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JOHN F.W. ROGERS: So, ladies and gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to the Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards. It’s a pleasure to be with all of you tonight as we honor a few of the world’s most impressive and influential leaders, individuals whose vision and resolve have helped to shape the world beyond their shores in support of freedom, prosperity, and hope for a brighter future. They’ve proven themselves to be among the very best of our transatlantic partnership. And in recognizing them, we reinforce the Atlantic Council’s commitment to constructive global leadership and advancing the cause of democracy throughout the world.
Now, our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary. And Nikki Daniels just reminds us with her beautiful voice at this celebration. But for me, I think about President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. And at its core, it’s a meditation on time—past, present, and future. And on what it means to dedicate a nation to its founding ideals. His repeated use of the word “dedicate” or “dedicated,” six times in 272 words. And ladies and gentlemen, as a former member of a presidential speechwriting team myself, that’s unheard of. You don’t do that.
But for Lincoln, it’s not accidental. It creates a rhythm of obligation that moves across generations. He begins with the past—fourscore and seven years ago—invoking the founding moment of 1776 and the principle that the nation was conceived in liberty. This is the first layer of dedication, a founding act, almost sacred in nature. Then he shifts to the present, standing on a battlefield during the American Civil War. And here, Lincoln famously says that the living cannot truly dedicate the ground because the soldiers who fought there have already done so with their lives. This is where the repetition deepens. The dedication is no longer ceremonial. It is earned through service and sacrifice.
And finally, he turns to the future. The repeated call to be dedicated to the unfinished work and to the great tasks remaining before us. That transforms dedication into a responsibility. It’s not something completed in the past or claimed in the present. It is a continuing act. It speaks to all of us. At this milestone, our 250th anniversary, we are placed in the same three-part structure that President Lincoln used. We call on the past, the founding ideals of liberty and equality, just as Lincoln did. And we call on the present, acknowledging the struggles, divisions, tragedies that define our current moment. And we call on the future, asking what it means to remain dedicated to those ideals in a changing nation and in a changing world.
Now, Lincoln’s sixfold invocation of “dedicate” becomes a kind of echo across time. In 1863 it was called to preserve the Union. At 250 years, it becomes a call to renew it. Not by ceremony alone, but by action, reflection, and responsibility. In that sense, the analogy is clear. Just as Lincoln refrained dedication from a static act into an ongoing commitment, the 250th anniversary is not merely a celebration of what the country was, but a challenge to define what it is, and what it must become.
We gather at a moment that asks something more of us than commemoration. It asks for clarity, for purpose, and, above all, for dedication. Eighty-five years ago, amid the uncertainty of global conflict, leaders set forth the principles of the Atlantic Charter. Not as an abstract vision, but as a commitment to a world grounded in freedom, sovereignty, and cooperation. Those principles became the foundation of an alliance that shaped the modern era. They were not inevitable. They were chosen, defended, and built, often at great cost.
For sixty-five years, the Atlantic Council has stood in service of that inheritance. It has convened leaders and advanced ideas, and strengthened the ties that bind democracies together. It has worked not only to interpret the transatlantic relationship but to sustain it.
But as Abraham Lincoln reminded us in that Gettysburg Address, we cannot merely dedicate ourselves to words alone; we meet at this time of testing. The democratic model faces pressure from without and strain from within.
War has returned to Europe. Economic systems are being reconfigured. Technology is reshaping power. Alliances that once were taken for granted must now be actively renewed, and in such a moment it is not enough to recall the principles of the past. We must ask whether we are equal to them in the present.
Now, the Atlantic Council is uniquely positioned to meet this challenge, not because of what it says but because of what it does. It convenes across borders and sectors, bringing together governments, industry, and civil society to forge practical solutions where divisions might otherwise prevail.
It translates values into strategy whether strengthening transatlantic security, advancing economic resilience, or shaping the rules of emerging technologies take place. It expands the meaning of alliance, recognizing that the defense of democracy today requires partnerships that extend beyond geography, linking the Atlantic community with the like-minded nations around the world, and it invests in the future, elevating new leaders, new ideas, new frameworks capable of sustaining democratic cooperation in a changing century.
We gather at a moment that asks something more of us than commemoration. It asks for clarity, for purpose, and, above all, for dedication.
Yet, even this is not enough unless it is matched by renewed purpose, for we cannot dedicate this moment by ceremony alone. We cannot secure the future by invoking the past without acting in the present.
It is for us here, all of us, now, to be dedicated to this unfinished work, dedicated to renewing the bonds between democracies not as they were but as they must become; dedicated to ensuring that institutions reflect the realities of today’s world while remaining anchored in enduring principles; and dedicated to proving through action that democracy can deliver security, prosperity, and dignity in an age of competition; and dedicated above all to the belief that the alliance of free nations is not a relic of history but a necessity for the future.
