AI, Energy & Emerging Technologies Summit
U.S. Department of the Treasury
April 27, 2026
1:30–4:30 p.m.

On January 28, 2025, Scott Bessent was sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury of the United States.

As Secretary, Mr. Bessent is responsible for the U.S. Treasury’s wide-ranging mission to maintain a strong economy, foster economic growth and create job opportunities for all Americans by promoting the conditions that enable prosperity at home and abroad as well as managing the U.S. Government’s finances.  He is also responsible for strengthening U.S. national security by combating economic threats and protecting the financial system.

Mr. Bessent has been in the global investment management business for 40 years, visiting 60 countries, interacting with international leaders and central bankers. He is regarded as a currency and fixed income specialist.  Mr. Bessent is a frequent contributor to economic journals and business publications.

Previously, Mr. Bessent served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Key Square Capital Management, a global hedge fund focused on macro investing that he founded in 2015. Prior to that time, Mr. Bessent was the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management.  Mr. Bessent was an adjunct professor at Yale University, where he taught economic history.  From 1991 to 2000, he was managing partner of Soros Fund Management’s London office.

His family was also involved in the agriculture, publishing and hospitality sectors.

A South Carolina native, Bessent received a B.A. from Yale University. Mr. Bessent and his family created the McLeod Rehabilitation Center at the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. He served as a Rockefeller University Trustee, Member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Investment Committee. He also supported the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City. He is a Member of the Economic Club of New York and Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Bessent is a member of the French Huguenot Church in Charleston.

Mr. Bessent is a long-time advocate, supporter and mentor of financial literacy and education programs.

He, his spouse and two children reside in Washington, DC and Charleston, South Carolina.

Paras Malik serves as Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer and Senior Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In this role, she leads the Department’s strategic integration of artificial intelligence to enhance mission delivery, strengthen financial system resilience, and support advanced economic and risk analysis across Treasury’s operations.

Prior to joining Treasury, Malik was a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group, where she advised public- and private-sector leaders on strategy, digital transformation, and innovation. Her earlier experience includes serving as an Executive Director at Morgan Stanley and as a Senior Bank Examiner at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. She has also held roles in the alternative investment sector, including positions at Bridgewater Associates and Liongate Capital Management in London.

Malik brings deep expertise at the intersection of financial markets, regulatory systems, and emerging technologies. At Treasury, she is responsible for advancing the responsible adoption of AI across areas such as economic forecasting, financial risk monitoring, and operational efficiency.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Columbia University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

S.P. Kothari is currently a Senior Advisor at the US Department of Treasury, awaiting Senate confirmation to be the Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy. He is an Emeritus Professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Dr. Kothari has senior executive experience in government, academia, and industry with expertise in strategic and policy issues, securities regulation, and corporate governance. He was Chief Economist and Director of the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis at the US Securities and Exchange Commission from 2019-21.

Previously, Kothari was deputy dean of MIT Sloan School of Management, global head of equity research for Barclays Global Investors; and director of Bombay Stock Exchange, Velan Studios and Energy Internet Corporation. Kothari was awarded India’s Padma Shri, Honorary Doctorates from London Business School, University of Cyprus, and University of Technology, Sydney, and Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Accounting Association’s Financial Reporting section.

Christina Skinner is presently serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Financial Stability Oversight Council at the U.S. Department of Treasury. She is on leave from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where she is an Associate Professor with tenure. She previously worked in the Bank of England’s legal directorate, Columbia Law School, Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, and clerked in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals and the Southern District of New York.  Skinner has a J.D. from Yale Law School and a A.B. from Princeton University School of Public and International Affairs, where she also holds Certificates of Proficiency in Spanish Language and Culture and European Politics and Society.

William (Bill) Briggs is the Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. As Deputy Administrator, Briggs works alongside SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to ensure SBA accomplishes its mission to counsel, aid, and assist American small businesses. Briggs is a three-time presidential appointee and believes entrepreneurship is what makes America great.

Briggs brings extensive public and private sector experience to the role. During the first Trump Administration, as Acting Associate Administrator in SBA’s Office of Capital Access, he oversaw the $800 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and helped manage the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. His leadership during the PPP rollout helped support millions of small businesses during the pandemic.

