2025
Aspen Security Forum
July 15-18, 2025 | Aspen, CO
2025 Agenda
2025 Speakers
2025 Videos and Transcripts
Message from our Executive Director, Anja Manuel
June 20, 2025
Dear friends and colleagues,
The year 2025 has emerged as a time of profound global recalibration.
Deadly and destabilizing conflicts in the Middle East and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine continue to challenge the world order, new alliances and trade agreements are evolving, and societies are racing to come to terms with artificial intelligence and other technologies, impacting every part of our lives.
However, the vast majority of the world’s citizens, including its leaders, share something deeply human—a desire to reduce conflict, to build stability, and to create a more prosperous world.
But the tools we once relied on—strategic alliances, long-standing partnerships, institutional norms—may no longer function quite as they did decades ago. In our rapidly shifting global landscape, our task is not simply to respond as we always have, but to question assumptions that may no longer hold true:
We assumed that economic interdependence would be the norm, and lead to less conflict.
We assumed that technology would always serve us, not challenge us.
We assumed that institutions built in a different era would endure unchanged.
At Aspen, we seek to approach global challenges with a beginner’s mind—open, humble, and ready to discover new solutions.
This summer, we will explore how releasing old assumptions can open the door to innovation, collaboration, and strategic recalibration.
Our founder Joe Nye—who sadly passed away this year—reminded us to retreat to nature to renew and reinvigorate our thinking. And so, we gather here once again, on this beautiful mountain, not only to assess risks, but to explore bold new approaches—clear-eyed, open-minded, and ready for the future.
Thank you for joining us.
See you in Aspen,
Anja Manuel
Executive Director
Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum
2025 Agenda
View the 2025 Aspen Security Forum agenda below. Please note that all speakers and times are subject to change.
View the Full Agenda
Day 1: Tuesday, July 15
11:00 AM — 5:00 PM
Registration Open in Doerr-Hosier
3:30 — 4:30 PM
Organized Tours at the Bayer Center
5:00 PM
Opening Program in the Greenwald Pavilion
5:00 — 5:10 PM
Opening Remarks
- Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former Ambassador of the United States to China; Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
- Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
5:10 — 5:40 PM
Fireside Chat with Nicholas Burns
- Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former Ambassador of the United States to China; Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
- Moderator: Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist
5:40 — 6:30 PM
Tanks But No Tanks: The Future of European Defense
- Baiba Braže, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Latvia
- Wolfgang Schmidt, Former Federal Minister and Head of the Chancellery; Chairman, Board of Trustees, MSC Foundation
- Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Special Envoy of the Secretary General on the Situation of Children of Ukraine, Council of Europe; Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Iceland
- Julie Smith, President, Clarion Strategies; Former U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO
- Moderator: Shashank Joshi, The Economist
6:30 — 8:00 PM
Opening Reception in Doerr-Hosier Building, Aspen Meadows
Day 2: Wednesday, July 16
7:00 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons
7:30 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in the Marble Garden Tent
9:00 — 9:10 AM
Welcome Remarks
- Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former Ambassador of the United States to China; Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
9:10 — 10:00 AM
Zero Gravity, High Stakes: The Future of Space
- General Tim Ray, President and Chief Executive Officer, Business Executives for National Security; Former Commander, Air Force Global Strike Command
- Nina Armagno, Chair, Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on U.S. Space Policy; Former Lieutenant General, U.S. Space Force
- Jane Harman, Chair, Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on U.S. Space Policy; Former Congresswoman; Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy; Aspen Institute Trustee
- Robert Lightfoot, President, Lockheed Martin Space
- Moderator: Gordon Lubold, NBC News
10:00 — 10:45 AM
Watts Up: Energy Security in an Era of Shifting Geopolitics
- Dan Brouillette, Co-Chairman, Torridon Group LLC; 15th U.S. Secretary of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
- Joel Sampaio, Speaker, Brazilian Foreign Ministry
- Jason Bordoff, Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
- Meghan O’Sullivan, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Moderator: Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist
10:45 — 11:30 AM
Navigating Great Power Competition: Global POVs
- Elbegdorj Tsakhia, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former President and Former Prime Minister of Mongolia
- Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Congresswoman, Chamber of Deputies of Mexico; Former Foreign Minister of Mexico
- Balázs Orbán, Political Director for the Prime Minister; Member of Parliament, Hungary
Hina Rabbani Khar, Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan; Chairperson of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee - Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN
11:30 AM — 12:00 PM
Fireside Chat with Minister Vivian Balakrishnan
- Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore
- Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times
12:00 — 1:30 PM
Lunch for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent
12:15 — 12:45 PM
Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building (Lunch Provided)
Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare
- Edward Fishman, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University
- Alexander Ward, The Wall Street Journal
1:30 — 2:10 PM
From Acquisition to Adoption: Integrating Commercial Tech for Warfighting Advantage
- Chris Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Anduril
- Greg Levesque, CEO and Co-Founder, Strider Technologies
- Joe Felter, Director, Gordian Knot Center, Stanford University
- Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN
2:10 — 2:45 PM
Cyber Intelligence: An Enabler of Security and Resilience
- Johan Gerber, Executive Vice President, Head of Security Solutions, Mastercard
- Rob Joyce, Founder, Joyce Cyber; Former Special Assistant to the President and Cybersecurity Coordinator, U.S. National Security Council
- Jenna Ben-Yehuda, Executive Vice President, Atlantic Council
- Moderator: David Sanger, The New York Times
2:45 — 3:30 PM
The Weight of the World: International Aid and Trade
- Wally Adeyemo, Former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Comfort Ero, President and CEO, International Crisis Group
- Henrietta Holsman Fore, Chairman and CEO, Holsman International; Former Executive Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNICEF
- Moderator: Dafna Linzer, U.S. News & World Report
3:30 — 4:20 PM
Israel at a Crossroads
- Amos Yadlin, President and Founder, MIND Israel; Former Chief, IDF Intelligence Directorate
- Michael Herzog, Former Ambassador of Israel to the United States; Tisch Distinguished Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Brett McGurk, Venture Partner, Lux Capital; Former National Security Council Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa
- Dan Senor, Partner, Elliott Investment Management; Co-Author, THE GENIUS OF ISRAEL & START-UP NATION; Host, CALL ME BACK Podcast
- Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, NPR
4:20 — 5:10 PM
The China Challenge: Rivalry and the Road Ahead
- Stephen Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
- Reinhard Bütikofer, Senior Adviser, European Policy Center; Former Member, European Parliament
- Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the U.S., China, and the World Program, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former Senior Advisor for China, U.S. Department of Commerce
- Moderator: Lingling Wei, The Wall Street Journal
5:20 — 5:50 PM
Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building (Drinks Reception)
Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History
- Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
- Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN
Day 3: Thursday, July 17
7:00 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons
7:30 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in the Marble Garden Tent
9:30 — 10:20 AM
A New Playbook: The Future of U.S. Competitiveness
- Chris Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Anduril
- Chris George, President and GM, Intel Government Technologies, Intel
- Mike Schnabel, Vice President of International Operations and Policy, The Boeing Company
- Moderator: Nick Schifrin, PBS News Hour
10:20 — 11:00 AM
India’s Geopolitical Moment?
- Shaurya Doval, Member Governing Council, India Foundation
- Šumit Ganguly, Director, Huntington Program on Strengthening U.S.-India Relations, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
- Sachin Pilot, Former Minister, Corporate Affairs, Telecom & Information Technology, Government of India; General Secretary, Indian National Congress
- Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times
11:00 — 11:45 AM
Cracking the Code: AI and National Security
- Charlie Dent, Executive Director and Vice President, Congressional Program, Aspen Institute; Former Member of Congress (R) PA-15
- Tarun Chhabra, Head of National Security, Anthropic; Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former National Security Council Coordinator for Technology and National Security
- Katrina Mulligan, OpenAI for Government, OpenAI
- Moderator: Kaitlan Collins, CNN
11:45 AM — 1:30 PM
Lunch for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent
12:00 PM — 12:30 PM
Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building (Lunch Provided)
Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit
- Craig Mundie, President, Mundie & Associates LLC
- Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
1:30 — 2:00 PM
Fireside Chat with Special Envoy Adam Boehler
- Adam Boehler, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Response, U.S. Department of State
- Moderator: Kaitlan Collins, CNN
2:00 — 2:50 PM
Frontlines and Fault Lines: Russia, Ukraine, and Beyond
In Partnership with the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
- Condoleezza Rice, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Tad and Dianne Taube Director and Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; 66th U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
- Pasi Rajala, Political State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence, Finland
- Halyna Yanchenko, Member, Supreme Council of Ukraine; Head of Investment Taskforce for Defense Industry
- Susan Glasser, Staff Writer and Columnist, The New Yorker
- Moderator: Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
2:50 – 3:20 PM
Building the Arsenal of Innovation
- Igor Jablokov, Chairman and Founder, Pryon
- John Serafini, CEO, HawkEye 360
- Moderator: Shashank Joshi, The Economist
3:20 — 4:10 PM
A Turning Point for Tehran?
