YALE CEO SUMMIT SALUTES ED BASTIAN, DELTA CEO AND BERNARD ARNAULD, LVMH CHAIRMAN
For Immediate Release
December 16-17, 2025 – Washington, D.C. L. M. Levie, Chairman of American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC), joined 100 corporate leaders from industry and finance along with prominent senators, congressmen, Executive Agency officials, diplomats, and journalists at the Yale CEO Summit held in New York on December 16-17, 2025. Convened by the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, the program was held in midtown Manhattan. At the Summit, the Yale Legend in Leadership Award was presented to Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines by Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO of IBM and by Glenn Fogel, CEO, Bookings Holdings.
The Yale CEO Institute’s Legend in Leadership Award was also conferred on Chairman and CEO of Bernard Arnault, Chairman and CEO of LVMH, with introductions by Anna Wintour, Global Content Officer of Conde Nast, Steven Schwartzman, Chairman and CEO of Blackstone, Ivanka Trump, Entrepreneur, Michael Burke, CEO of LVMH Americas. Mr. Arnault was interviewed by Sara Eisen, Anchor, CNBC.
The award ceremony for Bernard Arnaut was featured on CNBC, including an interview by Anchor Sara Eisen. The link is found below;
AIAC Chairman L. M. Levie warmly greeted and congratulated Mr. Bastian and Michael Burke, CEO of LVMH Americas.
Yale CEO Institute’s Professor Jeffrey Sonnenfelt extolled honorees Bastian and Arnault. He commented, “Bastian took the helm during a period of tremendous turbulence across the aviation sector and turned Delta into one of, if not the most, respected airlines in the world. Under his leadership, Delta navigated geopolitical shocks, the COVID pandemic, technological upheavals, and unprecedented operational challenges, while delivering record-setting customer satisfaction, industry-leading dependability, and consistently strong financial performance. Bastian has shown the world that great airlines are built not simply on fleets and networks, but on cultures of trust, humanity, and high standards.”
Dr. Sonnenfeld continued, “Bernard Arnault stands among the rare titans whose vision has reshaped not just business, but culture and society more broadly. His leadership illuminates the extraordinary possibilities that emerge when commercial imagination is paired with cultural vision, civic engagement, social impact, and long-term stewardship.”
This Yale CEO Summit was entitled “Is There Any Order to the New World Order?”
The topics of the sessions included:
How Do We Work Most Constructively with the President
The New Financial Order: Who Pays Whom and How
Connecting the Moving Pieces of the Technological Puzzle of the New World Order – Robotic and Agentic Miracles
Pulling the Operational Levers of the New World Order – Finding Scarce Sources
Who’s Buying and How, as Consumer Patterns are Reinvented
Mr. Levie greeted the following Yale CEO Summit participants:
Chrystia Freeland, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Minister of Finance Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of International Trade
Penny Pritzker, Chair of Pritzker Realty Group, PSP Partners, Director, Microsoft, Former US Secretary of Commerce
Stephen Schwarzman, Founder, Chairman, CEO, Blackstone, Former Chairman, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trustee, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Trustee, New York Public Library
Lloyd Blankfein, Senior Chairman, Goldman Sachs, Former Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs
Peter Orszag, CEO and Chairman, Lazard, Former Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Former Director, Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Former Vice Chairman, Citigroup, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Robert Miller, Chairman, Purdue Pharma, Former Chairman, AIG (American International Group) and Delphi Corporation, Vice Chairman, Chrysler Corporation, Former Director, United Airlines, U.S. Bancorp, Dow, DuPont
Ira Ehrenpreis, Director, Tesla (Chair, Compensation Committee; Chair, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee), Investor/Director, SpaceX, Founder and Managing Partner, DBL Partners, Investor, The Boring Company and xAI.
