2026 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 in Doerr-Hosier

1:00 — 3:00 PM World Cup Semi-Final Screening in the Marble Garden Tent

3:00 — 4:00 PM Organized Tours at the Bayer Center

Opening Program in the Greenwald Pavilion

4:30 — 4:40 PM Opening Remarks

• Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former U.S. Ambassador 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

4:40 — 5:25 PM The State of the World 2026

• Condoleezza Rice, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; 66th U.S. Secretary of State; Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• Mark T. Esper, 27th Secretary of Defense; Partner, Red Cell Partners Venture Capital
• Penny Pritzker, 38th U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Founder and Chairman, PSP Partners
• Moderator: Peter Spiegel, The Washington Post

5:25 — 6:15 PM Out of This World: Space and Security

• Kari Bingen, Director, Aerospace Security Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Robert Lightfoot, President, Lockheed Martin Space
• Heather Pringle, CEO, Space Foundation
• Dan Smoot, CEO, Vantor
• Moderator: Andrea Mitchell, NBC

6:20 PM Opening Reception in Doerr-Hosier Building, Aspen Meadows

9:00 — 9:50 AM The China Challenge

• Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former U.S. Ambassador to China; Goodman Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
• Tarun Chhabra, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution; Head of National Security, Anthropic
• Elizabeth Economy, Hargrove Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
• Robert Thomson, CEO, News Corp
• Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times

9:50 — 10:40 AM Fueling the Future: Energy Markets, the Nuclear Option, and Critical Minerals

• Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency
• Meghan O’Sullivan, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
• Daniel Poneman, Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy; Co-Chair, Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition
• Moderator: Mohammed Sergie, Semafor

10:40 — 11:20 AM Continental Drift? Europe in Transition

• Belén Martínez Carbonell, Secretary-General, European External Action Service, European Union
• Theo Francken, Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade, Belgium
• Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, National Leader of Belarus and Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, Belarus
• David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security, The Netherlands
• Moderator: Peter Spiegel, The Washington Post

11:20 AM — 12:00PM The New Security Imperative: Digital Resilience Through Integration

• Nicholas Burns, Co-Chair, Aspen Strategy Group; Former U.S. Ambassador to China; Goodman Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
• Lisa Monaco, President, Microsoft Global Affairs
• Wolfgang Schmidt, Former Federal Minister and Head of the Chancellery, Germany
• Kaupo Rosin, Director General, Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service
• Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times

12:00— 12:20 PM Fireside Chat with John C. Phelan

• John C. Phelan, 79th Secretary of the Navy; Chairman, Rugger Management LLC
• Moderator: Gordon Lubold, NBC

12:20 — 1:00 PM The Human Element of War: Military Service Across Generations
In Partnership with the Medal of Honor Museum

• Colonel Jack Jacobs, Medal of Honor Recipient, National Medal of Honor Museum
• Lieutenant Colonel Will Swenson, Medal of Honor Recipient, National Medal of Honor Museum
• Joseph A. Dinkel, Strategic Advisor, Apandion
• Moderator: Courtney Kube, NBC

1:00 — 3:15 PM Lunch

1:00 — 3:00 PM World Cup Semi-Final Screening in the Marble Garden Tent

3:15 — 4:00 PM Fireside Chat with Ambassador Jamieson Greer

• Jamieson Greer, 20th U.S. Trade Representative
• Moderator: Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC

4:00 — 4:40 PM Duty Bound? Tackling Today’s Trade Challenges

• Michael Froman, 17th U.S. Trade Representative; President, Council on Foreign Relations
• Robert Lighthizer, 18th U.S. Trade Representative; Chairman, Department of War Defense Policy Board
• Arrow Augerot, Head of International Policy, Americas, Amazon
• Nicholas Redman, Chief Geopolitical Analyst, Dow Jones
• Moderator: David Gura, Bloomberg

