The Hon. Keith Krach
Keith Krach is the Chairman of Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University, the preeminent global authority on advancing freedom through the innovation and adoption of trusted technology. He is best known for bringing transformational leadership to multiple sectors, including robotics, engineering software, e-commerce, higher education, philanthropy, economic statecraft, and even the way people sign.
Krach recently served as the Under Secretary of State, having the rare distinction of being unanimously confirmed. During his tenure as America’s top economic diplomat, Krach led the development and execution of the Global Economic Security Strategy. He and his team built the Clean Network Alliance of Democracies, which defeated the Chinese Communist Party’s master plan to control global 5G communications.
Keith Krach was the highest-ranking State Department official to visit Taiwan in 41 years and brokered the $12 billion deal to bring Taiwan’s semiconductor giant TSMC to the United States. This onshoring led to the CHIPS and Science Act and—to date—more than $350 billion in new private sector investment in domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Prior to his public service, Krach was the Chairman and CEO of DocuSign; co-founder, Chairman & CEO of Ariba; Chairman of Purdue’s Board of Trustees; Angie’s List Board Chairman; 2000 E&Y National Entrepreneur of the Year, 2019 Harvard Business School Leader of the Year, and youngest-ever Vice President of GM. Krach holds a B.S. and Honorary Doctorate in Engineering from Purdue, and MBA from Harvard.
Currently, in addition to his role at the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, Krach serves as the co-chair of the Global Tech Security Commission consisting of international commissioners and multi-sector leaders with the mission to safeguard freedom from techno-authoritarian threats by producing the definitive Global Tech Security Strategy to drive the innovation and adoption of trusted technologies.
It was a true blessing to serve with such a multi-dimensional leader and patriot like Dr. Mung Chiang in his role as the Science and Technology Advisor to the Secretary of State at the State Department, and I am grateful beyond words to have the opportunity to do it again to continue the mission of advancing freedom. I feel equally fortunate to have as our inaugural Director the very talented and visionary Bonnie Glick, whose leadership I've come to know and admire during my time running U.S. economic diplomacy.