Robert Hormats, Former Vice Chairman, Goldman Sachs International, Vice Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment
Hon. Douglas H. Ginsburg, Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, Former Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Dina Powell McCormick, Vice Chair, BDT and MSD Partners, Former US Deputy National Security Advisor, Former Assistant Secretary of State, Former Deputy Undersecretary of State, Director, ExxonMobil, Director, Meta Platforms, Chairman, Robin Hood Foundation, Trustee, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Morgan Brennan, Co-Anchor, CNBC "Closing Bell: Overtime," Host, "Manifest Space" Podcast, Former Anchor/Reporter and Producer, Forbes Video Network, Former Staff Writer, Forbes Magazine
Diane Brady, Executive Editorial Director, Fortune, Executive Director, Fortune Live Media, Editorial Director, Fortune CEO Initiative, Host, Leadership Next Podcast, Former Assistant Managing Editor, Forbes, Former Senior Editor, McKinsey & Company, Former Senior Editor and Content Chief, Bloomberg Businessweek, Former Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Former Governing Board Member, Overseas Press Club of America
Tom Rogers, Founder, CNBC and MSNBC, Former President, NBC Cable and Executive Vice President, NBC, Former Chairman and CEO, TiVo, Former Chairman and CEO, PRIMEDIA Inc., Former Co-Chairman, A&E Television Networks, Former Senior Counsel, U.S. House Telecommunications Subcommittee
Glenn Hutchins, Chairman, North Island Capital, Co-Founder, Silver Lake Partners, Lead Director, Banco Santander, Director, AT&T, Former Director, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Former Special Advisor to President Clinton, Co-Chairman, Brookings Institution, Vice-Chairman, Obama Foundation
Michael Burke, Chairman and CEO, LVMH Americas, Chairman and CEO, LVMH Fashion Group (Celine, Givenchy, Kenzo, Loewe, Marc Jacobs, Patou, Pucci), Non-Executive Chairman, Tiffany & Co., Director LVMH, Advisor to Chairman Bernard Arnault, Member, LVMH Executive Committee
Chris Krebs, Former Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Director, Cybersecurity Policy, Microsoft, Member
Chris Shays, Former U.S. Congressman, Senior Member, House Financial Services and Homeland Security Committees
William W. George, Former Chairman and CEO, Medtronic, Former Director, Goldman Sachs, Former Director, ExxonMobil, Former Director, Target, Former Director, Novartis
Glenn Fogel, CEO and President, Booking Holdings, Director, AXA Group (France), Former Chair, UNICEF USA, Director and Envoy at Large, UNICEF USA
Greg Brown, Chair and CEO, Motorola Solutions, Former Chairman, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Former Director, Xerox, Former Director, Cisco Systems, Director, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
R. Adam Norwitt, President and CEO, Amphenol Corporation (NYSE: APH, S&P 500) (since 2009), Former Corporate Attorney, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Co-Chair, Board of Directors, AdvanceCT, Member, Governor Ned Lamont's Economic Development Transition Council , Trustee, Norwitt Family Charitable Foundation
Brad Karp, Chairman, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Director, Continental Grain Company, Trustee, Mount Sinai Hospital, Trustee, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Director
Richard Edelman, CEO, Edelman (world's largest communications firm), Chairman, Daniel J. Edelman Holdings, Director, Ad Council, Atlantic Council, Trustee, 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Director, Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP)
Nick Pinchuk, Chairman and CEO, Snap-on Inc., Director, National Association of Manufacturers, The Manufacturing Institute, U.S. Council on Competitiveness, Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, Senior Advisory Board
Farooq Kathwari, Chairman, President and CEO, Ethan Allen, Member, Board of Overseers, International Rescue Committee, Chairman Emeritus, Refugees International, Member, International Advisory Council, United States Institute of Peace
Steven Bandrowczak, CEO, Xerox, Former Senior Vice President, Global Business Services, Hewlett-Packard, Former Director, Fuji, Xerox
Jay Timmons, President and CEO, National Association of Manufacturers, Chairman, Manufacturing Institute, Former Member, American Workforce Policy Advisory Board (US Department of Commerce)
Anthony Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner, SkyBridge Capital, Former White House Communications Director, Vice Chair, Kennedy Center Corporate Fund Board
Jeffrey Solomon, President, TD Cowen, Vice Chair, TD Securities. Former Vice Chair and Inaugural Member, SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee, Vice Chair of the Board, The Tree of Life; Co-Chair (with wife Linda), Director, Partnership for New York City, UJA-Federation of New York, Director, American Securities Association.
