Michael Freedman

I specialize in making complex, high-stakes ideas matter to the world, drawing on a career that brings together international journalism with executive leadership at world-renowned research institutions and universities, including Stanford, SRI International, and Santa Clara University.

As a marketing and communications executive, I conceived and launched platforms that cumulatively reached over 100 million people, including Stanford's Future of Everything podcast and radio show, Insights by Stanford Business, and the reimagined PARC Forum, a premier stage for global leaders in science, technology, and business. My teams’ work has earned Emmy and Webby nominations, numerous industry awards, and recognition as one of the world's top content marketing organizations.

At SRI International (creator of Siri, ARPANET, robotic surgery, and the computer mouse) I led the first strategic brand transformation in the institute’s nearly 80-year history and played a key role in its landmark acquisition of Xerox PARC. As a senior leader at Stanford and then Santa Clara University, I was also instrumental in the launch of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) and Santa Clara's Cunningham Shoquist Center for Applied AI and Human Potential.

Earlier in my career, I served as Europe Bureau Chief at Forbes, and Europe, Asia, and Latin America editor at Newsweek, where I covered global affairs, law, and politics. I have also interviewed and written about some of the world’s leading figures in business, government, and culture, and collaborated with global leaders to publish their work.

My reporting has moved markets, triggered state legislation, and been cited in Congressional testimony. Following the assassination of Forbes’ Moscow bureau chief, I stepped in to cover Russian oligarchs and business interests. Notably, I broke two major investigative stories in the early 2000s that were followed by multiple federal indictments and prison sentences, including a sitting U.S. congressman.

I also taught and led workshops on journalism and critical thinking at Stanford and Montclair State University, and on brand, inclusive design, and digital transformation at industry conferences. I serve on the board of the J., the Jewish News of Northern California, oversee the flagship magazine of a Jesuit university, and have written about a broad range of topics, including science, religion, technology, and legal affairs, for the Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and others.

I bring a multi-disciplinary lens to the most pressing conversations in technology and society.