So, as the United States approaches its 250th year, we are reminded that no democratic experience sustains itself. Each generation must choose it, strengthen it, and carry it forward. So, too, with the transatlantic alliance.
The Atlantic Council, drawing on sixty-five years of history, stands not at a conclusion but as a moment of renewal. The task before us is clear: to remember what was built, to reckon with what was being tested, and to dedicate ourselves fully without hesitation to the work that remains. Only then can we ensure that the principles first set forth in a time of crisis will endure in our own and in the generations yet to come.
So, on this sixty-fifth anniversary of the Atlantic Council’s founding and some of the greatest periods of prosperity and peace the world has ever known, I say with heartfelt admiration, enormous conviction, and great pride this is who we are at the Atlantic Council.
Ladies and gentlemen, that mission is greatly enriched by the remarkable leaders that we celebrate tonight. These are individuals who have led their own institutions in the pursuit of excellence guided by their conscience and character, and in so doing they’ve helped chart a course towards a more prosperous and a peaceful world.
Let me tell you about them.
From legacy to leadership, she transformed one of the world’s iconic banks, advancing its global reach while championing financial inclusion and a vision of capitalism that measures success not just in returns but in the lives that it improves.
From a fighter pilot to the highest ranks of allied command, he has brought strategic vision and intellectual rigor to the alliance’s most pressing challenges, standing watch over the waters and the values that bind us and our democracies together.
The son of the American West, he rose through the ranks to lead one of the world’s preeminent energy companies, navigating the competing demands of energy security and a sustainable future with a candor and a steadiness rare in any era.
And finally, a fiercely independent and enduring figure whose influence on American music and culture have shaped generations of artists and audiences alike, a trailblazer who reminds us that a rebellious spirit can take us to new heights.
Ladies and gentlemen, for their extraordinary contributions to business and military leadership, these are—and music—these are this year’s honorees.
So let me close by expressing my sincere appreciation for the evening’s co-chairs, the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors, our Board of International Advisors, all of our friends and our partners who are here this evening for your unwavering support. In solidarity we stand proven and ready to shape the global future together and to build a better world for all.
So now please turn your attention to the screen and we’ll begin with our first honoree. Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: And now a leader shaping the future of global journalism, please welcome Chief Executive of News Corp Robert Thomson.
ROBERT THOMSON: Thank you, Atlantic Council. Thank you all.
When we ponder the institutions that bring us together that are a crucial part of the actual and the virtual village square, there are few more enduring, more important than the bank. We all have a bank—well, most of us. I can see some people here with dodgy credit scores, but I’m not going to call you out. And that bank is a place of trust where funds are deposited and borrowed, and aspirations are made manifest.
We sometimes forget about the nature, the character of markets. They are actually the aggregation of hopes and dreams and desires, needs and wants and wishes—not some merely mediocre metric, not a soulless science, but living and breathing. And those markets, those aspirations, are dependent on banks and bankers, without whom the future would not be financed, would not be fashioned, would not be sculpted. And so it is imperative that these institutions, particularly the global institutions, be shepherded, be guided by persons of perception, persons of prescience, persons of principle.
We are fortunate that Santander is led by Ana Patricia Botín. And I am indeed fortunate to have the honor of introducing her. Ana is as proud of the bank’s provenance as she is as proud of its potential. She is investing in the bank’s physical heritage by restoring the original headquarters, Faro Santander, and expanding its cultural and community role in the region. That tells you much about her sense of responsibility, of her affinity, of her loyalty. She is also proud of her parentage, but let us be very clear. Her journey, her ascent has been very much her own.
She began working for a competitor. Let’s just say that Jamie Dimon may not have been leading JPMorgan for quite so long if Ana had stayed there. And she had left work—left Europe to work in the US and set out on an ambitious trajectory in a world that was more misogynistic than in our modern times. And yet, these times are still not without moments of misogyny. Despite that peripatetic professionalism, Spain is in the essence of her soul. And she has thoughtfully shared the journey with her husband, Guillermo, and their three sons. To see her in those unguarded moments, to sense her devotion both to cause and to family, is to witness a self-aware soul balancing the responsibilities of the personal and the professional.
