Arianna Huffington

CEO, Thrive Global

Arianna Huffington is among the most influential players shaping the national conversation on politics, the economy, the media and public policy. An entrepreneur and business leader, Arianna provides an informed view on the state of the current business landscape and the impact of our financial policy on the future of the economy. Her access to Washington’s key decision makers, as well as global and business leaders, allows her to provide a fresh and in-the-know perspective on today’s current events, culture and politics.

Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union.

In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. Celebrated for her work as the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the must-read Huffington Post, which in 2012 won its first Pulitzer Prize, Arianna has garnered worldwide acclaim, including being named in 2011 to the TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the most influential people in the world; Vanity Fair’s 2011 Top 50 New Establishment list; Fast Company’s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business; Financial Times’ 50 People Who Shaped the Decade;Newsweek’s Top Ten Thought-Leaders of the Decade; and Forbes’ Most Influential Women in the Media and The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. She is the author of over a dozen books including, Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream (2010).

Arianna Huffington is the co-host of the nationally syndicated radio program, Both Sides Now, with Mary Matalin, where they analyze from all perspectives the headlines shaping today’s conversations.

She serves on several boards that promote community solutions to social problems, including A Place Called Home, which works with at-risk children in South Central Los Angeles. She also serves on the board of EL PAÍS and the Committee to Protect Journalists.