As a Texas resident and small business owner himself, Briggs has firsthand insight into the challenges entrepreneurs face, including balancing budgets and navigating regulatory hurdles. His firms have advised Fortune 500 corporations, trade associations, technology companies, and small businesses for over two decades at the intersection of financial services issues, technology, and public policy. Recognized as an expert in small business policy, Briggs has authored numerous articles and frequently contributes to books and media discussions on the topic.

Paul M. Dabbar was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce on June 25, 2025.

Deputy Secretary Dabbar is the Department’s chief operations officer and day-to-day manager of a budget of $11.4 billion, 12 operating units, and 47,000 employees. He is the principal deputy to the Secretary of Commerce and a member of the President’s Management Council.

Prior to his confirmation as Deputy Secretary, Mr. Dabbar served as President and CEO of Bohr Quantum Technology, developing and deploying technologies for the emerging quantum internet.

The Honorable Paul M. Dabbar served as the U.S. Department of Energy’s fourth Under Secretary for Science. He served as the Department’s principal advisor on fundamental energy research, energy technologies, and science, driving this mission through programs including nuclear and high energy particle physics, basic energy, advanced computing, fusion, and biological and environmental research, and direct management over a majority of the Department’s National Labs and their world-leading user facilities. In addition, Mr. Dabbar managed the environmental and legacy management missions of the Department, addressing the U.S. legacy of nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. In addition, Mr. Dabbar was the lead for technology commercialization activities for the Department and its 17 national labs.

His leadership of advanced computing and artificial intelligence led to commissioning of four global #1 computers, deploying GPU chips for the first time in high performance computers. He also led the execution of the majority of the National Quantum Initiative. During his tenure, researchers supported by the Department won several Nobel Prizes, including for the lithium-ion battery, and gene editing – CRISPR Cas9. And the U.S. became a net-energy exporter for the first time since 1950.

Mr. Dabbar is one of the few people who has traveled to both the North and South Poles (90 degrees North/90 degrees south).  He traveled to the North Pole by submarine to conduct military missions and environmental research while in the Navy, and to the South Pole in support of high energy physics astronomy missions at South Pole Station.

Prior to his confirmation as Under Secretary for Science, Mr. Dabbar worked in operations, finance, and strategy roles in the energy sector. As a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan, leading various energy business areas, he has over $400 billion in investment experience across all energy sectors. In addition, he had a senior leadership role for the company’s commodity trading business, including power, oil, gas, and critical minerals.

Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Dabbar served as a nuclear submarine officer in Mare Island, California, and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He also served on the Department of Energy Environmental Management Advisory Board. He has been a lecturer at the U.S. Naval Academy, and conducted research at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Mr. Dabbar received a B.S. degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s degree from Columbia University. Mr. Dabbar and his wife, Andrea, are the parents of two children.

Twenty years at the intersection of physical power markets, capital markets, and federal energy policy — going deep at each stage rather than broad.

He built his foundation in energy finance at Morgan Stanley, trading across every U.S. ISO and the major bilateral markets, developing a granular understanding of how physical power actually clears and where risk lives.

At Brookfield, he built the Western U.S. power trading business from the ground up — structuring long-term data center supply agreements, carbon-free block power deals with IOUs, PPAs with PUDs and CCAs, and firming solutions for wind assets.

Most recently, as a Senior Policy Advisor at the White House National Energy Dominance Council, he’s worked at the center of the most consequential grid debates in a generation — from hybrid interconnection rules, to the PJM governors’ capacity deal, to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge with hyperscalers.

Ash Shrivastav is a General Partner at Uma Ventures, where his Prism Fund focuses on foundational and physical‑world AI/ML, defense, space, and new‑energy investments. Ash previously served as a Principal at Buckhill Capital LP, where he sourced, evaluated, and led investments in various companies and funds.

He has led investments in notable companies such as Varda Space Industries, Last Country, Inc. (Tucker Carlson Network / ALP), Perplexity AI, Primer Microschools, Hydra Host, Enduring Ventures, Worldly (formerly Higg), and Mill, spanning seed to late‑stage rounds.