It is amusing, having edited The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal to know that Ana had actually wanted to be a journalist. And one can imagine that she would have been an intrepid, relentless reporter, probably more broadsheet than tabloid. But journalism’s loss was surely banking’s gain. Ana’s ability to peer over the horizon is even more important, given that the contours of the social and commercial landscape are shifting so dramatically. She has an institutional intuition crafted from many years of concentrated creativity, an intuition essential in the age of AI, which is surfacing new opportunities, responsibilities, challenges. She listens, itself a sign of intelligent humility. The loquacious tend to learn less than the eloquently silent.
And we all have much to learn, given the advent of AI. And so what does AI actually stand for? Accrued interest? Asinine inclinations? Aberrant instincts? Artificial intelligence, or actual intelligence? Or even, Ana’s insights? Ana is motivated by a commitment to the potential of people, and to the potential of those people regardless of country, of class, of ethnicity, to create a flourishing society. A society that, like Ana, is cognizant of the lessons of the past but firmly focused on the potential of the future. And you cannot be a profound leader without setting higher standards for yourself than for others. And Ana is, assuredly, a profound leader.
So we rightly honor Ana. We honor her as a person and as a professional of principle. We honor her for what she has achieved and for what she surely will achieve. And now, please welcome our first 2026 Distinguished Business Leadership Award honoree, Ana Patricia Botín.
ANA BOTÍN: Thank you. Thank you very much for this award. And thank you, Robert, for those very kind words.
I want to start by saying that it’s an honor to share the stage with such distinguished winners, Mike Wirth, Admiral, also with Tanya Tucker. I’ve admired her songs for many years. When I heard she was being given an award, I listened to her songs again over the last few days. And there’s one that I found particularly inspiring, “Strong Enough to Bend.” It starts saying, “There is a tree in my backyard that never has been broken by the wind. And the reason it’s still standing, it was strong enough to bend.” And I thought those are profound words, whether you’re leading a country, an institution, for sure a financial system, as clearly it sounds, the title sounds, what in banking we’d call the result of a positive stress test. So it’s truly magnificent. I hope, Tanya, you’ll sing it for us later.
So, just a few words on what receiving this award has made me think about, and I’d like to highlight three leadership attributes that are important to me.
The first one, leaders are only as strong as their team. I would not be standing here today without the people around me, the Santander team—I don’t know where you are—whose commitment and energy drive everything we do; friends, including Robert, who have supported and challenged me; and above all, my family, my sons, and especially Guillermo, who has stood beside me every step of the way. Thank you to them all. Including Guillermo when I asked him to marry me over the phone many years ago. I was working for a competitor then.
The second principle I find important is that to lead is to embrace change. From day one, my mission has been to transform Santander. Our bank was founded in 1857 in the town where I was born, on the northern rainy coast of Spain, facing the Atlantic. So from the very beginning, we were an Atlantic bank, financing trade, connecting economies. And so as the world has changed, so have we.
Over the last almost 170 years, we have served many waves of transformation: electricity, the telephone, the computer, the internet, the smartphone. And we have lasted because we have changed, and that change has powered our growth.
Santander now bridges both the Atlantic and the Americas, from Manchester to Miami, Boston to Buenos Aires. We are helping people buy homes, insure autos, manage their savings. We’re financing businesses from startups to multinationals. And at a time when we have never needed such global bridges more, it is not just a pleasure to lead this bank: It is the privilege of a lifetime.
Today, we are one of the largest banks in the world where it matters most, customers. We have 180 million customers globally. As I could not resist telling President Trump last year, that’s more than JPMorgan or Bank of America. Wait. Actually, more than both together. And now we’re expanding our operations here in the United States, investing more, employing thousands, and serving millions.
But it is not just a question of size. From day one, my mission has been to change the way Santander does banking. As you heard on the video, I’ve always said deliver the numbers. Believe me, it’s important, but deliver them the right way. What that means for us today is to invest for the future, invest in technology, putting technology and people at the heart of this change. So as customers change where and how they talk to us, we change with them.
We have today—we set up a digital bank called Openbank. It’s now the largest digital bank in Europe by deposits. It’s now live across the United States. It offers a 4 percent high-yield account, by the way. I could not resist that. There’s too many people in the room and it takes three minutes to open the account. That’s it.
At the dawn of the AI era, the real question for all of us is not where we come from, but what will we choose to become?
That brings me to the third quality of leadership, which is being bold by balancing risk and responsibility. So you might think that I’m talking about myself. I am not, because a good leader sees and enables boldness in others—not recklessness, but the right mix of prudence and risk-taking. I ask this of my team, because to remain relevant to our customers we need to get that balance right, a balance that will always sit at the heart of banking.
Sometimes as regulators and supervisors are no doubt tired of hearing me say, there is no reward without risk and that ultimately is what I love about banking, why I love leading a bank, because by getting that balance right we help people change their lives. Buy a house. Get a car to get them to work. Start a company. Grow a company.
