October 21, 2015
toOctober 25, 2015

The 2015 Young Leaders meeting took place October 21-25 in Denver, Colorado where the group was hosted by 2013 Young Leader Robin Pringle, Vice President of Corporate Development at Liberty Media Corporation and our Board Member Douglas M. Price, President and CEO at Rocky Mountain PBS.

2015 Young Leaders

Since 1981, our flagship program has fostered a strong network of transatlantic leaders.  The program takes small groups of carefully selected up-and-coming leaders in government, business, media, military, culture, and civil society and provides them with the opportunity to spend five days discussing issues of common concern and getting to know one another.  Our Young Leaders Program is meant for participants—to engage with one another, to challenge each other’s ideas, to form new friendships.  Each year, we see the “magic” in the connections that are formed.  A testament to these connections are the alumni who decide to join us each year.

The 2015 program included a series of meetings with local government, business and academia leaders.
Among the prominent figures who shared their experience on regional, national, and global issues with the group were

• Federico Fabian Peña, former Mayor of Denver; former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and former U.S. Secretary of Energy;
• Gregory B. Maffei, President and CEO at Liberty Media Corporation;
• U.S. Air Force Major General (Ret.) Jay Lindell, Aerospace and Defense Industry Champion, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade;
• Mark Sirangelo, Chief Innovation Officer and Chairman of the Board; Corporate Vice President and Chairman at Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems (SNC);
• Christopher Wright, CEO at Liberty Resources Management;
• Gary Stewart, CEO at Melange International, LLC;
• Brigadier General Stephen C. Williams, Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs;
• Kimball Musk, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and environmentalist, owner of The Kitchen Café, LLC and
• Dr. Lutz Goedde, Principal at McKinsey & Company.

Young Leaders Matthew Spence (’13), Estelle Youssouffa (’11), Richard Fontaine (’15) and Cindy Carcamo (’13) opened this year’s discussions with a session on Syria and the refugee problem.
Alexis Morel (’14) moderated the interesting panel discussion on aerospace and Emma Fuerst Frelinghuysen (’14) the conversation on food supply chains and sustainability.
The last day of the annual meeting was dedicated to private thought-provoking sessions among the participants—Gwenhaël Le Boulay (’14) and Thomas Wyler (’15) led the panel on compliance, and Anne Neuberger (15), Scott Handler (’12) and Fabrice Domange (’15) engaged this year’s group in a timely discussion on cybersecurity.

Highlights of this year’s program included the candid discussion with John Wright Hickenlooper, Jr., 42^nd Governor of Colorado moderated by Scott Holcomb (’12).
The group was welcomed at the Governor’s Mansion by the Governor jamming on the piano and spent the rest of the evening discussing with him informally over dinner.

Following the private tour at the Clyfford Still Art Museum, Ambassador Christopher R. Hill, Dean of the Korbel School at the University of Denver and former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq engaged the group in a discussion of international policy led by Joseph Truesdale IV (’14).  Charlotte Morgan (’15) and Richard Frank “Dick” Celeste, former Governor of Ohio led the lunch discussion at the beautiful premises of The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
Finally, the Young Leaders were very touched by our board member Doug Price who opened the doors to his home for a feast in a relaxing atmosphere that nourished the newly established friendships.

Created in 1981 to foster closer working relationships between French and American leaders in the post-war period, the Young Leaders program counts over 400 alumni including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former World Bank President Robert Zoellick, and business leader John Thain (CIT Group).
French Young Leaders include President Emmauel Macron, former President of French Republic Francois Hollande, Prime Minister Edouars Philippe,  former Minister of Finance Pierre Moscovici, former Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, and business leader Henri de Castries (AXA).

Learn more about the Young Leaders Program