, original movies, talk shows and sports. During his tenure as CEO, HBO experienced its
largest growth in company history while continuing to raise the bar with some of the most
innovative, honored, and critically acclaimed programming on television. Plepler led the creation
of the company’s standalone streaming service, HBO NOW®, which launched with Apple in
March 2015 and was a transformative move as it enabled the company to go directly to the
consumer. Upon Plepler’s departure, HBO and Cinemax boasted 140 million global subscribers
and HBO Now represented over 20% of its subscription revenue becoming the foundation for the
streaming service, HBO Max®.

Under Plepler’s leadership, HBO greenlit some of the most successful series including Emmy®
Award-winners Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley, Big Little Lies, Girls, True Blood,
Boardwalk Empire, Newsroom, Barry, Succession, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
Notably, Game of Thrones, HBO’s most viewed series ever, continues to hold the record for the
most Emmy Awards® ever won by a scripted series with a lifetime total of 59 Emmys®. Overall,
during Plepler’s leadership, HBO was recognized with 190 Emmy Awards® with wins in all
major categories and 9 Golden Globe Awards®.

Plepler has received numerous accolades during his career, including being inducted into the
Cable Hall of Fame by The Cable Center (2018) and Broadcasting and Cable magazine’s Hall of
Fame (2013); named Media Person of the Year by The Cannes Lions International Festival of
Creativity (2014); earned the Directorate Emmy Award® for his impact on the industry from the
International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (2015); the prestigious Driver of Change
Award at the FT ArcelorMittel Boldness in Business Awards (2015); and the Variety Vanguard
Award for contribution to the TV business (2017).

Plepler serves on the Board of Directors for the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of
Advisors for the New York Public Library, in addition to also serving on the National Advisory
Board of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research.

Plepler resides in Connecticut with his wife Lisa and daughter Eden.

With more than 30 years of experience at Accenture, Dan serves as a communications and media leader for the firm. Since 2017, as a client account lead, he has significantly contributed to the strategic growth and global expansion of a leading multinational telecommunications corporation.

Previously, Dan managed major telecommunications accounts in Canada and the eastern US and led operations in South America from 2010 to 2013, enhancing his expertise in international markets. He collaborates with industry leaders to integrate emerging technologies like cloud computing and 5G, driving innovation and resilient business models.

In addition to his professional achievements, Dan is committed to community and professional development, having co-chaired the University of Maryland’s fundraising society. Outside of work, he enjoys fishing, culinary pursuits, and advocates for inclusion and ethical practices in technology.

Robert E. (Bob) Rubin began his career in finance at Goldman, Sachs & Company in New York City in 1966. Mr. Rubin served as vice chairman and co-chief operating officer at Goldman from 1987 to 1990 and as co-senior partner and co-chairman from 1990 to 1992. Before joining Goldman, he was an attorney at the firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton in New York City from 1964 to 1966.

Long active in public affairs, Mr. Rubin joined the Bill Clinton administration in 1993 as assistant to the president for economic policy and as director of the newly created National Economic Council (NEC). At the NEC, he coordinated economic policy recommendations to the president and monitored the implementation of the president’s economic policy goals.

In January 1995, Mr. Rubin was appointed as the United States’ seventieth secretary of the treasury. He served for four and a half years, until July 1999, during which he was involved in balancing the federal budget; opening trade policy to further globalization; acting to stem financial crises in Asia, Mexico, and Russia; helping to resolve the impasse over the public debt limit; and guiding sensible reforms at the Internal Revenue Service.

From 1999 to 2009, Mr. Rubin served as a member of the board of directors at Citigroup and as a senior advisor to the company. In that capacity, he worked extensively with the firm’s clients around the world.

Mr. Rubin is one of the founders of the Hamilton Project, an economic policy project housed at the Brookings Institution that offers a strategic vision and innovative policy proposals on how to create a growing economy that benefits more Americans.