And I have to say that that is one of the things I have always loved about America and why Santander is expanding here and will expand further has been such an important part, and will be, of our story, because nobody does entrepreneurship like America.
From the very beginning, this country has been a big, exciting gamble on the future. From that first great act of political entrepreneurship 250 years ago, the calculated risk of independence, the American spirit has embraced change in a relentless quest to make tomorrow better than today.
So in our turbulent world where it is easy to lose faith in progress, let us never forget that the future has yet to be written and we are the writers. At the dawn of the AI era, the real question for all of us is not where we come from but what will we choose to become.
Thank you very much.
ANNOUNCER: And now a distinguished military leader and former Supreme Allied Commander Europe who brings decades of global strategic experience to the private sector, please welcome General Christopher Cavoli.
CHRISTOPHER CAVOLI: Well, thank you so much.
Good evening, everybody. Congratulations on another great night at the Atlantic Council.
Thank you to the Atlantic Council for continuing the important work that you do for our transatlantic relationship. It’s never been needed as much as it is right now.
We’re here tonight to celebrate great leaders in that transatlantic community and it is my honor to present one of them tonight. The awardee is a remarkable leader. He’s a naval officer from a long line of naval officers. He’s an admiral of the French navy. His military skill and bravery as a young officer were already clear. He was first to be admitted to his naval academy class, and then he was its top graduate.
He was a naval aviator from the beginning. He flew combat missions in the Super Étendard and the incomparable Rafale. He has commanded everything the French Navy has—a squadron of jet fighters, the frigate Surcouf, the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. He was the front and center in every single major combat action of the last thirty years—the first Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq. Decorated for valor, his excellence was recognized and renowned. And to no one’s surprise, he rose through the ranks until he became the chief of the French Navy. He served there for three years, and he became known as a world-class military thinker and innovator.
A year and a half ago he took command of Allied Command Transformation, supreme allied commander. He never missed a step and immediately began to transform our alliance’s forces in the same way we have seen him do throughout his career. This has been critical, and it will be critical to safeguard us in the years to come. This gentleman’s leadership, his vision, his never-ending energy, these are one of the greatest deterrents our alliance has. If there is one officer who will make this alliance ready for the future, it is this man. I respect him. I admire him. And I’m proud to call him my friend. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 2026 Atlantic Council military leader of the world, Admiral Pierre Vandier.
ADMIRAL PIERRE VANDIER: So, Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, if I was told one day I would be there, I would have never believed it. It’s a great privilege to stand before you this evening and to receive this award alongside three leaders who have so profoundly shaped their field, from banking, the energy sector, and the music industry. And I’m particularly thankful to be introduced by my friend and former comrade in arms, Chris, with whom I had the honor of leading the alliance military structure. As supreme allied commander Europe, he played a pivotal role in spearheading the history of all of NATO defense plans, ensuring that our alliance is prepared and ready to deter, to defend, and to win. And I am most grateful for his mentorship when I first assumed office as allied commander transformation, in a period of profound change in the transatlantic alliance.
From Mons, Belgium to Norfolk, Virginia, the synergy between these two strategic commands allows the alliance to remain fit for fight, tonight and tomorrow. When ACT was commissioned in 2003, its role was defined as ensuring that the Atlantic alliance can continue to defend the security and interests of its members against threats and challenges which we cannot even imagine today. That looked like a little bit a smoke-shaping job. Twenty-three years later we are today at a critical juncture in the history of our alliance as we navigate a security environment that is never as fragmented as it is today, congested, and contested.
Ukraine is entering its fifth year of bloody war with a Russia that continues to spread its internal anger and aggressiveness outside its own borders. What did not happen with USSR is now happening under our eyes. So it’s not anymore as smoke-shaping we have to do. We need to deliver the warfighting for tomorrow. And tomorrow is tomorrow; it’s not in ten years.
While new threats are proteiform and their borders are opaque, the one weapon that ACT has consistently put forward has always been transformation of the alliance capabilities because, as it was clear from its inception, if NATO does not adapt it means to tomorrow’s new threats it will condemn itself to demise.
War is a living beast. Freedom is not a stable status. And as you say in the US, ours is the land of the free because it’s the home of the brave. So—yeah. The home of the brave. And I would say quite the same of my predecessor—is a brave man.
So the new is now, and transformation is not the future. It’s now. It’s the present. And as General Dan Caine, which is today the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said: “If not now, when? If not us, who?”
So we are back to the future with three main priorities. We have to develop the new capabilities our nations need to keep the enemy out, to deter, and if necessary to defeat very badly on our terms and not his. That endeavor requires foresight and bolder action—and transatlantic cooperation. Thank you for the Atlantic Council to make this today alive.
