With a medical, scientific, and philanthropic career that spans more than 30 years, Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann has devoted her life to improving the human condition through innovation. Most recently, she was the CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leading the organization’s vision for a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy, productive life. She was formerly the first female chancellor of University of California at San Francisco and spent 14 years at biotech firm Genentech, leading the development of a number of breakthrough medicines. An innovator and leader in life sciences, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann’s diverse training as an oncologist, scientist, and business executive leads to her endless curiosity about the world and her desire to change it for the better. In speeches, she shares her unique insights not only on revolutionizing global health, but also on effective and innovative leadership. Using lessons-learned as a trailblazing female leader of one of the world’s largest philanthropies, Dr. Desmond-Hellmann inspires audiences with her unparalleled perspective on how to foster an environment of collaboration and relentless innovation to drive disruptive solutions that make an impact.

Julia Pollak is the chief economist for ZipRecruiter who is moving the needle behind the scenes with forward-looking, integrated approaches to economics and the future of work. As the leading economic voice at one of the world’s top online employment enterprises, she leverages exclusive data to gauge the health of the labor market, identify hiring trends, and help organizations and individuals succeed in today’s ever-evolving economic landscape.

Michael (Mike) Steep is the founder and former executive director of Stanford Engineering School's Center for Disruptive Technology and Digital Cities and the former senior vice president of global business operations at innovation mega-hub, PARC Xerox. He draws on first-hand experience and anecdotes from time spent with the biggest names in Silicon Valley to instruct audiences on how to get ahead of disruptive innovation. Viewing new technology as opportunity, Mike highlights the importance of allowing innovation to trump company culture and legacies—and not the other way around.

Anja Manuel is a founding partner and principal at Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, LLC, a strategic consulting firm, which she co-founded along with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others. The firm assists CEOs and senior executives at major US companies in key emerging markets such as China, India, and the Middle East. She teaches at Stanford University’s International Policy Studies Program and is a leading expert on globalization, emerging markets, and America’s shifting role in international leadership. Anja is a former State Department official, an international lawyer, and the author of the book, This Brave New World.

Part journalist, part historian, and all shrewd political observer, Ronald (Ron) Brownstein explains the complexities of American politics with lucid precision. As a CNN Senior Political Analyst, Senior Editor for the Atlantic, and Contributing Editor for National Journal, he produces sharp analysis on politics, policy, the electorate, media, healthcare, energy, the press' impact on Americans, and the range of issues informed by his strong sense of American political and national history. Brownstein provides an insider’s look into politics and the media and has twice been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He is also the author of seven best-selling books, and his articles on politics, public policy, and culture have appeared in myriad of major publications and on many broadcast news outlets.

Congressman Christopher Cox is the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a former member of the House of Representatives (R-CA). Cox served 17 years in Congress, and he was a senior member of every committee with jurisdiction over investor protection and U.S. capital markets, including the committees on energy and commerce, financial services, the economy, and the budget. At the SEC, he focused on securities law enforcement, investors’ rights, and transparency. He addresses politics, the SEC, regulatory reform, the economy, and business.

With his signature dry wit and delivery, Ben Stein provides an intellectual and humorous look at politics, the economy, and current affairs. A former presidential speechwriter, economics and securities law instructor, and Emmy Award-winner, Stein is a versatile speaker who is equally comfortable addressing college graduates or seasoned executives.

Leading financial expert and popular author, Todd Buchholz is an economist and has served as White House director of economic policy under George H.W. Bush and a managing director of the Tiger hedge fund. As a frequent commentator on the state of the markets, Todd Buchholz brings his experience as a former White House director of economic policy, a managing director of the $15 billion Tiger hedge fund, and a Harvard economics teacher to the cutting edge of economics, fiscal politics, finance, and business strategy.

Garrick is a world renowned authority on Bitcoin and other alternative currencies. While making regular appearances on television, including CNBC, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera and Sky News, Hilemen frequently presents his research on the black market, alternative currencies, sovereign debt, and financial repression.

Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, where he has taught since 1979. He has been published extensively in the fields of organization theory and human resource management.

Tony Seba is a world-renowned thought leader, author, speaker, educator, angel investor and Silicon Valley entrepreneur. Tony is the author of the #1 Amazon best-selling book“Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation” and co-author of “Rethinking Humanity”. Tony’s work focuses on the science of change, disruption and transformation, which includes cost-curves, S-curves, convergence and complex systems and has been used to accurately predict the ongoing phase change disruptions of transportation, energy, food & agriculture, information, as well as implications for society and geopolitics. Tony holds a Stanford MBA and a B.S. in Computer Science & Engineering from MIT.

Yaron Brook, host of the Yaron Brook Show, is a renowned and entertaining lecturer on Capitalism, Political and Economic Freedom, Free Speech, and the philosophy and history of Ayn Rand. Brook has served as a keynote speaker, debater, panelist and lecturer for Congressional Staffers, Governor Business Forums, YPOs, The Mont Pelerin Society, as well as a long list of prestigious universities, colleges, and high schools in the U.S. and around the world. Presently, Dr. Brook serves on the board of the Ayn Rand Institute as its Chairman and primary spokesperson. He also serves on the board of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism and is a member of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and the Mont Pelerin Society. The perspective, experience, and worldview that Dr. Brook offers is unique and highly sought offer.