On April 14, 2026, Bio-Strategies & Leadership at the Hoover Institution will convene ~300 action-oriented leaders at Stanford for the inaugural Bio Leadership Summit, a one-day event designed to elevate biotechnology culturally and politically, and to speak frankly regarding what biotech leadership looks like across the most important domains of strategic impact.
We are looking for leaders—up and coming or established, with or without a biotechnology background—who have a track record of turning ideas into outcomes to participate. If you would like to nominate yourself of others to participate, please do so below.
Confirmed speakers and moderators for the event include:
Sec. Condoleezza Rice - Director and Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution
Lee Lilley - Secretary of Commerce for the State of North Carolina
Emily Leproust - CEO and Co-Founder of Twist Bioscience
Jennifer Cochran - Vice President for SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and for Strategic Initiatives, Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University
Matt Pottinger - Former Deputy National Security Advisor and Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Hoover Institution
Doug Friedman - Founder and CEO of BioMADE
Nadia Schadlow - National Security Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Christina Smolke - CEO & Co-Founder of Antheia
Brian Hie - Arc Innovation Investigator in Residence and Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University and the Arc Institute
Ezhil Subbian - CEO of Co-Founder of String Bio
Matt McKnight - General Manager of Biosecurity at Gingko Bioworks
Sam Rodriques - CEO and Co-Founder of FutureHouse
Kate Adamala - Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota
Stephen Kotkin - Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution
Keith Wood - CEO and Co-Founder of Light Bio
Manu Prakash - Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University
Drew Endy - Science & Senior Fellow (Courtesy) of Hoover Institution and Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University and Co-Founder and President of biotic (501(c)3)
Steve Quake - Lee Otterson Professor of Bioengineering and of Applied Physics at Stanford University, Past Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Alicia Jackson - Director, ARPA-H
Michael Koerris - Director, DARPA Biological Technologies Office
Kate Sixt - Office of the Chief Scientist, USDA, past Principal Director for Biotechnology in OSD R&E
Gen. Gustave Perna - Retired
And others still to be announced
For questions about the event, please contact Sarah Moront at smoront@stanford.edu.