4:40 — 5:20 PM Western HemispHERE

• Dominique Dupuy, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Religious Affairs and Haitians Living Abroad of Haiti; Former Permanent Delegate of Haiti, UNESCO
• Leopoldo López, Co-Founder, World Liberty Congress; Venezuelan Freedom Activist
• Albert Ramchand Ramdin, Secretary General, Organization of American States
• Moderator: Marc Caputo, Axios

5:20 — 6:00 PM  “What the Hell Is Going On?” Live Podcast

• Stephen J. Hadley, 20th U.S. National Security Advisor; Founding Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
• Robert O’Brien, 27th U.S. National Security Advisor; Chairman, American Global Strategies
• Michèle Flournoy, Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy; Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WestExec Advisors
• Marc Thiessen, Co-Host, What the Hell Is Going On; Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Columnist, The Washington Post

OFF STAGE
6:00 — 6:30 PM Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building
The Mission Generation: Reclaim Your Purpose, Rewrite Success, Rebuild Our Future

• Arun Gupta, Author, The Mission Generation: Reclaim Your Purpose, Rewrite Success, Rebuild Our Future; CEO, NobleReach
• Moderator: Ned Price, Interim Director, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School

7:15 — 8:30 AM Bird Watching Outing

Meet at 7:15 AM outside of the Walter Isaacson Center, outing begins at 7:30 AM.
Tours will be limited to 15 people. Binoculars will be provided.

9:00 — 9:45 AM Bear in Mind: Ukraine and Russia
 In Partnership with the Aspen Institute Kyiv

• Oleksiy Honcharuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine; Chair of the Board of Directors, UFORCE
• Stephen E. Biegun, Former Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State; Vice Chairman, National Endowment for Democracy
• Kaupo Rosin, Director General, Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service
• Chris Ruddy, CEO, Newsmax Media
• Moderator: Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

9:45 — 10:30 AM It’s Not You, It’s U.S.: The Future of NATO 
In Partnership with the Aspen Institute Romania, Marking Its 20th Anniversary

• Nils Schmid, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Defence, Germany
• Chris Brose, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Anduril
• General Christopher Cavoli (Ret.), 19th Commander, U.S. European Command; 20th Supreme Allied Commander Europe
• Mircea Geoană, Former Deputy Secretary General, NATO, Founder, Aspen Institute Romania
• Moderator: Courtney Kube, NBC

10:30 — 11:00 AM Fireside Chat with Ambassador Akif Çağatay Kılic

• Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Chief Adviser on National Security and Foreign Policy to the President, Türkiye
• Moderator: David E. Sanger, The New York Times

11:00 — 11:30 AM Fireside Chat with Minister Ayman Safadi

• Ayman Safadi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jordan
• Moderator: Andrea Mitchell, NBC

11:30 AM — 12:15 PM Let’s Get This Strait: The Future of Iran

• Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator for Connecticut, U.S. Senate
• Robert Greenway, Former Director, Allison Center for National Security, The Heritage Foundation; Senior Vice President, ​​​American Global Strategies
• Roxana Saberi, Journalist and Author
• Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN

12:15 — 1:00 PM Israel Today

• Ted Deutch, CEO, American Jewish Committee; Former Member of Congress (2010–2022)
• Dahlia Scheindlin, Fellow, Century International, The Century Foundation
• Dan Shapiro, Former, U.S. Ambassador to Israel; Distinguished Fellow, Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative, Atlantic Council
• Moderator: Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News Channel

1:00 — 2:15 PM Lunch

OFFSTAGE

1:00 — 1:30 PM Featured Book Talk in Kaufman Room, Doerr-Hosier Building
Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare

• Katrina Manson, Author, Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare
• Moderator: Vice Admiral Trey Whitworth, USN (Ret.), Former Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

2:15 — 3:00 PM What’s Next: How AI Is Impacting Safety and National Security

• David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security, The Netherlands
• Anne Neuberger, General Partner and Head of Global Affairs, a16z; Distinguished Fellow, Stanford University; Former Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies 
• Robin Colwell, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Intel
• Amber Miller, President, Hewlett Foundation
• Moderator: Mary Louise Kelly, NPR

3:00 — 3:30 PM Troubled Waters: Security and Stability in the Indo-Pacific

• Rahm Emanuel, Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan
• Michael Fullilove, Executive Director, Lowy Institute
• Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
• Moderator: Demetri Sevastopulo, Financial Times

3:30 — 4:20 PM Middle Ground in the Middle East?