- Stephen Hadley, Founding Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
- Rachel Bronson, Senior Advisor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
- Vali Nasr, Majid Khadduri Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
- David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent, The New York Times
- Moderator: Dafna Linzer, U.S. News and World Report
4:10 — 5:00 PM
The International Economy and the Art of the (Trade) Deal
- Jonathan Black, Deputy National Security Advisor, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
- Penny Pritzker, Chairman, PSP Partners; 38th U.S. Secretary of Commerce
- Robert Zoellick, Chairman, Temasek Americas; Former President, World Bank; Former U.S. Trade Representative
- Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times
6:00 — 7:30 PM
Film Screening in Paepcke Auditorium: Lithium Rising: The Race for Critical Minerals
Day 4: Friday, July 18
7:00 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons
7:30 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in the Marble Garden Tent
7:30 — 8:30 AM
Bird Watching Outing
9:00 — 9:35 AM
A Conversation on the Middle East
- David Petraeus, Partner, Chairman of the Global Institute and Chairman of KKR Middle East; Former Director, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
- Kim Ghattas, Financial Times Contributing Editor; Author of Black Wave
- Moderator: David Ignatius, The Washington Post
9:35 — 10:00 AM
Fireside Chat with Commissioner Andrius Kubilius
- Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission; Former Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania
- Moderator: Jonathan Martin, POLITICO
10:00 — 10:30 AM
The View from the Senate
- Chris Coons, U.S. Senator for Delaware, U.S. Senate
- Mark Warner, U.S. Senator for Virginia, U.S. Senate
- Moderator: Peter Baker, The New York Times
10:30 — 11:00 AM
From Cybercrime to Deepfakes: Securing the Public Square
- Ginny Badanes, General Manager, Tech for Society, Microsoft
- Jeh Johnson, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Columbia University; 4th U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Moderator: Steve Clemons, The National Interest
11:00 — 11:30 AM
Power, Security, and Influence in the AI Era
- David Petraeus, Partner, Chairman of the Global Institute and Chairman of KKR Middle East; Former Director, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
- Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
- Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Google
- Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, NPR
11:30 AM — 12:10 PM
Charting a Course in the Indo-Pacific
- Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former Ambassador of the United States to China; Roy and Barbara Goodman Family Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
- Kevin Rudd, Ambassador of Australia to the United States; Former Prime Minister of Australia
- Michael J. Green, Professor and CEO, United States Studies Centre; Former Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council
- Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times
12:10 — 12:55 PM
The Long View From Aspen
- Condoleezza Rice, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Tad and Dianne Taube Director and Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; 66th U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
- Robert Gates, Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC; 22nd U.S. Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense
- Mark Esper, 27th Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense; Partner, Red Cell Partners Venture Capital
- Jake Sullivan, Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order, Harvard Kennedy School; Former U.S. National Security Advisor
- Moderator: Steve Clemons, The National Interest
Lunch Available for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent
2025 SPEAKERS
The 2025 Forum features the highest caliber of speakers, including domestic and international government officials, business executives, leading academics, and noted journalists from around the world.
Andrius Kubilius
European Commissioner for Defence and Space, European Commission
Vivian Balakrishnan
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore
Baiba Braže
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
Jonathan Black
Deputy National Security Advisor, Cabinet Office, United Kingdom
Adam Boehler
Special Envoy for Hostage Response, U.S. Department of State
Balázs Orbán
Political Director of the Prime Minister, Office of the Prime Minister
Pasi Rajala
Political State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence of Finland, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence of Finland
Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadóttir
Special Envoy of Council of Europe Secretary General on the situation of children of Ukraine, Council of Europe
Senator Christopher Coons
United States Senator, United States Senate
Mark R. Warner
United States Senator, United States Senate
Claudia Ruiz Massieu
Congresswoman, Chamber of Deputies of Mexico; Former Foreign Minister of Mexico
Sachin Pilot
Former Minister, Corporate Affairs, Telecom & Information Technology, Government of India; General Secretary, Indian National Congress
Halyna Yanchenko
Member of the Parliament of Ukraine; Head of Investment Taskforce for Defense Industry
Hina Khar
Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan; Chairperson, National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee
Joel Sampaio
Speaker, Brazilian Foreign Ministry
Statement on Department of Defense Participation at the 2025 Aspen Security Forum
For more than a decade, the Aspen Security Forum has welcomed senior officials—Republican and Democrat, civilian and military—as well as senior foreign officials and experts, who bring experience and diverse perspectives on matters of national security.
This year, we extended invitations to senior Trump administration officials, including several cabinet-level leaders. Today the Department of Defense gave their speakers guidance that they “will no longer be participating.”
We will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open.
We are honored to host dozens of top national security voices, experts, business leaders and innovators, from across the political spectrum—and from across the world—at this year’s Forum. The Aspen Security Forum remains committed to providing a platform for informed, non-partisan debate about the most important security challenges facing the world.
Videos and Transcripts
DAILY RECAPS
DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
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