2025 AGENDA

Please note that all speakers and times are subject to change
All sessions in MDT
Unless otherwise indicated, all sessions take place in the Doerr-Hosier building

11:00 AM — 5:00 PM Registration Open

3:30 — 4:30 PM Organized Tours at the Bayer Center

Opening Program in the Greenwald Pavilion

5:00 — 5:05 PM Opening Remarks

5:05 — 5:45 PM The China Challenge: Rivalry and the Road Ahead

• • 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
  • 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

5:45 — 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 PM Close

6:30 — 8:00 PM
Opening Reception in Doerr-Hosier Building, Aspen Meadows

7:00 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent

9:00 — 9:10 AM Welcome Remarks

9:10 — 9:45 AM Zero Gravity, High Stakes: The Future of Space

• • General Stephen Whiting, Commander, U.S. Space 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

9:45 — 10:10 AM Fireside Chat with Ambassador Mauricio Carvalho Lyrio on the G20, BRICS, and COP30

• • Mauricio Carvalho Lyrio, Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Brazil’s Sherpa to the BRICS 
  • Moderator: Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist 

10:10 — 10:40 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 
  • 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 

10:40 — 11:15 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 

11:15 — 11:45 AM Fireside Chat with Minister Vivian Balakrishnan 

• • Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Singapore
  • Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times

11:45 AM — 1:15 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)

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

 1:15 — 1:50 PM The Rapid Evolution of Warfare 

• • General Randall Reed, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command 
  • Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • Chris Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Anduril
  • Moderator: Courtney Kube, NBC News

1:50 — 2:30 PM From Acquisition to Adoption: Integrating Commercial Tech for Warfighting Advantage

• • Doug Beck, Director, Defense Innovation Unit, U.S. Department of Defense
  • Tara Murphy Dougherty, CEO, Govini
  • Rob Lehman, Co-Founder and CCO, Saronic
  • Greg Levesque, CEO and Co-Founder, Strider Technologies
  • Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN

2:30 — 3:00 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

3:00 — 3:15 PM Fireside Chat with Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo

• • Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanzania
  • Moderator: Courtney Kube, NBC News

3:15 — 3:45 PM Rethinking Africa: Security, Sovereignty, and Strategy

• • LTG John Brennan, Deputy Commander, U.S. Africa Command  
  • Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tanzania
  • VADM Frank “Trey” Whitworth, Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
  • Sarang Shidore, Director, Global South Program, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
  • Moderator: Courtney Kube, NBC News

3:45 — 4:15 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

4:15 — 5:00 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, Chief Public Affairs Officer, Elliott Investment Management L.P.
  • Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, NPR

5:00 Close

5:05 — 5:35 PM
Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building (Drinks Reception)

7:00 AM

Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent

9:00 — 9:05 AM Welcome Remarks 

9:05 — 9:35 AM Fireside Chat with Admiral Samuel Paparo

• • ADM Samuel J. Paparo, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command
  • Moderator: Margaret Brennan, CBS News 

9:35 — 10:05 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

10:05 — 10:45 AM A New Playbook: The Future of U.S. Competitiveness 

• • David Cattler, Director, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency
  • Chris George, President and GM, Intel Government Technologies, Intel 
  • Michelle Giuda, Chief Executive Officer, Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University; Former Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs
  • Jeff Shockey, Executive Vice President, Government Operations, Global Public Policy & Corporate Strategy, The Boeing Company 
  • Moderator: Nick Schifrin, PBS Newshour

10:45 — 11:20 AM Cracking the Code: AI and National Security

• • General Bryan Fenton, Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command 
  • Paras Malik, Counselor to the Secretary, Chief AI Officer, U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • David Appel, Vice President, U.S. Federal, AWS
  • Tarun Chhabra, Head of National Security, Anthropic; Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former National Security Council Coordinator for Technology and National Security
  • Moderator: Kaitlan Collins, CNN 

11:20 — 11:45 AM State of AI-ffairs: AI and Geopolitics

• Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer, OpenAI
• Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
• TBA
• Moderator: Steve Clemons, The National Interest

11:45 AM — 1:15 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) 

1:15 — 1:40 PM Fireside Chat with Secretary John Phelan 

• • John Phelan, Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Department of the Navy 
  • Moderator: Gordon Lubold, NBC News

1:40 — 2:00 PM 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

2:00 — 2:45 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

2:45 – 3:00 PM Fireside Chat with Under Secretary Emil Michael, the Pentagon’s CTO, on Building the Arsenal of Innovation

• • Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense
  • Moderator: Shashank Joshi, The Economist

3:00 – 3:30 PM Building the Arsenal of Innovation

• Emil Michael, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense 
• Grant Demaree, CEO and Co-Founder, Onebrief
• Igor Jablokov, Chairman and Founder, Pryon
• John Serafini, CEO, HawkEye 360
• Moderator: Shashank Joshi, The Economist

3:30 — 4:15 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

4:15 — 5:00 PM The International Economy and the Art of the (Trade) Deal

• • Jonathan Monro 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 
  • Matt Watters, Partner, McKinsey & Company
  • Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times

5:00 — 5:25 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

5:25 PM Close 

5:30 — 6:00 PM
Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building (Drinks Reception)

Who Believed in You: How Purposeful Mentorship Changes the World

• • Dina Powell McCormick, Vice Chairman and President of Global Client Services, BDT-MSD; Former Deputy National Security Advisor

6:00 — 7:30 PM Film Screening in Paepcke Auditorium: Lithium Rising: The Race for Critical Minerals

7:00 AM
Breakfast Available for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent

7:30 — 8:30 AM
Bird Watching Outing

9:00 — 9:05 AM Welcome Remarks 

9:05 — 9:45 AM A Conversation on the Middle East

• • Tom Barrack, Ambassador of the United States to the Republic of Türkiye and Special Envoy to Syria, U.S. Department of State 
  • David Petraeus, Partner, Chairman of the Global Institute and Chairman of KKR Middle East; Former Director, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
  • Dina Powell McCormick, Vice Chairman & President of Global Client Services, BDT-MSD; Former Deputy National Security Advisor 
  • Kim Ghattas, Financial Times Contributing Editor; Author of Black Wave
  • Moderator: David Ignatius, The Washington Post

9:45 — 10:30 AM The View from the Senate

• • Chris Coons, U.S. Senator for Delaware, U.S. Senate
  • John Cornyn, U.S. Senator for Texas, 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
• Matt Noyes, Cyber Policy and Strategy Director, U.S. Secret Service
• 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
  • Mark Esper, 27th Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense; Partner, Red Cell Partners Venture Capital
  • Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Google
  • Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, NPR

11:30 AM — 12:00 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

12:00 — 12:35 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
  • Jake Sullivan, Kissinger Professor of the Practice of Statecraft and World Order, Harvard Kennedy School; Former U.S. National Security Advisor 
  • Moderator: TBA

12:35 — 12:45 PM Closing Remarks

Lunch Available for All Participants in Davis Commons and Marble Garden Tent