Mr. Rubin is the author of The Yellow Pad: Making Better Decisions in an Uncertain World (2023) and In An Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington (2003, with Jacob Weisberg), which was a New York Times best seller and was named one of Business Week’s ten best business books of the year. He has also written op-eds on the U.S. economy and other topics in such publications as the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Mr. Rubin is chairman emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is vice chairman of the board of trustees at the Mount Sinai Health System and chairman of the board of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which is the nation's leading community development support organization with thirty-eight offices nationwide. From 2002 to 2014, he was a member of the Harvard Corporation, and from 2016 to 2022, he served as a member of its Finance Committee. Mr. Rubin joined Centerview Partners in 2010 as a senior counselor of the firm. In his role at Centerview, he serves as a sounding board and advisor to clients across the firm’s various activities, bringing years of experience in finance and public policy.

Mr. Rubin graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1960 with an AB in economics. He received an LLB from Yale Law School in 1964 and attended the London School of Economics. He has received honorary degrees from Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and other universities. He was born in New York City in 1938 and is married to Judith Oxenberg Rubin, who served as the New York City commissioner of protocol for four years under Mayor David Dinkins. The Rubins have two children.

Sowmyanarayan Sampath (Sampath) is executive vice president and chief executive officer for Verizon Consumer Group, serving the largest consumer customer base in the United States with over 103.5B in total revenue (2022). Sampath is a globally recognized leader in the telecom industry with experience spanning consumer, enterprise, security and critical infrastructure. His distinct tenure at Verizon includes transformative work on Verizon’s consumer operating model and empowering its customer-facing organization.

Sampath previously served as CEO of Verizon Business, serving 99% of Fortune 500 companies, leading the digitization of businesses, governments and communities around the world as customers reimagine their employee, supply chain and end-to-end-customer experiences. With $31B+ in annual revenue, Verizon Business is the leader in new 5G-based technology-led innovation.

Prior to Verizon Business, Sampath served as President of Global Enterprise at Verizon, where he led a global team focused on delivering solutions to enable enterprise customers to securely connect to the global economy and intelligently manage business operations. Earlier in his Verizon tenure, he served as Chief Product Officer, responsible for the consumer and business product portfolio and implementing major strategic initiatives. These included two of the company’s largest programs, Network Transformation and One Fiber, which served as the foundation for Verizon’s progress in wireless network densification and 5G. Before Verizon, Sampath spent almost a decade at the Boston Consulting Group, where he was a Partner and Global Sector Leader for the Telecom practice area focused on driving large scale, enterprise wide transformations.His experience includes other executive roles including Chief Financial Officer and Chief Transformation Officer.

Corporate and charitable leadership

Sampath is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. He is the executive sponsor of United of Verizon, one of the company’s employee resource groups, designed to bring together employees of all backgrounds to help build a diverse company culture and best serve customers.

Sampath serves as a member of the WSJ CEO Council, Fast Company Impact Council and is a member of the Board of Advisors for Tech United New Jersey. He also serves on the board of directors of Canadian Tire, one of that country’s largest chains of automotive, hardware, sports, leisure, and houseware products.

Personal and educational background

Sampath holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calcutta, St. Xavier’s College, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Boston University and he is a Chartered Accountant.

David Schwimmer is Chief Executive Officer of London Stock Exchange Group and a member of the Board of LSEG plc. Prior to joining the Group in August 2018, he spent twenty years at Goldman Sachs where he held a number of senior roles, most recently as Global Head of Market Structure and Global Head of Metals & Mining. During his tenure, he also served as Chief of Staff to Lloyd Blankfein, who was then President and COO of Goldman Sachs, and also spent three years in Russia as Co-Head of Russia/CIS. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he practiced law at Davis Polk & Wardwell. He holds a B.A. from Yale University, and post graduate degrees in law (JD) and international affairs (MALD) from Harvard University and The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, respectively.