Mark Ein, CEO, Capitol Investment Corporation, Partner, Washington Commanders (NFL), Investment Partner, Baltimore Orioles, Leeds United Football Club, Founder/Owner, Washington Justice (Overwatch League).
Adam Blumenthal, Founder, Co-Managing Partner and Chairman, Blue Wolf Capital Partners, Chief Financial Officer, City of New York, President, Vice Chairman, COO and CFO, American Capital Ltd., Independent Trustee and Chair of Investment Committee, UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust
Roya Rahmani, Director of Global Engagement, The World Bank Group. Former Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, to Indonesia, to ASEAN. Former Director General of Regional Cooperation, Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Olivia Troye, Former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Lead Staff Member, White House Coronavirus Task Force. Founder, The Troye Group. Director, Republican Accountability Project Center.
Jack Hidary, CEO, SandboxAQ (AI and quantum technology company, spun out from Alphabet; Chairman: Eric Schmidt), Director, Alphabet Inc., Trustee, X Prize Foundation, Founder, The Jack D. Hidary Foundation (supports oncology research at Memorial Sloan Kettering and UCSF). Trustee, Partnership for New York City, Author, Quantum Computing: An Applied Approach.
Robert Simonds, Founder and Chairman, STX Entertainment. Independent film producer: 30+ films generating over $6 billion in worldwide box office revenue. Former Director, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (representing City of Los Angeles), Hollywood Reporter 100 Most Powerful People in Entertainment. Variety500: Entertainment Leaders and Icons
Sandy Climan, CEO, Entertainment Media Ventures, Inc. Senior Advisor, Lazard. Former Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Worldwide Business Development, Universal Studios. Founding Head, Corporate Practice, Creative Artists Agency. Producer, The Aviator (BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award); Director, American Cinematheque, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; UCLA Longevity Center. Former Member, Advisory Committee to the Director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Advisor, World Economic Forum (Davos). Ellis Island Medal of Honor
Faye Wattleton, Former President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Director, Estée Lauder, Former Director, WellChoice (Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield), Trustee, Columbia University, Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Ryan Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Legal Officer, Palantir Technologies Former Chief Legal and Business Affairs Officer, Palantir Technologies
Roya Rahmani, Director of Global Engagement, The World Bank, Former Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States
Ivanka Trump, Former Senior Advisor to the President
Jim Chanos, Founder and Managing Partner, Kynikos Associates
Dr. Joel Meyers, Founder and Chair, AccuWeather
Joele Frank, Founder and Managing Partner, Joele Frank, Wilkinson, Brimmer Katcher
Ralph Reed, Founder and Chair, Faith and Freedom Coalition
Susan Gellert, CEO, German-American Chamber of Commerce
David Miller, Director, Faith & Work Initiative, Princeton University
Tom Kolditz, Brigadier General (Ret.)
Steven Simmons, Chairman, Patriot Media
Charles Hirschler, Chairman, CHMBR Partners
Marshall Cooper, CEO, Chief Executive Group
Wayne Cooper, Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Group
Kay Koplovitz, Founder, USA Networks
Gordon Crovitz, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, NewsGuard, Former Publisher, The Wall Street Journal
Steven Brill, Founder, American Lawyer and NewsGuard
Greg Ip, Chief Economic Contributor and Editor, The Wall Street Journal
Geoff Colvin, Senior Editor and Columnist, Fortune
Rui Chenggang, Former Director and Anchor, China Central Television
Yale CEO Summit participants also included the following distinguished individuals:
Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM, Director, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Director, Northrop Grumman
Tom Glocer, Former CEO, Reuters and Thomson Reuters, Lead Director, Merck, Lead Director, Morgan Stanley, Director, Publicis Groupe, Trustee, Cleveland Clinic, Director, Atlantic Council
Judy Marks, Chair and CEO, Otis Worldwide, Director, Caterpillar, Former CEO, Siemens USA
Joe Erlinger, President, McDonald's USA
Brian Cornell, Chairman and CEO, Target, Non-Executive Chairman, Yum! Brands, Former Director, The Home Depot, Former CEO, Sam's Club, Former CEO, PepsiCo Americas Foods, Director, Catalyst
Jay Clayton, US Attorney, Southern District of New York, Former Chairman, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lead Independent Director, Apollo Global Management, Director, American Express
Bob Diamond, Founding Partner and CEO, Atlas Merchant Capital, Former CEO, Barclays
Millard "Mickey" Drexler, Former Chairman and CEO, J. Crew, Former CEO, The GAP, Former Director, Apple Inc.
