2025 Trusted Tech
Summit

In this keynote, Michelle Giuda – CEO of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State – shares the mindset that turns ordinary groups into elite teams.

Drawing on her journey from two-time reject to two-time NCAA team captain, Michelle delivers a powerful message about the discipline, urgency, and purpose required for America to perform at its highest level – and secure our freedom and prosperity in the 21st century.

This is a call for all of us to rise and perform as the elite team America needs right now.

In his keynote address, Keith Krach argues that the defining struggle of the modern era is freedom versus authoritarianism, with technology as the primary battlefield. Drawing on his leadership of the Clean Network, he introduces the Trust Doctrine—grounded in rule of law, transparency, and human dignity—and announces the launch of the Global Trusted Tech Network, a worldwide alliance designed to ensure that emerging technologies advance freedom, security, and shared prosperity across the democratic world.

In this panel, Heather Nauert moderates a candid conversation with Ron Ash, Joseph Larson, Brandon Remington, and James Roscoe on what it will take for the United States and its allies to win the global AI race—and set the standards that shape the digital future. The discussion explores how government and industry can move faster together, promote “buy American” AI abroad, and avoid the Huawei-era trap of warning allies without offering trusted alternatives. From workforce adoption and interoperability to smarter regulation and practical export promotion, the panel lays out a roadmap for building a trusted, democratic AI ecosystem that scales across allied nations.

Panel Participants

• Ron Ash — CEO and Chairman of the Board, Accenture Federal Services
• Joseph Larson — Vice President of Government, OpenAI
• Brandon Remington — Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration
• James Roscoe — Chargé d’Affaires, British Embassy
• Moderator: Heather Nauert — Broadcast journalist; Former Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State

In this panel moderated by Drew Maloney, leaders from government, industry, and allied partners unpack the hard truth behind the AI race: compute needs power—and power needs speed. Carla Sands, Tarun Chhabra, Yuki Shimizu, and Representative Young Kim discuss what it takes to build AI infrastructure at scale, from modernizing the grid and accelerating permitting to securing critical minerals with trusted partners like Japan. The conversation connects energy dominance to national security, highlights the urgency of staying at the AI frontier, and lays out how allied investment, resilient supply chains, and practical policy can keep the free world in the lead.

Panel Participants

• Carla Sands — Former U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark; Senior Fellow, America First Policy Institute
• Tarun Chhabra — Head of National Security Policy, Anthropic
• Yuki Shimizu — Special Advisor, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan; Director, Industrial Research, JETRO New York
• The Honorable Young Kim — U.S. Representative, California’s 39th Congressional District, U.S. House of Representatives
• Moderator: Drew Maloney — President & CEO, Edison Electric Institute

In this award presentation and acceptance, Mark LaVerghetta, Co-Founder & Director, ReElement Technologies explains why securing critical mineral independence is essential to America’s energy security, defense readiness, and technological leadership. Born from Purdue University innovation, ReElement is pioneering next-generation refining and purification of rare earths and battery materials—scaling rapidly across the United States and allied nations. The remarks highlight how sustainable innovation, allied collaboration, and strategic investment are rebuilding resilient supply chains and ensuring the trusted tech stack is anchored in transparency, integrity, and freedom for the 21st century.

In this award acceptance and remarks, Aaron Sloat—CEO of Atomic Industries—explains how applied artificial intelligence is transforming U.S. manufacturing and accelerating America’s reindustrialization. From his background as a physicist to firsthand struggles building domestic supply chains, Aaron shares why AI applied to real-world industrial processes—not just theoretical models—is the decisive frontier in global competition. He outlines Atomic’s mission to move products from design to production faster, cheaper, and at scale, and why winning this race is essential to America’s economic strength and technological leadership in the 21st century.

In this award presentation and acceptance, Greg Levesque, CEO and co-founder of Strider Technologies, explains how strategic intelligence is becoming essential to defending the innovations of the free world. As adversaries deploy sophisticated intelligence operations against Western companies and universities, Greg describes an “espionage tsunami” threatening critical technologies across AI, quantum, and advanced manufacturing. He outlines how Strider uses advanced AI and open-source intelligence to help democracies secure their supply chains, protect economic security, and ensure that the technologies shaping the future remain grounded in freedom, trust, and shared democratic values.

This presentation honors Sweden as a 2025 Trusted Tech Leadership Award recipient and examines the growing partnership between Sweden and the United States in advancing trusted, democratic technology. Speakers, Mung Chiang, President of Purdue University and co-founder of the Krach Institute, Ebba Busch, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, and Sweden’s Ambassador Urban Ahlin highlight Sweden’s leadership in innovation, industrial collaboration, and transatlantic cooperation across sectors including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, 5G, and defense. Set against Sweden’s entry into NATO, the discussion emphasizes a shared conviction that technology must serve freedom, security, and democratic values. The session concludes with a call for allied nations to co-engineer the technologies that will define the century—strengthening trust, resilience, and innovation across the transatlantic community.