Ash has driven over 300,000 miles across 46 U.S. states and has lived in Houston, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Cambridge (UK), and Nepal. Ash has a deep interest in ancient history, deep tech, and faith and religious philosophy, and brings a long‑view, human‑centered perspective to the role of AI in defense, space, and the institutions that underpin national resilience.

Garrett Johnson is the co-founder and COO of Hydra Host, a leading provider of scalable, bare metal GPU and compute infrastructure platform, backed by Founders Fund, 1517 Fund, Sterling Road, Sovereign’s Capital, and Uma Ventures.

Garrett is also the co-founder of the Foundation for American Innovation. Previously, he co-founded SendHub, a venture-backed Y Combinator startup, and worked as professional staff for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, overseeing portfolios including Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Haiti.

He is a two-time NCAA Shot Put Champion and a Rhodes Scholar, earning his MPhil in Migration Studies from the University of Oxford after graduating magna cum laude from Florida State University.

John Sutter is a senior corporate affairs and communications leader with 15+ years of experience advising C-suite executives and boards across the energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors. He serves as Vice President US Public Affairs for Nebius Group, the AI cloud company, where he oversees the company’s government relations, community engagement, and communications efforts primarily around AI factory and digital infrastructure development.

Previously, John was a Managing Director at FTI Consulting where he advised clients across the energy sector on integrated corporate communications and public affairs strategies that strengthen reputation, mitigate risk, and drive business outcomes. John is a graduate of James Madison University and lives in the Pittsburgh-area with his wife and three young children, ages 6, 4, and 1.

Dean is vice president of NVIDIA Public Sector. Dean has extensive experience in the high-performance computing (HPC) and has achieved notable success leading teams for such companies as Red Hat, Rackable Systems, Penguin Computing, IBM, and DDN. Dean brings a valuable mix of hardware, software, systems, and application understanding to the role as both a field leader and engineer.

Dean earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, and his Master of Science degree in engineering management also from Northwestern University.

Shannon Kellogg is a Vice President of Public Policy at Amazon, where he leads public policy strategy for Amazon Web Services (AWS) across the Americas. In this role, he oversees AWS’s engagement with federal, state, and local policymakers in the United States, and with governments across Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America.

Kellogg leads a team responsible for policy strategy across a broad portfolio including artificial intelligence, energy, cybersecurity, government technology modernization, digital trade, data protection, and data center policy. His team also works with policymakers across the region to support reliable energy infrastructure and advance Amazon’s carbon-free energy commitments.

Kellogg joined Amazon in 2012 as the first public policy leader dedicated to AWS. Over more than a decade, he has helped shape policy strategies supporting AWS’s rapid expansion into government and regulated markets while advising company leadership on major public sector technology initiatives and procurement efforts across the United States and internationally. In addition to significantly contributing to the public sector business growing into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, Kellogg has served as a company spokesperson on various topics and policy issues.

He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Data Center Coalition (DCC) and serves on the boards of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE).

Throughout his career, Kellogg has been instrumental in developing and executing policy strategies that have supported the rapid growth of businesses in the public sector and in regulated industries. This has included advising company leadership on large-scale procurement bids in U.S. federal, state, and international government market segments. Before joining Amazon, Kellogg was the Senior Director of Government Affairs for EMC Corporation (now part of Dell Technologies), where he led the company’s Washington, D.C., public policy and government affairs office. During his nine-year tenure, he held leadership roles across government affairs and information security policy for EMC and its security division, RSA Security.

Earlier in his career, Kellogg held senior public policy positions with the Business Software Alliance, the Information Technology Association of America, and the Global Internet Project. Before entering the technology sector, Kellogg was a Program Officer for the International Republican Institute (IRI), focusing on the Middle East, North Africa, and countries such as Turkey and Mongolia. Kellogg holds a Master of Arts in International Transactions from the George Mason University School of Public Policy in Virginia and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and English from Park University in Missouri.

