General Session

World affairs have been a constant presence in Mika Brzezinski’s life. The daughter of former National Security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, she is the co-host of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. As the Democrat to her partner Joe Scarborough’s Republican, Brzezinski spends each weekday morning debating the headlines of the day with a roundtable of political insiders, journalists, and newsmakers.

 TIME magazine has called Morning Joe “revolutionary.” The New York Times ranked it as the top news show in 2008, and a 2010 follow-up praised Brzezinski and Scarborough’s natural repartee and off the cuff commentary. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, her presentations give audiences a smart, savvy, and insightful perspective on the news of the day and an inside look behind the scenes of a hit morning show. 

 Repeat Best-Selling Author. Mika Brzezinski is a best-selling author. Her fourth and most recent best-selling book, Grow Your Value: Living and Working to Your Full Potential, is a follow-up to her second, New York Times best-seller Knowing Your Value. Grow Your Value gives women the tools necessary to advocate for themselves and grow their financial futures – both professionally and personally. Knowing Your Value discusses perceptions of value and how successful women today have achieved their deserved recognition and financial worth in the workplace. Her third best-selling book, Obsessed: America’s Food Addiction–and My Own, details her struggles with food and her role in the war against obesity. Her first book, All Things At Once, was also a New York Times best-seller. In it, she discusses the challenges of career, family, and the news business with the style and grace that have made her one of the rising stars of morning news.

 Long-Standing Journalism Career. Brzezinski began her journalism career in 1990 at ABC’s World News This Morning. A year later, she moved to Tribune-owned Fox affiliate WTIC-TV/WTIC-DT in Hartford, Connecticut. There, she progressed from an assignment and features editor to a general assignments reporter. In 1992, Brzezinski moved to a CBS affiliate, becoming its weekday morning anchor in 1995. In 1997, she left that role to join the CBS network news, where she served as a correspondent and anchor for the overnight Up to the Minute news program. In 2000, Brzezinski took a short hiatus to co-host MSNBC’s weekday afternoon program Homepage, and in September 2001, she returned to CBS to become their principal “Ground Zero” reporter for the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Brzezinski was broadcasting live from the scene when the south tower collapsed.

 Prior to rejoining MSNBC in January 2007, Brzezinski was an anchor of the CBS Evening News Weekend Edition and a CBS News correspondent who frequently contributed to CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes. After returning to MSNBC, Brzezinski anchored the Up to the Minute news and primetime newsbreaks during the week, filling in on MSNBC Live weekdays and on the weekends. In 2007, Brzezinski joined Morning Joe.

 A native of New York City, she attended Williams College and received a degree in English. 

In his role as an author, independent consultant, and speaker, Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, USA Today,and The Wall Street Journal. He has appeared on numerous television programs, including TODAY and The Oprah Winfrey Show, and is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, and Disney as an invaluable resource in informing, challenging, mentoring, and inspiring people to find their strengths and sustain long-lasting personal success.

Dan Abrams is the currently the co-anchor of Nightline and Chief Legal Affairs Anchor for ABC News.  Prior to 2011, Dan was at NBC News for 15 years as, among other things, a reporter for NBC Nightly News, host on MSNBC, and Chief Legal Correspondent for NBC News. From 2006 to late 2007, Dan served as General Manager of MSNBC, where he presided over a period of unprecedented growth, with ratings and profits each increasing well over 50% during his tenure. During that time Dan was also a member of the NBC Universal President’s Council. He also hosted “The Abrams Report”, a nightly legal affairs program, and the acclaimed “Verdict with Dan Abrams”.

A graduate of Columbia University Law School, Dan is also a recognized writer. He has published articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Yale Law and Policy Review, The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, and Mediaite.com, among many others. In 2011, he published his first book, "Man Down: Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else,”which made the Washington Post bestseller list. Dan is the founder of seven web properties: Mediaite, a news and media website; Styleite, which covers beauty and fashion; Sportsgrid, a fantasy sports site, Gossip Cop, which monitors false reporting in the celebrity gossip industry; The Maude, devoted to industry news and humor created by women for women; The Mary Sue covering tech and geek culture; and The Braiser, which follows celebrity chefs. Together, the Abrams Media Network serves close to 15 million unique visitors per month.

Sallie Krawcheck is the owner of Ellevate (formerly known as 85 Broads). Ellevate is the leading professional women's networking organization, which is committed to the economic empowerment of women globally. She has also teamed up with Pax World Management, a fund management company, to offer an index fund called Ellevate Asset Management which focuses on companies where women make up a significant portion of officers and directors. Sallie’s involvement reflects her recognition of the power of diversity in driving economic growth, innovation and financial returns. As the only senior Wall Street executive to reimburse a portion of client losses for poorly performing products during the downturn and with her varied experiences as a senior manager, Chief Financial Officer and research analyst, Sallie Krawcheck's has been called “caps off… the most fascinating 10-year biography during this period of financial tumult” by BusinessWeek. Given her experiences, she provides unique and powerful insider insights into financial services, wealth management, personal financial matters and business management, delivered with her trademark candor. Krawcheck is past President of Bank of America Global Wealth Management, including Merrill Lynch, which at $17 billion in revenue and $2.2 trillion of client asset is the largest wealth management business in the world. At Citi, she ran Smith Barney and the Private Bank and also served as CFO. Prior to that, Krawcheck was a number-one rated research analyst covering Wall Street itself. A perennial on FORTUNE’S “Most Powerful Women” lists, she was one of TIME magazine’s “Global Business Influentials,” CNBC’s “Business Leader of the Future” and Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business.”

