Vinton G. Cerf is vice president and chief internet evangelist for Google. He contributes to global policy development and the continued spread of the internet. Widely known as one of the “Fathers of the internet,” Mr. Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the internet. Mr. Cerf served as chairman of the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) from 2000 to 2007 and has been a visiting scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1998.
Mr. Cerf served as founding president of the Internet Society (ISOC) from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Cerf is a recipient of numerous awards and commendations in connection with his work on the internet, including the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, US National Medal of Technology, The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, and the ACM Turing Award (some refer to this award as the Nobel prize for computing). Mr. Cerf is an officer of the Legion d’Honneur and holds 29 honorary degrees.
Dr. Melissa Flagg is a senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University. Previously Dr. Flagg served as the deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Research, responsible for policy and oversight Defense Department science and technology programs including basic research through advanced technology development and the DoD laboratory enterprise. Dr. Flagg has worked at the State Department, the Office of Naval Research, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Army Research Laboratory. Dr. Flagg also ran her own consulting business and was the Chief Technology Officer of a consumer start-up. Dr. Flagg has served on numerous boards including the National Academy of Sciences Air Force Studies Board and the Department of Commerce Emerging Technology Research Advisory Committee.
Dr. David Bray is the inaugural director of GeoTech Center and GeoTech Commission at the Atlantic Council. Dr. Bray accepted a leadership role in December 2019 to incubate a new global Center with the Atlantic Council. Business Insider named him one of the top “24 Americans Who Are Changing the World” under 40. Dr. Bray was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum for 2016-2021. From 2017 to the start of 2020, Dr. Bray served as executive director for the People-Centered Internet coalition. Dr. Bray is a Marshall Memorial Fellow, Eisenhower Fellow, and the recipient of the National Intelligence Exceptional Achievement Medal, Arthur S. Fleming Award, and Roger W. Jones Award for Executive Leadership. Dr. Bray is a former CIO for Federal Communication Commission, where he received the global CIO 100 Award twice.
Here are the key takeaways of our conversation with Vint Cerf, Dr. Flagg, and Dr. Bray:
I highly encourage you to watch our video conversation with Vint Cerf, Dr. Flagg, and Dr. Bray – three brilliant thought leaders, inventors, and technology pioneers who are guiding us towards a better future, where leadership principles, policies, procedures, partnerships, and technologies can be used for the betterment of society.