Second, we need to invent a new way of fighting. The question you raised about democracy is exactly the same about warfighting. The question each generation has to answer is how do we win the war to come and not only mimic the one we waged before. It’s a question of mindset and intellectual openness. It’s made very complex after three decades of relative stability and uncontested military edge.
Third—and I think it’s the most complex thing to do—it’s to make all these efforts coherent for thirty-two nations—not only thirty Europeans; thirty-two nations. As Churchill said, there is one thing worse than fighting with allies; it’s fighting without them. Remember that. And I think some people may imagine what it is for a Frenchman to quote a UK man. It means they are right. They are right. It is what we call interoperability. Everyone may think it’s a technical issue; it’s not. It’s just as much or more a cultural issue. Doing something together requires a common language, common goals, common values. And the Article 2 of the treaty makes explicit mention of these cornerstone, and it’s what we experience tonight.
If NATO does not adapt it means to tomorrow’s new threats, it will condemn itself to demise.
Each moment in history brings its own challenges, and we are the heirs of the foresight of the past generations. That was planted as a seed in 1949 has now become a leafy tree with a common trunk of shared interests and values, each country being a branch bearing the fruits of increased defense spending and more innovative capability development. These fruits have yet to ripen and will demand the same vision, dedication, and perseverance shown by those who acted so boldly decades ago.
Being in this scene nearly day for day seventy-seven years after the delegation of the twelve first members signed the North Atlantic Charter is very moving. I can say with conviction that the roots of this tree run deep. This alliance has done great work. Its enemies—and we need to not forget that—its enemies relentlessly try to tear it down because they know how easy the case would be, would the alliance disappear.
Beyond my person honored tonight, it is NATO which is honored in its common endeavor of transforming the alliance to keep it relevant for the storms to come. And now, though headwinds may hold, NATO endures. And I will quote the same song of the third and the next awardee. As Ms. Tucker says, “That is strong enough to bend, but has never been broken by the wind.” Yeah. Never be broken by the wind. We will prevail. I thank you.
(Dinner break)
FREDERICK KEMPE: Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you all. There’s a particularly rowdy table right in front of me here. I just want to ask them to quiet down, if you could. Quiet down. Before we start anything else, I’d like everyone in the room to give a big round of applause to Robert Pullen, Nouveau Productions, and Luke Frazier and the amazing American Pops Orchestra.
Tonight, we mark two anniversaries that really truly belong together. The United States celebrates its 250th birthday. And sometimes this just passes our lips. We say it. We don’t really think inside what it means. Two and a half centuries of our great democratic experiment, imperfect and unfinished, but perhaps still one of the most inspiring and consequential acts of self-governance in human history. And the Atlantic Council is turning sixty-five.
Founded in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy in his first months in office, his Secretary of State—by the way, John F. Kennedy, age forty-three, youngest president ever elected, replaces the oldest president we ever had, who was Dwight D. Eisenhower—who was quite young by today’s standards. But John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of State Dean Rusk summoned former Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Republican; Christian Herter, a Democrat; and several others—Henry Cabot Lodge, Lucius Clay, Mary Pillsbury Lord—to the seventh floor of the State Department, and he urged America’s disparate groups of Atlanticists founded after the creation of NATO in 1949 to create a more unified and powerful voice before the Cold War’s challenges caught them unprepared, and for sixty-five years the Atlantic Council has been that voice.
In that room on the seventh floor on that day in 1961, Secretary Rusk warned those who founded the Atlantic Council that they were facing a world in which the United States had lost its nuclear monopoly over the Soviet Union and, without that, the Soviet blockade of Berlin in 1948 could not have been broken.
He warned them that they were facing a world in which the US was losing the competition for hearts and minds in the developing world because Soviet communism was way ahead of us at that point, and he also warned them that it was a world in which it was facing a Berlin crisis which, if mishandled, would change the course of history.
The Atlantic Council was here when the Berlin Wall went up and we were there when it came down. We were here through the US detente with the Soviet Union and through Soviet collapse, through the enlargement of NATO and the European Union, and through the misguided post-Cold War optimism that the battle for freedom had been decided.
It was said—Francis Fukuyama wrote it—that history had ended, but we’ve learned that history never ends. It must continually be shaped. And that’s why we’re here this evening—we have agency.
We were here after September 11th when NATO invoked Article 5 common defense—all for one, one for all—for the first and only time in its history, calling on allies to rally to the support of the United States.
