Gen. Stanley McChrystal and Amb. Robert Hormats Join Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue Advisory Board

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. and WASHINGTON, October 26, 2021 – The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, the world’s preeminent center for securing freedom through tech diplomacy,​ expands its Global Advisory Board with retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal and former Under Secretary of State Ambassador Robert Hormats. As members of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy’s Advisory Board, McChrystal and Hormats will advise the center’s leadership on growing its Global Trust Network by sharing their foreign policy and business insights from their diverse experiences to shape the center’s mission, strategy, and execution.

“I am honored to join in the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy’s transformational mission of safeguarding freedom from authoritarianism by driving the adoption of trusted Clean Technologies. The Clean Network’s success in countering China’s 5G plan serves as a powerful, nonpartisan model for rallying our allies, leveraging the private sector, and amplifying democratic values based on trust,” Ambassador Hormats remarked. “Just like the Clean Network’s goal of including all countries that abide by the Trust Principles until they reform problematic practices and laws, our goal is not to seek a confrontation with China but to work to resolve these very troubling problems.”

“The Krach Institute has created the new diplomatic effort known as Tech Statecraft by building the bridges that link the worlds of high tech and foreign policy in order to ensure trusted technology is used to advance freedom rather than authoritarianism,” said General McChrystal. “The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy is  rapidly becoming the foremost authority on securing freedom through Tech Statecraft. I’m honored to be part of this critical effort.”

“Purdue is best known for its technology innovation and for grooming the values-based transformational leaders of tomorrow who have a profound impact on the world,” said Keith Krach, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. “Tapping into the genius of transformational leaders like General McChrystal and Ambassador Hormats is central to our nonpartisan mission of creating a new model of diplomacy, now known as Tech Statecraft, where trust is the coin of the realm.”

Bonnie Glick, the inaugural director of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, added, “Global competition is being contested in the arena of technology. If countries, businesses, and individuals want the future to be based on democratic values, we must rally to ensure that high tech is rooted in our trusted values, or we will put our cherished freedoms at risk. General McChrystal and Ambassador Hormats bring incomparable expertise. The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy is fortunate to count on their guidance as we set out to educate the next generation of diplomats and policymakers in Tech Statecraft.”

In addition to General McChrystal and Ambassador Hormats, the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is pleased to welcome new Senior Industry Fellows Dr. Edward Barth (IBM) and Alexis Bonnell (Google), as well as Senior Visiting Fellows Dr. Kaush Arha, Simone Ledeen, and Nazak Nikakhtar.

About General Stanley McChrystal (Ret.):

General Stanley A. McChrystal is the former commander of US and International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counter-terrorism force, Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). He developed and implemented a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan and created a cohesive counterterrorism organization that revolutionized the interagency operating culture. In June 2009, he was appointed to be the Commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO ISAF by the President of the United States and the Secretary General of NATO. In August 2010, he retired from the US Army.

Gen. McChrystal is a senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, where he teaches a course on Leadership. He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval War College. He also completed year-long fellowships at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the Council on Foreign Relations.

About Ambassador Robert Hormats:

Robert Hormats’ government experience spans multiple decades and positions, including serving five U.S. presidential administrations. He has served as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative with the rank of Ambassador, and Senior Economic advisor to Dr. Henry Kissinger, General Brent Scowcroft, and Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski on the National Security Council staff in the White House. His most recent government position was with Secretary Clinton as Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment from 2009 through 2013. He has also engaged in the development of U.S. policy vis a vis Western Europe, China, India, Russia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia about international trade and investment, intellectual property, and global energy. He is currently Managing Director at Tiedemann Advisors. He is also on the Board of the American Tower Corporation and advisor to companies on topics such as using innovative technologies for more efficient product management and procurement, advanced technologies for wireless 5 and 6g, and quantum computing.

Amb. Hormats has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton University and a member of both the Board of Visitors of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Dean’s Council of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the Yale School of Management and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York. He earned a Ph.D. in International Economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

About the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue:

The Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue is the world’s preeminent institution focused on tech statecraft, a new model of diplomacy that bridges the high-tech sector with the foreign policy and national security sectors in order to ensure trusted technology is used to advance freedom.​ The Krach Institute’s nonpartisan model focuses on rallying our allies, leveraging the innovation of private sector, and amplifying democratic values based on trust.