Fifty years from now, one journalist will be the voice and face of our political era—and that journalist is Chuck Todd. A self-described political junkie, he has earned a reputation as one of the most passionate journalists and sharpest analysts in American media. He is NBC News’ political director and the moderator and managing editor of Meet the Press, the flagship Sunday morning public affairs program and the longest-running broadcast in television history. Upon his appointment to MTP, influencers and competitors praised him as “a tireless reporter” with “an encyclopedic knowledge of politics” and the ability to “break down barriers and get people off of their talking points.” With what Washingtonian calls a “savant-like knowledge of politics,” he has become a fixture in the White House press room, a steady and constant presence on television, and a tireless voice on the campaign trail. His up-to-the-minute poll analysis and insightful commentary have made him one of the most sought-after voices in American political coverage. 

Prior to Meet the Press, Todd served as NBC News chief White House correspondent (2008–2014) as well as the host of MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown (2010–2014). He has held the role of political director since 2007, leading all aspects of the news division’s political coverage and analysis. He is also the editor of First Read, NBC’s must-read guide to political news and trends in and around Washington, DC. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Chuck Todd has the unique ability to deliver an all-consuming passion for politics with razor-sharp analysis. As the political news of today becomes tomorrow’s American history, he offers a comprehensive picture of the current political landscape and serves as the voice of America in the early 21st century.

Mike Aitken has worked at SHRM since 2003 and currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. Prior to joining SHRM, he served for 14 years as associate director for Governmental and External Relations at the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). Previously, Aitken worked on state public policy issues at Bonner & Associates, a public affairs firm in Washington, DC. Currently, he is based in Alexandria, VA.

Mike Walsh is a futurist for leaders, internationally renown for his visionary and pragmatic insights on how organizations can leverage AI for reinvention. A regular columnist for the Harvard Business Review, a strategic advisor to Fortune 50 corporations, and a global nomad - he is the author of three bestselling books, most recently: ‘The Algorithmic Leader: How to be smart when machines are smarter than you’. He has a rare talent for connecting emerging technologies, cultural shifts, and commercial strategies — crafting insights that bridge the present to the future with clarity, relevance, and a compelling touch of wit.

At the heart of Mike Walsh's work is a singular focus on redefining leadership for the AI age. Unlike other futurists who concentrate on predicting technological advances or broad societal trends, Walsh zeroes in on how leaders must fundamentally reimagine their role in a world where machines are increasingly capable of making complex decisions. His key insight is that traditional leadership approaches, built for an analog era of predictable business cycles and hierarchical organizations, are no longer sufficient. Instead, leaders must develop new capabilities to harness data and AI while maintaining their essential human judgment and ethical principles.

Walsh believes that the real challenge isn't just understanding the technology itself, but rather how leaders can adapt their decision-making, develop new mental models, and reshape their organizations to effectively combine human and machine intelligence. His emphasis on the human dimension of technological change makes his insights particularly valuable for business leaders navigating digital transformation.

On a personal note, Mike’s ethnic background is as diverse as his experiences. Born in Australia to parents of mixed Asian and European heritage, he has lived, worked, and traveled across many countries, embracing a truly global perspective.
A prolific writer and sought-after commentator, Mike’s insights have been featured in leading global publications such as Inc. Magazine, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. As a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review, he tackles cutting-edge leadership themes ranging from data-driven decision-making and agile organizations to algorithmic management and AI ethics. Through his popular podcast Between Worlds, Mike engages with bold thinkers, innovators, and disruptors from across industries. He also produces The Future is Elsewhere, a YouTube series offering fresh perspectives from dynamic locations like Seoul, Mexico City, Tokyo, and Istanbul, bringing global trends and future forward ideas to life.

Mike is an accomplished author with three published books and a fourth on the way, focused on the future of AI Agents, set to release in early 2026. His most recent work, The Algorithmic Leader, provides an optimistic and practical roadmap for harnessing AI, automation, and algorithms to transform leadership and reshape organizations. The book has achieved global success, with translations available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Polish, and Russian. In his 2014 release, The Dictionary of Dangerous Ideas, Mike foresaw groundbreaking innovations such as micro satellite networks, cryptocurrencies, remote work, life extension technologies, self-driving cars, drones, digital biology, digital activism, and the commercialization of space. His debut book, Futuretainment, published by Phaidon in 2009, earned the prestigious Art Director’s Club design award in New York. It accurately predicted the impact of smartphones on media and marketing, as well as the rise of social media, digital influencers, streaming platforms, and the emergence of the Metaverse.

At the age of 36, the Navy selected Abrashoff to become Commander of USS Benfold - at the time, the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific Fleet. The immediate challenges that faced him were staggering: Exceptionally low morale with unacceptably high turnover. Few thought that this ship could improve. The solution was to establish a system of management techniques that he calls “The Leadership Roadmap” – a practice that empowers every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence. "It's your ship," he was known to say. His former sailors to this day still remind him of it. Regarded as the finest ship in the Pacific Fleet, Benfold won the prestigious Spokane Trophy for having the highest degree of combat readiness.

Prior to commanding USS Benfold, Abrashoff served as the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Dr. William J. Perry. He also helped draft the air defense plan for naval forces in the Persian Gulf in 1990, coinciding with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait; and served as the Executive Officer of the Cruiser Shiloh, where he deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.