The Atlantic Council was here when Russia brought war back to the European—to European soil in February of 2022. And we’re here now as conflict continues to rage in Europe, challenges in the Middle East, and as the global order faces its most serious test in decades and the very idea of the West as a coherent, confident community of nations is being tested. It’s uncertain. The very nature and purpose of US global leadership as it has expressed itself over the last eighty years is fundamentally in question. America, at 250, is being asked the same questions it has been asked at moments of maximum pressure.
We’ve learned that history never ends. It must continually be shaped. And that’s why we’re here this evening—we have agency.
Are we ready to build upon this great 250-year-old experiment of American democracy and international common cause in the last eighty years since World War II that has been at the heart of the Atlantic Council’s founding purpose of shaping the global future along partners and allies? In its sixty-fifth year the Atlantic Council’s answer is, yes, we are ready.
And thanks to so many of you in this audience our organization has never been financially, operationally, or substantively stronger. At the time when we’re most tested this organization is most ready.
Across sixteen programs and centers we are galvanizing game-changing work on energy, on security, on technology, on freedom and prosperity, on regional work across the globe, on Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Eurasia, and China, and that scratches the surface. Our teams are uniquely dynamic, results-oriented, nimble, collegial, applying their expertise to real-world problems at the speed in which the world operates and with the depth required to address its problems. Our teams wake up every morning not saying we’re competing with anybody else; we wake up in the morning saying, how we can we—how can we be relevant today? How can we shape the future in a more positive way this morning and this week and this month and this year?
Our work has never been more significant: The papers we publish, the ideas we generate, the policies we promote, the future leaders we develop, and perhaps most important of all the communities we build—which you all in this room represent. We confront an inflection point just as significant as the periods after World War I, World War II, and the Cold War, when the decisions and actions of American leaders and their international partners had outsized and generational consequences.
The founders of the Atlantic Council believed, as President Reagan once said, quote, “If our fellow democracies are not secure, we cannot be secure.” That belief lives on tonight through our work and the contributions of so many of you.
So, with that, ladies and gentlemen, turn your attention to the screens for a tribute to the—America’s 250th birthday and the Atlantic Council’s sixty-fifth anniversary.
FREDERICK KEMPE: That video captures something that words rarely can: the sweep of history and the privilege of being part of it. We are all agents of history—sixty-five years of presidents and prime ministers, generals, Nobel laureates, voices that shaped the world around our shared mission of shaping the global future together with partners and allies.
What you just saw is so much more than a highlight reel. You should have seen all the parts of videos that we took out of this. It is a record of consequence, of what happens when America and allies commit together to shaping the global future than simply reacting to it. It has been two-and-a-half centuries since a group of improbable revolutionaries declared that self-governance was not a fantasy but a human right. The republic they built has never been without its contradictions, never—it’s never been without its crises. It’s never been without its moments of doubt. But it has endured because in each of those moments men and women chose engagement over retreat, partnership over isolation, the difficult work of building something lasting over the seductive comfort of walking away. The Atlantic Council was born of that same instinct.
So none of that would be possible without the engagement of our entire global community, but particularly the engagement represented by partners in this room. So among that distinguished group is a select group of some thirty-six individuals and companies who we want to salute this evening as our Distinguished Leadership Award co-chairs. We never had so many. You’ve seen their names and faces on your screens across the evening, and so direct your attention to the screens again as you see their names and faces again, as we recognize more than three dozen co-chairs whose generosity has made tonight, and so much of our work throughout the year, possible. So I would ask the co-chairs of this evening to please stand right now, so the audience can join me in thanking you with a round of applause.
And, as has become traditional at this evening, I want the leaders of the Atlantic Council community to stand. And hold your applause until I ask them all to stand, and then please applaud. I’d like the board members of the Atlantic Council, the International Advisory Board members of the Atlantic Council, and in particular the remarkable and indomitable staff of the Atlantic Council. It’s such an honor to work with all of you. Please stand till we can applaud you. I’m not as young as I once was, and I never have worked with a better team.
Now, please turn your attention to the screens as we salute our next honoree for this evening.
ANNOUNCER: And now, a leader with a distinguished career across global business and diplomacy, please welcome Vice Chairman and President of Strategic Growth at Mastercard Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.
JON M. HUNSTMAN, JR.: What a treat—new friends and old friends, just like the old days. But ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests and friends of the Atlantic Council, it is really an honor and privilege to be here with you tonight. I’ve spent a good part of my life in public service, governing at home, and representing the country abroad. And if there is one lesson that stays with you, it is this: In uncertain times, the institutions and leaders we can count on matter more than ever. Leadership—that strengthens economies, steadies alliances, and, when it’s done right, lifts communities—isn’t a talking point, it’s a necessity.