Nathan Sheets, Ph.D., is Global Chief Economist at Citi Research. In this role, Nathan leads Citi’s surveillance and forecasting of the global economy and directs the analysis of the firm’s economics team. He interacts closely with Citi’s major institutional clients and internal risk takers, and publishes research on cross-cutting themes shaping the global economy and financial markets.

Most recently, Nathan was Chief Economist and a member of the senior investment team at PGIM Fixed Income. He also has served as Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury for International Affairs, representing the U.S. government on international economic issues. Previously, he held positions with Citigroup, as Global Head of International Economics, and with the Federal Reserve Board, as Director of the Division of International Finance and FOMC Economist. In addition, Nathan was a senior advisor to the U.S. Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund and a visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He joined Citi in October 2021.

Adam Silver was appointed NBA Commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014.

Silver presides over a global sports and media organization built around five professional sports leagues:  the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League.  Under his leadership, the leagues are dedicated to growing basketball around the world, promoting health and fitness, and using the sport to bring people together.

Silver joined the NBA in 1992.  Prior to becoming commissioner, he served as NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer, President and Chief Operating Officer of NBA Entertainment, NBA Chief of Staff, and Special Assistant to the Commissioner. 

Silver has been instrumental to many of the league’s signature achievements, including the development of the WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League and Basketball Africa League; the creation of the NBA’s digital assets; and the establishment of NBA China and NBA Africa.

Silver was recognized by the Sports Business Journal as its Executive of the Decade and has been ranked No. 1 on its annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in the Sports Business.  He was also named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People, Fortune’s 50 Greatest Leaders, and The Bloomberg 50.  Additionally, he earned Sports Executive of the Year from Sports Illustrated. 

Silver is a member of the Duke University Board of Trustees.  He was presented with Distinguished Alumni Awards from Duke and the University of Chicago Law School and received the University of Chicago’s Professional Achievement Award.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves on the Board of Trustees for the Rockefeller Foundation, the Paley Center for Media, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and is Vice Chairman of the Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. 

Before joining the NBA, Silver was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and previously served as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge Kimba Wood in New York.  Silver is a graduate of Duke University and the University of Chicago Law School. 

Robert Silvers was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate as the Under Secretary for Policy on August 5, 2021. He is responsible for driving DHS’s direction across all of its missions, including counterterrorism; cybersecurity; AI safety; border security and immigration; international affairs; a range of law enforcement activities; and trade and economic security.

Mr. Silvers serves as Chair of the both the U.S. Cyber Safety Review Board and the federal Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force. He also oversees the federal government’s Supply Chain Resilience Center.

Mr. Silvers previously served in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama-Biden Administration as Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy. In that role he oversaw private sector engagement, federal government incident response, and diplomatic outreach pertaining to cybersecurity and emerging technology. Mr. Silvers also previously served as DHS’s Deputy Chief of Staff, managing execution of policy and operational priorities across the entire Department.

Prior to his appointment, Mr. Silvers was a partner at the law firm Paul Hastings LLP, where his practice focused on investigations, cybersecurity and data privacy, AI safety and governance, and other matters at the intersection of law enforcement, technology, and national security. After graduating law school, he clerked for Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Mr. Silvers holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. He taught as an adjunct professor in the M.S. in Cybersecurity Risk and Strategy Program co-offered by the NYU Law School and NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Edward Skyler joined Citi in 2010 and is now Head of Enterprise Services & Public Affairs. A member of Citi’s Executive Management Team reporting to the CEO, Edward has responsibility for managing several global operations, including Aviation, Colleague & Client Services and Citi’s real estate portfolio, as well as functions that shape the reputation of Citi, including Communications, Government Affairs, Sustainability/ESG, Community Investing & Development and Citi’s compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). He chairs Citi’s Reputation Risk Committee and the Board of the Citi Foundation. He also shares oversight of Investor Relations and Regulatory Affairs.