• Salam Fayyad, Former Prime Minister, Palestinian Authority; Professor of Public Policy, Princeton University
• Kim Ghattas, Contributing Writer, The Atlantic; Author, Black Wave
• Amaney Jamal, Dean, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
• Herro Mustafa Garg, Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and Bulgaria; Founder and Principal, Hollyhock Global Advisory
• Moderator: David Ignatius, The Washington Post

4:20 — 4:50 PM Agents of Change: AI Diffusion, Digital Sovereignty, and Security

• Timothy Haugh, 4th Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; 19th Director, National Security Agency; Founder, The Haugh Way
• Talal M. Al Kaissi, Group Chief Global Affairs Officer, G42; Chief Executive Officer, Core42
• Moderator: David E. Sanger, The New York Times

4:50 — 5:30 PM The American Example: 250 Years On

• Karl Rove, Senior Advisor & Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush
• Jane Harman, Former Member, U.S. Congress
• Kori Schake, Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
• Bryan Fenton, 13th Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command
• Moderator: Edward Luce, Financial Times

OFFSTAGE
5:45 — 7:00 PM Film Screening in Paepcke Auditorium: Antidote

• Christo Grozev, Head of investigations, The Insider
• Moderator: Yaroslav Trofimov, The Wall Street Journal

7:15 — 8:30 AM Bird Watching Outing

Meet at 7:15 AM outside of the Walter Isaacson Center, outing begins at 7:30 AM.
Tours will be limited to 15 people. Binoculars will be provided.

8:15 — 8:45 AM “Pod Save the World” Live Recording Session

• Ben Rhodes, Co-Host, Pod Save the World
• Tommy Vietor, Co-Host, Pod Save the World

8:45 — 9:00 AM Coffee Break

9:00 — 9:05 AM Opening Remarks

• Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC

9:05 — 9:30 AM “Pod Save the World” Live Recording with Annalena Baerbock

• Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly; Former Foreign Minister, Germany
• Ben Rhodes, Co-Host, Pod Save the World
• Tommy Vietor, Co-Host, Pod Save the World

9:30 — 10:05 AM The New National Security: Investing in Frontline Resilience
In Partnership with the Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs

• Alice Albright, Former CEO, Millennium Challenge Corporation; Carnegie Distinguished Fellow, Columbia University
• Comfort Ero, President and CEO, International Crisis Group
• Alaa Murabit, Managing Partner of Sustainable Growth, 500 Global
• Ana Zacapa, Philanthropy and Non-Profit Advisor, Root Capital
• Moderator: Niamh King, Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum

10:05 — 10:35 AM Coffee Break

10:35 — 11:05 AM Fireside Chat with Minister Vincent Biruta

• Vincent Biruta, Minister of Interior, Government of Rwanda
• Moderator: Steve Clemons, The National Interest

11:05 — 11:40 AM The Arctic: High North, Higher Stakes

• Thomas Dans, Chairman, U.S. Arctic Research Commission
• General Eirik Kristoffersen, Chief of Defense, Norway 
• Pasi Rajala, Political State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Defence of Finland, Prime Minister’s Office of Finland 
• Moderator: Lara Seligman, The Wall Street Journal

11:40 AM — 12:10 PM The Innovation Imperative: Technology, Industry, and U.S. Leadership

• Bill Cassidy, U.S. Senator for Louisiana, U.S. Senate
• John Cornyn, U.S. Senator for Texas, U.S. Senate
• Timothy Haugh, 4th Commander, U.S. Cyber Command; 19th Director, National Security Agency; Founder, The Haugh Way
• Moderator: Jonathan Martin, POLITICO

12:10 — 12:15 PM Closing Remarks

• Anja Manuel, Executive Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum; Principal, Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel LLC
• Niamh King, Director, Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum

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