So tonight, it’s my honor to introduce Mike Wirth, chairman and CEO of Chevron, as the recipient of the Atlantic Council’s Distinguished Business Leadership Award. Now, when you’ve sat across the table from foreign ministers and heads of government, as I have, you learn quickly that energy is never just about supply and demand. It’s about national security, economic stability, and the strength of the partnerships that hold the world together. Mike has guided a great American company through a period of real volatility—geopolitical shocks, market swings, and the fast-moving demands of the energy transition—while keeping a clear focus on performance, safety, and long-term responsibility.
Under his leadership, Chevron has advanced lower-carbon initiatives, delivered results for shareholders, and maintained a reputation for seriousness and competence that matters in any era, especially this one. But titles and quarterly numbers don’t tell you what you really need to know about a leader. You see, what sets Mike apart is how he shows up—steady, prepared, and respectful of the people doing the work. I’ve watched leaders in crisis rooms and capital cities fall in love with their own rhetoric. The best ones do the opposite. They get quiet. They get disciplined. And they get serious about the facts.
I remember an early conversation where the discussion drifted, as board conversations sometimes do, into big theories about what should happen next. Mike brought us back, without a hint of drama, to first principles. Protect people, tell the truth about the facts, and make decisions you can defend in daylight. That kind of steadiness is rare. And it’s contagious. As a member of Chevron’s board, I’ve had the chance to work with Mike up close. And I’ve seen that steadiness firsthand. It shows up in the way he listens before he speaks, and in the way he insists on plain language when the stakes are high. Mike doesn’t pretend to have easy answers. He asks the right questions about employees, about partners, about the countries and the communities touched by the decision. And he considers not just what is profitable, but what is responsible. That is leadership with a moral compass.
So tonight, as we honor Mike Wirth, we’re recognizing more than a record of achievement. We’re recognizing character, a leader who earns trust, empowers teams, and understands that the strongest institutions are built on service—service to employees, to customers, to communities, and to country. The Atlantic Council has long recognized leaders who strengthen the foundations of our common security and prosperity. Mike is very much in that tradition. So, ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating him as a recipient of this year’s Distinguished Business Leadership Award.
MIKE WIRTH: All right. Well, first of all, Jon, thank you for those very kind words, and more so for your leadership and friendship. I am honored to be introduced by someone who has devoted his career to public service and to strengthening America’s engagement in the world. I’m also honored to be recognized alongside Ana Botín, Admiral Pierre Vandier, and Tanya Tucker—long-time fan, going back to “Delta Dawn,” “Lizzie and the Rainman.” I’m not going to sing, Tanya, but I’m waiting to hear it. I congratulate each of you on this well-deserved honor.
I also want to thank the Atlantic Council. As you just heard, for more than six decades the Council has brought together leaders from government, business, and civil society to foster dialogue, strengthen alliances, and advance solutions to the world’s toughest challenges.
At a time marked by geopolitical uncertainty, technological acceleration, and rising demands on global energy systems, the need for serious, sustained collaboration has never been greater. Not just dialogue but alignment. Not just ideas but action. Not just ambition but results.
Chevron is proud to support the Council’s work. We share a belief that progress depends upon collaboration across borders, across sectors, across differences. I’m proud to accept this award on behalf of the men and women of Chevron working every day in more than 180 countries to deliver affordable and reliable energy to a growing world.
At a time marked by geopolitical uncertainty, technological acceleration, and rising demands on global energy systems, the need for serious, sustained collaboration has never been greater.
They do so with purpose and integrity, often in complex environments, helping strengthen energy security, expand economic opportunity, and enabling human progress. Their work powers modern life, strengthens communities, and sustains global prosperity.
I could not be prouder of what they accomplish every single day.
Now, I also know that no leader accomplishes anything alone. Leadership isn’t about position or title. It’s about responsibility and trust. It’s about building teams, investing in them over time, and earning their confidence, especially when conditions are uncertain and stakes are high. It requires judgment, humility, and the discipline to remain anchored on values that endure.
The Atlantic Council exemplifies that kind of leadership—principled, informed, and forward looking. You convene when others divide, you clarify when others confuse, and you help turn insight into impact.
I’m humbled to join the distinguished group of past honorees who have helped shape the global order. In a world that’s more connected and more contested than ever before, institutions like this matter now more than ever.
As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it’s worth remembering that America’s greatest strength has always been its ability to renew itself and to lead not alone but in partnership with others. That spirit of renewal and shared responsibility is exactly what is required now.
Thank you again for this award, for your partnership, and for the vital work you do every day. It’s a privilege to be part of this community and to accept this honor on behalf of Chevron’s people around the world.