Nat Hoopes is Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs and Strategy at Upstart. He is a leading voice on financial innovation, cited frequently on public policy issues ranging from AI for banking and credit underwriting, to fintech-bank partnerships and third party risk management. Previously, he led the fintech lending industry’s trade group as the founding Executive Director of the American Fintech Council (then known as the Marketplace Lending Association).

He served as Vice President and then Executive Director at the Financial Services Forum, where he worked on public policy issues affecting the nation’s largest financial firms. Hoopes has spent 18 years working at the intersection of financial services and public policy, including five years on Capitol Hill, where he served as Legislative Director and Legislative Assistant in the United States Senate where he worked to develop legislation to expand opportunities for small businesses and innovative startups through equity crowdfunding as part of the Jumpstart-our-Business-Start-Ups (JOBS) Act.

Hoopes’ experience also includes years as a private equity investment analyst at Trilantic Capital Partners, where he focused on growth investments in the industrials, financial services, and consumer sectors. Hoopes holds a BA from Princeton University (2003) and a Masters in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University (2006).

Chloe Barz is the Senior Director of International Government and External Affairs at Robinhood. She leads the global stakeholder engagement, community impact, and sustainability teams and the international government affairs and policy team across Europe, APAC, MENA and Canada.

Prior to joining Robinhood, Barz spent a decade navigating the top levels of the U.S. federal government. During her time at the Department of State, Barz served as Chief of Staff for the Bureau of Legislative Affairs, where she played a role in negotiating major foreign policy with Congress and advancing the legislative priorities of the President and Secretary of State. While serving in the U.S. Senate under the Majority Leader, Barz worked on the Senate floor as a Cloakroom Assistant. Here, she was responsible for providing senators and their senior staff with parliamentary advice and counsel on floor strategy.

Barz received her B.A. in International Relations from George Washington University. She has lived and studied in Indonesia and Turkey.

Lauren Penneys is Senior Vice President at Palantir Technologies, where she leads the company’s U.S. government growth portfolio spanning defense, intelligence, and federal civilian agencies. She oversees Palantir’s strategic expansion across its largest customer base, driving new partnerships and deepening the company’s role as a mission-critical technology partner to the federal government.

Lauren first joined Palantir early in the company’s history, leading business development across the Federal Civilian, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Community portfolios. She returned to Palantir to take on her
current role after serving as head of commercial for a geospatial analytics firm supporting defense, intelligence, and commercial missions, and leading operations for a health care nonprofit in East Africa.

Lauren holds a B.A. in Economics from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. She advises early-stage government technology startups and is a recognized voice on the intersection of technology and public sector modernization.

Danielle Aviles Krueger is the Head of Policy at Plaid, where she leads engagement with regulators, lawmakers, and other key stakeholders. In this role, she helps policymakers understand Plaid’s technology, which enables secure connections between millions of consumers and their preferred financial applications. She also provides expertise on tools that support identity verification, fraud prevention, and cash flow underwriting.

Before joining Plaid, Danielle was Head of U.S. Government Relations and Public Affairs at Klarna, and previously led federal policy at Lyft. She spent nearly a decade on Capitol Hill. She is a first-generation college graduate from Texas A&M University, Danielle is also a proud mom of two young girls.

Felipe Millon currently leads Government Sales at OpenAI, where he plays a pivotal role in driving the adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise Product and API across Federal, State, and Local Government sectors. His efforts are instrumental in integrating cutting-edge AI solutions within governmental operations, thereby enhancing efficiency and innovation.

Before joining OpenAI, Felipe worked for Amazon for 9 years most recently as the Senior Manager for the Housing Finance Business at Amazon Web Services (AWS). In this capacity, he led a dedicated team in supporting Government Sponsored Enterprises and US government housing agencies through their cloud transformation. He was also a founding member of the Public Sector Generative AI Task Force.

Felipe’s rich background in technology and management also includes substantial roles at McMaster-Carr Supply Company and Lockheed Martin, where he worked in regional sales management, corporate development, venture capital, systems engineering, and program management. He holds an MBA from Duke University, where he was recognized as a Fuqua Scholar, in addition to a MS in Systems Engineering from the University of Florida and a BS in Industrial Engineering from Florida State University. Fluent in English and Spanish, and conversational in Portuguese, Felipe is deeply passionate about leveraging technology to tackle complex challenges, generate value, and enhance life quality.