Prior to joining Citi, Edward served as a member of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's administration from 2002 to 2010, rising to the position of Deputy Mayor for Operations for the City of New York. In that capacity, he oversaw the performance of the City's main operational agencies and served as a top budget, legislative and labor negotiator. He oversaw four consecutive balanced and on-time City budgets; negotiated legislation to reform lobbying and "pay-to-play" practices; and spearheaded critical initiatives such as the overhaul of the City's 911 system and its sustainability agenda.

Previously, Edward served as Press Secretary and Communications Director during Mayor Bloomberg's first term. Prior to joining the Bloomberg Administration, he worked in the Corporate Communications group of Bloomberg LP. He also served as Deputy Press Secretary to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Public Information Director at the Department of Parks & Recreation.

Edward has stayed involved in civic life and served as Chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission. He is also an Executive Committee Member of the New York Police & Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund and is a Trustee of The Paley Center for Media and the Hospital for Special Surgery. He has been honored by several organizations, including Global Kids, Graham Windham and the YMCA of Greater New York.

A member of the New York State Bar Association, Edward is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Fordham University School of Law.

Kim Stone, a 2015 Sports Business Journal Game Changer, is a trailblazing leader in professional sports, renowned for her strategic acumen and unwavering commitment to excellence. With a career spanning illustrious roles at global sports brands including the Miami HEAT, Golden State Warriors, Oak View Group, and now the Washington Spirit, Kim has consistently reshaped the landscape of sports and entertainment business.

In her current role as the first CEO of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Kim has made an immediate and significant impact. During her inaugural year, the team has set 6 of their top 10 attendance records, demonstrating her ability to grow the brand and business in a highly competitive market. This achievement builds upon her already impressive career, which has encompassed a diverse spectrum of team business responsibilities and revenue-generating functions.

Kim's journey in sports management began with a remarkable 23-year tenure at the Miami HEAT organization, where she honed her skills and established herself as a leader in the industry. Her expertise spans corporate partnerships, premium ticket sales, culinary experiences, season ticket retention, business intelligence, marketing, arena operations and concert programming.
In 2019, Kim took on the role of Chase Center General Manager, spearheading the launch of the groundbreaking $1.6 billion Chase Center arena and retail development for the Golden State Warriors. Under her leadership, the project won the 2019 Venue of the Year from Sports Business Journal, further cementing her reputation as a visionary in sports venue management.

August 2022 marked another milestone in Kim's career as she assumed the position of President of UBS Arena and Executive Vice President of East Coast for Oak View Group (OVG). In this role, she oversaw the entire spectrum of business and building operations at the cutting-edge 18,000-seat UBS Arena, home of the NHL's NY Islanders. Her responsibilities included managing $38 million in corporate partnerships and $50 million in premium tickets, showcasing her ability to drive substantial revenue in high-stakes environments.

Throughout her career, Kim has been at the helm of top-tier arena operations teams, driving the success of premier sports and entertainment venues in some of the nation's largest markets – including New York's UBS Arena, San Francisco's Chase Center, and Miami's Kaseya Center. Her expertise in venue management has been widely recognized, earning her accolades from industry-leading publications such as Billboard, Pollstar, and Variety in 2023, as well as previous honors from Venues Now, Sports Business Journal, and South Florida Business Journal.

Kim's impact extends beyond the realm of sports and entertainment. She has assumed influential roles on esteemed organizations such as the University of Miami Board of Trustees, Miami Downtown Development Authority, the Orange Bowl Committee, and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, demonstrating her commitment to community engagement and social responsibility.

As she continues to lead the Washington Spirit, Kim's career is a testament to her unyielding dedication, visionary leadership, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Her ability to drive growth, innovate in venue management, and break new ground in women's professional sports cements her status as a pioneering force in the industry. Kim's journey from the Miami HEAT to the Golden
State Warriors, Oak View Group, and now the Washington Spirit illustrates her versatility and consistent ability to succeed across various facets of the sports and entertainment business.