Julian C. Evanko, President and CEO, Chart Industries
Reagan Farr, Co-Founder, Silicon Ranch
Rachel Ferdinando, CEO, PepsiCo U.S. Foods
Gregory J. Fleming, President and CEO, Rockefeller Capital Management, Former President, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Former President and COO, Merrill Lynch, Director, BlackRock
Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Founder and CEO, Council for Inclusive Capitalism, CEO, E.L. Rothschild, Director, Estée Lauder, Former Director, The Economist Group, Former Director, Gulfstream, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics
Danny Meyer, Founder and CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group, Chairman, Shake Shack, Former Chairman, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Director, Share Our Strength
Cesar Conde, Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group, Director, Walmart, Director, PepsiCo, Trustee, Aspen Institute, Director, Council on Foreign Relations
Glenn Fuhrman, Co-Founder, MSD Capital
His Excellency Mohammed Al Hammadi, Managing Director and CEO, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
Tom Gaynor, CEO, Markel Group
Kimberly Kellerman, COO, Greif Inc.
Frank McCourt, Jr., Executive Chair, McCourt Global
Simon Freakley, Executive Chairman, AlixPartners
William D. Anderson, Senior Managing Director, Evercore
Almar Latour, Publisher, Wall Street Journal
Bethany McLean, Columnist, The Washington Post, Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair
Joe Nocera, Deputy Managing Director, The Free Press
Sara Eisen, Anchor, CNBC
Steve Liesman, Senior Economics Reporter, CNBC
Lauren Hirsch, Reporter, New York Times
Charles Gasparino, Reporter, NY Post, Fox Business News
Josh Kampel, CEO, Worth Media Group
Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia
Nancy Brown, CEO, American Heart Association
Martina L. Cheung, President and CEO, S&P Global, Trustee, Catholic Charities New York
Jules Kroll, Founder, K2 Integrity, Founder and Former Chairman, Kroll Inc.
Clara Molot, Writer, Vanity Fair
Chip Cutter, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Mr. Levie issued the following statement:
Like all prior Yale CEO Summits, our discussion was candid, bi-partisan, respectful, and stimulating. Professor Sonnenfeld possesses a rare combination of humor, boundless energy, curiosity, charm, and scholarship. He elicits the best in all who have the privilege of partaking in his programs.
I join my dear friends and colleagues at the Yale CEO Summit in extending warm congratulations to both Ed Bastian and Bernard Arnault. This year, I have witnessed firsthand Ed’s extraordinary sensitivity towards the entire Delta team. His leadership through crisis and transformation is extraordinary, guiding Delta from the turbulence of the pandemic to unprecedented heights of operational excellence and customer loyalty. His steady hand, genuine humanity, and unwavering commitment to all Delta's stakeholders have made him one of the most respected leaders in American business.
I deeply admire Bernard and regard him as a personal role model—not only for his unmatched skill in acquiring, revitalizing, and growing global companies, but also for the remarkable family he leads. Indeed, much has been said of Bernard’s astonishing business acumen and philanthropy. I can personally attest to another extraordinary talent which is seldom mentioned: Bernard, his wife Hélène Mercier, and their son Frédéric are each virtuoso concert pianists of the highest order. I have had the pleasure of enjoying their piano performances of complex Mozart, Liszt, and Chopin works which were breathtakingly beautiful.