Jesse Dwyer is the Chief Communications Officer at Perplexity. He is responsible for communications and marketing at the AI company, whose mission is to power curiosity. Prior to Perplexity, Jesse founded executive and crisis communications firm Publera, after his first agency, Tiny Ideas, was acquired in 2017. Through both agencies he’s ghosted numerous bestsellers in policy, business, and sports. Earlier in his career, Jesse held leadership roles at Money Group, Dropbox, and Meta, helping prepare the latter two for public offering. He holds a Masters degree from Dartmouth College.

T’Neil Walea is a senior technology executive and trusted advisor to the Federal government and Defense Industrial Base, currently serving as Vice President and Head of Federal, Aerospace, and Defense for Siemens. With prior leadership roles at Microsoft and IBM, she has led go-to-market strategy, product innovation, and advanced AI initiatives across civilian and defense sectors. Known for bridging the gap between policy and emerging technology, T’Neil works at the intersection of national priorities and frontier innovation to engineer the future of American defense production. A frequent keynote speaker, she is passionate about developing high-performing teams and inspiring the next generation to build something great.

Patrick Hedren is Vice President, Legal & Policy at Upwork, the world’s largest human + AI-powered marketplace. He heads up Upwork’s engagement with government stakeholders globally and leads a legal team that advises the company on emerging issues involving AI, data, user safety, product, disputes, and risk. Prior to joining Upwork, Patrick held senior leadership roles at the National Association of Manufacturers, where he led the association’s Supreme Court and appellate practice and drove the industry’s engagement on regulatory and workforce issues. Earlier in his career, he served as senior counsel in GE’s Washington, DC office. He holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Minnesota.

Hamza Jahangir is a seasoned leader in Data and AI with over 20 years of experience driving digital transformation in highly regulated industries. He currently serves as Vice President of AI Solution Engineering for the U.S. Federal Government at Oracle, where he leads the design and delivery of secure, scalable AI solutions for civilian, defense, and intelligence agencies.

During his 15-year tenure at Oracle, Hamza led Enterprise Architecture and Engineering practices, developing frameworks that powered large-scale transformation across public and private sector organizations. He pioneered strategies for adopting cloud-native applications, data security, and automation in complex regulatory environments.

At Google, Hamza founded the Cloud Solutions Studio, creating AI-driven solutions with BigQuery and Vertex AI to help organizations unlock business value from data and machine learning. Hamza is known for bridging innovation with impact—helping federal agencies and enterprises turn emerging technologies into mission-ready solutions.

Wifredo Fernandez serves as Director of Global Government Affairs at xAI

Kevin Gundersen is Head of Public Affairs at Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), one of the world’s leading data center owners and operators with over 300 data centers in 50 cities around the world. Kevin leads Digital Realty’s engagement with government, trade associations and other key stakeholders on matters impacting the company’s business interests. He is based in Washington, D.C.

From 2016 to 2025, Kevin was Vice President of Global Communications and Government Affairs at Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN), a leading petrochemical company with operations in 30 countries.

Kevin worked as the Senior Managing Director and Chief of Staff to the President and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. based in New York City. Among various responsibilities, he served as Secretary of the firm’s Global Management Committee.

Earlier, Kevin served for six years on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security in various positions, including as the Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. In 2011-2012, Kevin worked as a policy advisor to the Romney for President campaign and served on the Romney Presidential Transition Team.

Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Kevin was the Manager of Program Development at the Organization for International Investment (OFII), a trade association representing 160 of the largest foreign based companies with U.S. operations.

Kevin is a member of the Board of Directors at SePRO Corporation, a water restoration company based in Carmel, IN.

Kevin served as an Intelligence Officer (Lieutenant) in the United States Navy (Reserves). He holds a BA in Political Science from Fordham University and an MS in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University (NIU).

He lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife and three children and is an avid golfer.