Purdue University President Mung Chiang makes the case that universities must play a frontline role in national security and technological leadership. He outlines Purdue’s “lab-to-fab” model—aligning education, research, and industry across semiconductors, AI, energy, and the full trusted tech stack—and announces new efforts to deploy American technology education globally. Chiang argues that trusted technology, advanced in partnership with allies, is essential to ensuring freedom, competitiveness, and prosperity in a tech-driven age.

In this keynote introduction and fireside chat, Representative John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition with the Chinese Communist Party, and Keith Krach, Chairman of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, explore what it will take for the United States and its allies to prevail in the defining technology competition of the century. The conversation examines China’s pursuit of AI and semiconductor dominance, the role of export controls and enforcement, and why trusted supply chains, allied coordination, and private-sector leadership are essential to national security. Together, Moolenaar and Krach make the case that America’s enduring advantage lies in innovation anchored in democratic values—ensuring technology serves liberty, not authoritarian control.

In this wide-ranging panel moderated by Josh Rogin, leaders from government and industry confront the reality that cyber threats are accelerating—and civilian infrastructure is now on the battlefield. Roberto Baldoni, Brendan Dowling, Mikko Karikyto, and Alex Wong discuss how democracies can build “trustless” supply chains, raise baseline cyber hygiene, and strengthen public-private intelligence sharing to stay ahead of nation-state adversaries. From telecom network security and AI-driven attacks to strategic autonomy, interoperability, and the race toward 6G, the panel makes a clear case: the free world can move faster—but only if allies coordinate, fill capability gaps across the tech stack, and impose real consequences on attackers.

Panel Participants

• Roberto Baldoni — Senior Advisor on Technology and Cybersecurity Policy to the Italian Ambassador in the USA
• Brendan Dowling — Deputy Secretary, Critical Infrastructure & Protective Security, Australian Government
• Mikko Karikyto — Chief Product Security Officer, Ericsson
• Alex Wong — Global Chief Strategy, Hanwha Group
• Moderator: Josh Rogin — Lead Global Security Analyst, WP Intelligence, The Washington Post

Senator Tom Cotton, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, addressed participants of the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, warning that America’s competition with the Chinese Communist Party across emerging technologies—from AI and quantum to the bio-economy—will shape the future of global freedom. He emphasized that whoever leads in these sectors will determine whether technology advances democratic values or becomes a tool of oppression. Watch Senator Cotton’s remarks.

Israeli Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Gila Gamliel addressed the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, emphasizing that technology now sits at the center of the global struggle between freedom and terror. Speaking from Jerusalem, she praised the Krach Institute for its leadership and reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to advancing trusted, democratic innovation—from AI security to global deep-tech breakthroughs. Watch Minister Gamliel’s full remarks.

Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica Manuel Tovar Rivera delivered remarks to participants of the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, emphasizing that in a rapidly changing world, “trust, transparency, and security must guide partnerships.” He highlighted Costa Rica’s commitment to responsible innovation, protection of intellectual property, and global collaboration in critical technologies. Watch his full address.

At the Krach Institute’s 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Dominican Republic Víctor Bisonó said that the development of technology “must go hand-in-hand with democratic values, with the strengthening of human capabilities, and with the creation of opportunities for all.” Watch his full remarks.

At the Krach Institute’s 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, Bob Sappio, Principal at Deloitte, spoke about the firm’s commitment to providing organizations with the tools and knowledge to lead in the complex global digital environment. He emphasized Deloitte’s efforts to expand access to cutting edge education, promote ethical technology, and help shape a future where emerging technology is trusted and secure. Watch his full remarks.

Speaking from Kyiv, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov delivered a powerful message to the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, highlighting how Ukrainian innovators are transforming the battlefield with breakthrough defense technologies. He invited global partners to invest, test, and build trusted tech in Ukraine. Watch Minister Fedorov’s full address.

At the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, Virginia Hernández Vázquez, Minister of Youth for the State of Querétaro, Mexico, announced that Querétaro is proudly joining the Krach Institute’s Global Trusted Tech Network, “because when trust meets technology and collaboration meets purpose, incredible things can happen.” Watch her full remarks.

At the 2025 Trusted Tech Summit, Víctor Gabriel Chedraui, Secretary of Economic Development and Labor for the State of Puebla, Mexico, announced that Puebla is proudly joining the Krach Institute’s Global Trusted Tech Network. He expressed pride that Puebla’s talent will be a partner in building a future based on trusted technology. Watch his full remarks.