I am personally moved, as well, by Bernard’s creation and support of the magnificent Fondation Louis Vuitton Contemporary Art Museum in Paris, his restoration of the Palace of Versailles’ Queens Hamlet, a jewel of serenity, and his active involvement in the recent Olympics beside the majestic Eifel Tower. Most notably, the entire world owes Bernard a debt of gratitude for his generous €200 million contribution towards the reconstruction of Notre Dame Cathedral after flames tragically consumed this iconic monument.
AIAC Companies proudly support Delta Airlines by serving as critical, sole-source precision components manufacturer for Boeing, Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier jet planes and for GE, Rolls Royce, Pratt & Whitney, and Honeywell jet engines. We are privileged, as well, to serve the LVMH group, through our logistics materials group, Epalia, with 38 sites located throughout France and through our high quality aluminum foil packaging materials manufacturing company, Eurofoil.
In March of this year, Mr. Levie presented Mr. Bastian a poetic tribute entitled “To Those Who Carry Delta Through the Skies,” a tribute to the airline and its 100,000 employees on the occasion of Delta’s centennial year. In November, Mr. Levie composed a musical score with full orchestration, which he presented to Ed Bastian. Delta now features the musical tribute in group meetings with its 100,000 employees. The musical tribute is found here:
Months earlier, Mr. Levie presented to the Arnault family and to the Business France, the following tributes: The Rebirth of Notre Dame on the occasion of its reopening, and A Tribute to the Eifel Tower, on the occasion of its 135th anniversary:
Following the CEO Summit, Mr. Levie led Yale CEO Summit members Judge Douglas Ginsburg, Rui Chenggang, and Charles Hirschler, on a private tour of the art, artifacts, archeology and taxidermy at the headquarters of The Explorers Club.
For further information, please see:
About Ed Bastian
Edward Herman Bastian was born on June 6, 1957, in Poughkeepsie, New York, the oldest of nine children. His father was a dentist and his mother a dental assistant, and the couple operated a dental practice from within the family home. He graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes High School in 1975 and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from St. Bonaventure University in 1979. Remarkably, Bastian had never set foot on an airplane until he was 25 years old.
Bastian began his career at Price Waterhouse, where he rose to audit partner in the firm's New York practice. He subsequently held senior finance positions at Pepsi Cola International and Frito-Lay International before joining Delta Air Lines in 1998 as Vice President of Finance and Controller.
After a brief departure in 2004 to serve as Chief Financial Officer of Acuity Brands, Bastian returned to Delta six months later as CFO. He served as Chief Restructuring Officer between 2005 and 2007, playing a crucial role in the airline's swift and successful Chapter 11 reorganization. In 2008, he led Delta's acquisition of Northwest Airlines and oversaw the integration of the two companies. He was appointed President in 2007 and became Chief Executive Officer on May 2, 2016—the first CEO chosen from within the company since 1987.
Under Bastian's leadership, Delta has become America's most awarded airline, ranked among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies twelve times, and recognized as The Wall Street Journal's top U.S. airline. In 2018, Fortune named him among "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders." He was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2019, honored as Chief Executive magazine's CEO of the Year in 2023, and named to the TIME100 list of the world's most influential people in 2025.
Bastian's leadership philosophy centers on what he calls the "virtuous circle"—take care of your people, and they will take care of your customers, whose loyalty rewards your investors. He lives in Atlanta and remains deeply involved in his faith, family, and community.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Bastian
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2UNTJoO0QI
About Bernard Arnault
Bernard Jean Étienne Arnault was born on March 5, 1949, in Roubaix, France. His mother, Marie-Josèphe Savinel, was a pianist with a deep admiration for Christian Dior. His father, Jean Léon Arnault, a graduate of École Centrale Paris, owned the civil engineering company Ferret-Savinel. Raised in a devoutly Catholic household by his grandmother in a strict Auvergne tradition, Arnault took classical piano lessons as a child and was educated at Catholic schools, the Lycée Maxence Van Der Meersch in Roubaix and the Lycée Faidherbe in Lille. In 1971, he graduated from the prestigious École Polytechnique in Paris with a degree in engineering.