Thank you.
ANNOUNCER: And now the visionary philanthropist behind the Atlantic Council’s Latin America Center and the National Security Resilience Initiative, please welcome the Atlantic Council’s executive vice chair, Adrienne Arsht.
ADRIENNE ARSHT: “I’ve got tears in my ears from laying on my back in my bed while I cry over you.” That’s a real country music song.
The best lines are from country music. Here’s another one: “How can I miss you if you won’t go away?”
And my favorite, as many of you may understand: “These boots are made for walkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are going to walk all over you.”
Only country music can make us laugh out loud, stop in our tracks, or cause us to break down in tears. It’s a genre of music that brings back memories of love and loss, and often says the things we couldn’t quite put into words ourselves. At their best, they tell stories that reflect who we are and what we’re feeling. And it assures me that I am not the first to suffer whatever it is and I won’t be the last.
Tonight we are honoring one of the finest country music performers who has ever shaped and define that soundtrack. Tanya Tucker has never shied away from honest in her music or in her life. Her career has been extraordinary, but not without challenges. There were moments when she stepped away from the spotlight, faced personal struggles that might have ended another artist’s career. But resilience—which is something about which I care deeply—is not about perfection. In fact, quite the contrary: Resilience is perseverance in the face of imperfect circumstances. It is the road that helps you find your way back from the darkness. And Tanya did just that, returning to music with even greater depth, strength, and authenticity, not in spite of her journey but because of it.
And what makes Tanya’s artistry so powerful is that it comes from a place of pure human emotion, something country music has always done better than almost any other genre. It’s about that universal feeling of being so deeply in love that you become entwined with someone else, a feeling country music returns to again and again, because it plucks at the heartstrings as well—as we all recognize. It’s all there—love, loss, learning—wrapped up in lyrics, a powerful voice, and chords that somehow always feel familiar.
And while her legacy includes iconic hits, numerous Grammys and Country Music Awards, and a voice that continues to define country music, there is one other achievement that I think says it all. She has been immortalized in the lyrics of a country music anthem. In “Redneck Woman,” there is the line “I know all the words to every Tanya Tucker song.”
Now, that, Tanya, is an achievement. That’s not just fame. That’s legends status. So tonight we celebrate not just an icon, but also a legend, a storyteller, who has helped so many of us feel seen, heard, and understood. It is my pleasure to present the Artistic Distinguished Leadership Award to the one and only Tanya Tucker.
TANYA TUCKER: My goodness. Man, my jacket—stretching up so far. I got to take it off. It’s just hot in here. Well, thank you so much. Those made me tear up. I don’t really know what to say. It’s been a really moving night for me this evening. You know, as I arrived in Washington, DC this morning I was struck by the sight of the Lincoln and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. You know, these monuments reminded me of the great leaders who sacrificed their lives so that everyone could have an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream. In this city, standing in their shadows, yeah, I’m a little hesitant to call myself a leader. But I’m proud and humble and honored to stand before you tonight—wow—and accept this award. Not just for myself, but for all the men and women who have fought and died for something greater than themselves, and made it possible for me.
I think I’m an example of the American dream. You know, when I was thirteen my dad took me to Nashville. And I recorded my very first record, “Delta Dawn.” And nothing was going to stop him. He was the hero and the leader of mine that I could touch. And he was my dad, but he went to work for me when I was nine, and he never stopped. And I hear him more now than I ever did. And I miss him, you know? I want him to be a part. He’s a big part of this award. And I want him to accept it with me. But thank you so much, Atlantic Council. Adrienne, I love you so much. Those words—you know, I can take a kick in the butt, but I can’t take a compliment. It’s really hard for me.
Great leaders . . . sacrificed their lives so that everyone could have an equal opportunity to achieve the American dream
But I say—I will say, flight to Washington, DC, $1,500. A room at the Waldorf-Astoria, $3,500. But an award by the Atlantic Council is priceless. Thank you so much. I love you very much. The band! Now we can all do a little chorus of a song that was—what, has been fifty-four years now—’67, ‘68?
(Singing) Delta dawn, what’s that flower you have on? Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? And did I hear you say he was meeting you here today to take you to his mansion in the sky?
I love you so much. Thank you.
ADRIENNE ARSHT: And now, to close out our evening and pay tribute to this rather extraordinary legend, we have an incredible young singer who is already on her way to the absolute top. She topped the charts with the number-one top country music album. And she was the winner of NBC’s “The Voice.” If you all would sit down—we will all welcome Cassadee Pope.
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Image: The honorees of the 2026 Atlantic Council Distinguished Leadership Awards gather at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, DC on April 23, 2026.