Announcing the Inaugural Class of the Technology Leaders Initiative
“Seventy-five years ago, the Aspen Institute gathered world leaders to reckon with the atomic age. Today, as AI, biotechnology, and quantum computing reshape human power, we are once again convening the people closest to these technologies to have the hard, constructive arguments about the future of society that transcend national, sectoral, and disciplinary borders. Technology stops being progress the moment it outpaces the wisdom of the people deploying it. The solution cannot be regulation alone. It must be leadership.”
Dar Vanderbeck, Vice President of the Aspen Global Leadership Network
On July 16, 2026 the Technology Leaders Initiative (TLI), announced its inaugural cohort, bringing together 22 senior leaders from across the technology ecosystem shaping the future of artificial intelligence and frontier technologies. Drawn from organizations such as Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, Microsoft, JPMorganChase, and OpenAI, the Fellows represent a broad range of perspectives and expertise across industry. They will join a wider community of more than 4,200 values-based leaders in over 62 countries as part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN).
“Our Fellows are defining the ethics of frontier AI systems, securing critical cyber infrastructure, pioneering genomic medicine, and reimagining what creativity means in an age of intelligent machines. The decisions shaping this era will only be as good as the judgment and values of the people making them. The TLI exists to strengthen both.“
Amy Benziger, Managing Director of the Technology Leaders Initiative
Most leadership programs in technology focus on product strategy or policy alignment. The TLI is built on a different premise: the leaders closest to these technologies rarely have the protected space to examine their impact on the world with others who answer to the same scale of consequence. Throughout their program, the 2026 cohort will discuss memoirs of great leaders, philosophical texts, and parables, not as case studies, but as instruments for examining the choices in front of them.
“Every era confronting new forms of power has turned to philosophy and the great works for guidance. This program puts Fellows into conversation with previous generations who have reasoned through the eternal questions about power, judgment, and what we owe each other.”
Chris Varelas, Co-Founder, Technology Leaders Initiative, and Aspen Institute Trustee
The inaugural TLI Fellows are:
The program is supported by the partnership of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and the Institute for Ethics in AI, University of Oxford. Special thanks to the early support from Mysten Labs. The program was founded by a consortium of Aspen Fellows and Trustees: Ailish Campbell (Executive Vice President, Public Sector, Mastercard; Finance Leaders Fellowship), Jen Zhu (Co-Founder & CEO, Power Dynamics; China Fellowship), Laela Sturdy (Managing Partner, CapitalG; Finance Leaders Fellowship), Verdun Perry (Global Head, Blackstone Strategic Partners; Finance Leaders Fellowship) and Chris Varelas (Founding Partner, Riverwood Capital; Aspen Institute Trustee).
About the Technology Leaders Initiative: The Technology Leaders Initiative (TLI) is part of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and modeled after the Aspen Institute’s Henry Crown Fellowship. Each two-year cohort brings together 22 Fellows from across the global technology ecosystem for international seminars, led by senior Aspen Institute moderators. Participation is free for Fellows and their organizations. Learn more at aspeninstitute.org/programs/tech-leaders-initiative.
The Aspen Global Leadership Network (AGLN) is a growing, worldwide community of high-integrity leaders who share a commitment to use their creativity, energy, and resources to tackle the foremost societal challenges of our times. Through a rare community of support, transformative convenings, and catalytic capital, we ignite 4,200 Fellows across 62 countries to turn moral courage into lasting change. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org/agln.
About the Aspen Institute The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org.
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