Arnault began his career at his father's firm and was named a director in 1974 and chief executive in 1977. He convinced his father to exit the construction business and shift focus to real estate, renaming the company Férinel. In 1984, with the help of Antoine Bernheim, a senior partner at Lazard Frères, Arnault acquired the financially struggling textile conglomerate Boussac Saint-Frères, which included the storied fashion house Christian Dior. He sold nearly all of the company's assets, retaining only Christian Dior and Le Bon Marché department store, and returned the company to profitability by 1987.
In 1987, Arnault was invited to invest in LVMH, the company formed that year through the merger of Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton. Through a joint venture with Guinness, he accumulated shares and by January 1989 had gained control of the conglomerate, becoming chairman of the executive management board. He has served as Chairman and CEO since that date.
Under Arnault's leadership, LVMH has become the world's largest luxury goods company, controlling around 60 subsidiaries that manage 75 prestigious brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Fendi, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co., TAG Heuer, Moët & Chandon, Dom Pérignon, and Sephora. Dubbed the "Pope of Fashion" by Women's Wear Daily, Arnault revitalized French couture by making bold creative appointments, including hiring John Galliano at Givenchy, then moving him to Christian Dior, and bringing Marc Jacobs to Louis Vuitton. Major acquisitions under his tenure include Fendi in 2003, Bulgari in 2011, and Tiffany & Co. in 2021. In April 2023, LVMH became the first European company to surpass a valuation of $500 billion.
Beyond business, Arnault is a passionate art collector and philanthropist. In 2014, he opened the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a contemporary art museum in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris designed by Frank Gehry. LVMH also lends Stradivarius violins to young talented musicians.
Arnault married Anne Dewavrin in 1973, with whom he has two children, Delphine and Antoine. Following their separation in 1990, he married Hélène Mercier, a distinguished Canadian concert pianist, in 1991. Together they have three sons: Alexandre, Frédéric, and Jean. Four of his five children work within the LVMH empire. Arnault and his family have been ranked among the wealthiest people in the world, with Forbes estimating their peak net worth at approximately $240 billion in 2023.
For further information, please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Arnault
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1Eq4ax1aZI
About the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute
The Chief Executive Leadership Institute (CELI) is the pioneer of CEO learning and hosts CEO Summits which bring together top business leaders and policy makers, as well as leading academics, in a unique learning environment that fosters candid, off-the-record exchanges among participants. The Yale Mayors College is a best-practices dialogue among municipal leaders in an off-the-record interactive setting, with participants sharing the steps they are taking to make their cities more livable. The Yale CEO Caucus is a semiannual roundtable for business leaders, political leaders, and scholars to discuss the business implications of urgent national and global events that span economics, diplomacy, security, energy, environment, regulation, and politics.
CELI is the world’s first school for CEOs, featuring applied research and peer-driven learning through lively exchanges among the world’s top business leaders, influential public policy makers, media opinion leaders, as well as foremost scholarly thought leaders, employing candid, confidential discussions of timely global business leadership challenges and compelling societal concerns.