Yusuf Tayob is Accenture’s global Communications, Media and Technology (CMT) industry practices chair and a member of Accenture’s Global Management Committee.

Throughout his career, Yusuf has collaborated with over 100 client organizations in more than 20 countries. His broad expertise encompasses digital transformation, business strategy, operating model efficiency, business process transformation, large-scale technology implementations, and managed services.

His career at Accenture includes several significant leadership positions across all of Accenture’s services. Before his current position, Yusuf was the group chief executive of Accenture Operations where he led transformation of the company’s managed services business to bring new data and AI capabilities to clients. Before that, Yusuf managed Accenture’s business across a 14-state region in the Midwest US. Yusuf’s earlier roles include serving as the global head of the Accenture Salesforce business group within Accenture Technology, managing Accenture’s CMT business in the eastern half of the United States, and leading management consulting for CMT.

Yusuf joined Accenture in 2000 and became a partner in 2009. He is dedicated to promoting diversity within the media, entertainment, and technology sectors as a member of the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors of the T. Howard Foundation. Yusuf earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Jessica Toonkel covers the biggest corporate developments in media, entertainment and tech. She joined The Wall Street Journal from the Information, where she broke many stories, including Amazon's acquisition of MGM and the New York Times' buyout of the Athletic as well as Disney's plans for an ad-supported streaming service. Prior to her four years at the Information, Jessica spent seven years at Reuters, where she consistently broke news on major deals, executive changes and strategic developments in media, tech and finance. Earlier in her career, she covered funds and investing for publications such as InvestmentNews, American Banker and Institutional Investor.

Emma Tucker is editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. She is responsible for all global news gathering and editorial operations.

Previously, Emma was editor of the Sunday Times—the first female editor of the paper in more than a century. Before that she worked at the Times, where she held several roles including associate features editor and editor of T2, the Times award-winning daily features supplement. Emma also served as editorial director where she helped foster a closer working relationship between the editorial and commercial teams, before being appointed deputy editor.

Prior to the Times, Emma was a reporter with the Financial Times where she covered economics before moving to work in the Brussels and Berlin bureaus. She returned to London in 2001 where she served in several leadership positions.

Taylor Twellman, a former MLS MVP (2005) and U.S. national team player, joined MLS Season Pass in 2023 after spending 13 years, 11 of those as ABC and ESPN’s lead soccer analyst, covering MLS, three FIFA World Cups, U.S. national team matches and three UEFA European Football Championships. He was the lead analyst on eight MLS Cups, 12 U.S. Open Cup finals five FA Cup finals, 3 Euros and 2014 World Cup. He was also a regular contributor as an analyst on ESPN studio shows, while also hosting SportsCenter and Get Up. After a Hall of Fame career at the University of Maryland, Twellman started his professional playing career in 2000 with Bundesliga club 1860 Munich. After two seasons in Germany, Twellman was the second overall pick of the MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution in 2002 and made an immediate impact, scoring 23 goals and finishing second in MVP voting. During his nine years with New England, he established himself as one of the most prolific scorers in MLS history, recording 101 goals in 174 matches. He is the youngest player ever to score 100 goals in MLS. He was the fastest player ever to reach the 100-goal plateau until Bradley Wright-Phillips (159) eclipsed the mark and now Josef Martinez. Twellman helped lead the Revolution to four MLS Cups, four MLS Eastern Conference Finals, a U.S. Open Championship and a North American SuperLiga title. The St. Louis native won the MLS Golden Boot Award in 2005 as the league’s top scorer and earned MLS Best XI honors in 2002 and 2005. He also made 30 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team scoring 6 goals including leading the team in scoring in 2006. After concussions ended his career earlier than expected, Twellman founded ThinkTaylor in 2011 to raise awareness about the dangers of concussions and head injuries, particularly in soccer. ThinkTaylor’s positive message emphasizing awareness, rehabilitation and education is creating a positive social change and a safer, healthier environment for kids.