For further information, please see:
https://som.yale.edu/centers/chief-executive-leadership-institute
About the Yale Legend in Leadership Award
The Yale Legend in Leadership Award was created 35 years ago to honor current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations. Recipients have included the following:
September 2025
Greg Brown, CEO., Motorola
June 2025
Jensen Huang, CEO, NVIDIA
March 2025
Glenn Fogel, CEO, Bookings Holdings
December 2024
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple
Larry Fink, Chair and CEO of BlackRock
September 2024
James Quincey, CEO of Coca Cola Corporation
June 2024
Marc Benioff, Founder, Chair & CEO, Salesforce
March 2024
Mike Sievert, President & CEO, T-Mobile
January 2024
Shirley Tilghman, 19th President, Princeton University
December 2023
Ajay Banga, President, World Bank Group
September 2023
Arvind Krishna, Chairman & CEO, IBM Corporation
June 2023
Steven Spielberg, Filmmaker & Chairman of Amblin Partners
March 2023
Kathy Warden, Chair, President & CEO, Northrop Grumman Corporation
January 2023
Hanna Holborn Gray, 10th President, University of Chicago
December 2022
Satya Nadella, Chairman & CEO, Microsoft
June 2022
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine
September 2022
Darius Adamczyk, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell
March 2022
W. Douglas Parker, CEO, American Airlines Group
December 2021
Albert Bourla, Chairman & CEO, Pfizer
Alex Gorsky, Chairman & CEO, Johnson & Johnson
September 2021
Lynn J. Good, CEO, Duke Energy
June 2021
Lisa Su, CEO, Advanced Micro Devices
March 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
December 2020
Doug McMillon, CEO, Walmart Corp.
September 2020
Arne M. Sorenson, CEO, Marriot International
June 2020
Brian C. Cornell, CEO, Target
December 2019
Randall L. Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
September 2019
Colin Powell, Retired Four-Star U.S. Army General; Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–93), and 65th U.S. Secretary of State (2001–05)
June 2019
Virginia M. (Ginni) Rometty, Chairman, President & CEO, IBM Corporation
March 2019
Janet Yellen, Former Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
December 2018
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever PLC
September 2018
Mary T. Barra, Chairman and CEO, General Motors Company
June 2018
Brian Moynihan, Chairman & CEO, Bank of America
March 2018
David M. Rubenstein, Co-Founder & Co-Executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group
December 2017
Leonard S. Schleifer, President & CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
George D. Yancopoulos, President & Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
September 2017
Brian L. Roberts, Chairman & CEO, Comcast Corporation
June 2017
Ronald M. Shaich, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Panera Bread
December 2016
Terry J. Lundgren, Chairman & CEO, Macy’s, Inc.
September 2016
Marillyn A. Hewson, Chairman, President & CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation
June 2016
Zhang Ruimin, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Haier Group
March 2016
Denise M. Morrison, President & CEO, Campbell Soup Company
December 2015
Kenneth C. Frazier, Chairman, President & CEO, Merck & Co.
September 2015
W. James McNerney, Chairman, The Boeing Company
June 2015
Ian M. Cook, Chairman, President & CEO, Colgate-Palmolive
March 2015
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman & CEO, Goldman Sachs Group
Prior Winners
Klaus Kleinfeld, Chairman & CEO, Alcoa
JIANG Jianqing, Chairman, ICBC
GAO Xiqing, President & CIO, China Investment Corporation
D. Scott Davis, Chairman, UPS
Frank Blake, former Chairman & CEO, The Home Depot
Duncan L. Niederauer, former CEO, NYSE
Kenneth R. Feinberg, Managing Partner, Feinberg Rozen
Ellen J. Kullman, former Chairman & CEO, DuPont
David Stern, former Commissioner, National Basketball Associate
FU Chengyu, former Chairman, Sinopec
David M. Cote, Chairman & CEO, Honeywell International
Sir James Wolfensohn, Former President, World Bank Group
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman & CEO, Time Warner Inc.
Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo
Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO, General Electric Company
Michael S. Dell, Chairman & CEO, Dell Inc.
Andrew Liveris, Chairman, President & CEO, The Dow Chemical Company
Kenneth Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express Company
Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, Chairman & CEO, JCPenney Company, Inc.
Alan Mullally, President & CEO, Ford Motor Company
Anne Mulcahy, Chairman, Xerox Corporation
Robert A. Iger, President & CEO, The Walt Disney Company
Ivan G. Seidenberg, Chairman & CEO, Verizon Communications
Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO, JPMorgan Chase
Louis V. Gerstner Jr., Former Chairman & CEO, IBM
Richard J. Harrington, Chairman & CEO, The Thomson Corporation
Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman & CEO, The Blackstone Group
Herbert V. Kohler Jr., Chairman, President & CEO, Kohler Company
Thomas G. Stemberg, Founder, Staples
Wilbur L. Ross Jr., Chairman & CEO, W.L. Ross & Company
Terry S. Semel, Chairman & CEO, Yahoo!
Ann M. Fudge, Chairman & CEO, Young & Rubicam
John E. Pepper Jr., Former Chairman & CEO, The Procter & Gamble Co.
Jack Valenti, Chairman & CEO, Motion Picture Association
Kenneth L. Wolfe, Former Chairman & CEO, The Hershey Company
John C. Bogle, Founder, The Vanguard Group
William W. George, Former Chairman & CEO, Medtronic
Roger A. Enrico, Former Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo
Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder, Infosys
Ratan Tata, Tata Group
About American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) is a diversified industrial group with manufacturing and distribution sites in 24 countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia-New Zealand. AIAC has acquired and grown non-core subsidiaries and divisions of Boeing, Siemens, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Johnson Controls, Merck, Pfizer, Astellas, Visteon, Carlyle, Ahlstrom, Tolko, Groupe Suez, Groupe Rexel, and many other leading multinational corporations.
AIAC companies serve companies and governmental entities worldwide in all major sectors, including aviation, space, defense, automotive, truck, rail, marine, petrochemical, solar, nuclear, food, confectionary, beverage, civil engineering and infrastructure, commercial construction, mining, dredging, disaster relief, education, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, AIAC companies are exclusive, authorized distributors of leading branded industrial and consumer products and serve as critical suppliers for the construction of major airports, schools, hospitals, performing arts and sports centers, offices and hotels throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. AIAC is a leading manufacturer of building, street, and highway signage in Europe, signage and illumination structures in North America, and a distributor of electrical products throughout France.
Of note, AIAC purchased Boeing Canada in 2005 and has produced over 10,000 unique components for every Boeing jet plane ever since, reliably serving Boeing from manufacturing facilities in North America. A leader in ultra-high precision jet engine component manufacturing, AIAC companies produce 2,200 fan blades for each jet engine produced by GE, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and Honeywell.
AIAC companies actively support exploration into outer space, manufacturing critical components for launching and propelling spacecraft and satellites. AIAC customers in this sector include NASA, the European Space Agency, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Boeing. AIAC companies also lead in the design and manufacture of undersea umbilical cables for worldwide oceanographic research.
AIAC companies produce the critical automotive wire and cable for Tesla, GM, Ford, Chrysler-Fiat, Toyota, and Nissan. In connection with its kraft paper manufacturing interests in Canada and the US, AIAC controls and sustainably manages 22 million acres of Manitoba, Canada forestland, an area equivalent in size to the nation of Hungary. AIAC affiliate, Metallwarenfabrik Gemmingen GmbH, located in Germany, designs, manufactures and distributes high performance, emergency portable power generators utilized in global conflict zones and during natural disasters.
About AIAC Philanthropy
AIAC and the AIAC Foundation support a wide range of nonprofit, nonsectarian, bipartisan organizations which promote international conflict resolution, disaster relief, economic development, environmental sustainability, exploration, and the performing arts. The exploration-focused nonprofit organizations which they actively support include the Explorers Club, the National Geographic Society, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Space Society, and the United States Space Foundation.
AIAC’s other beneficiaries include the Appeal of the Nobel Peace Laureates Foundation Inc., the Asia Society, the Atlantic Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Gates Philanthropy Partners, the Bretton Woods Committee, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carter Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, the Foreign Policy Association, the Institut Française des Relations Internationales, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Crisis Group, the International Rescue Committee, the Japan Society, the JFK School of Government of Harvard University, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Sierra Club, the Trilateral Commission, and the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
For further information, please see:
HTTPS://WWW.AIAC.COM, HTTPS://WWW.AIAC.COM/OUR-VALUES
Media Contact:
Isabel Carro-Toro, Vice President
American Industrial Acquisition Corporation
+34 689 295 827 (Spain)
+ 1 787 244 3175 (USA)
icarro-toro@aiac.com
