Annual closed-door gathering brings global leaders together to discuss key geopolitical and economic challenges under strict confidentiality rules.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The 72nd Bilderberg Meeting opened Thursday in Washington, D.C., bringing together political leaders, business executives, and policy experts for a series of private discussions on global security, economic trends, and emerging technologies.
According to the group’s official website, the conference is being held from April 9 through April 12 and is conducted under the Chatham House Rule, which allows participants to use information discussed but prohibits identifying speakers or attributing remarks to specific individuals.
“The Meeting is a forum for informal discussions about major issues,” the organization states on its site. “The Meetings are held under the Chatham House Rule, which states that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s) nor of any other participant may be revealed.”
Organizers also note that attendees participate in a personal capacity rather than as official representatives of their governments or institutions. “Thanks to the private nature of the Meeting, the participants take part as individuals rather than in any official capacity… There is no detailed agenda, no resolutions are proposed, no votes are taken, and no policy statements are issued,” the group states.
This year’s meeting comes amid heightened global tensions, including ongoing conflict involving Iran and concerns over disruptions to energy markets and international shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz. Broader geopolitical issues, including transatlantic relations and defense coordination, are also expected to be central to discussions.
A participant list for the 2026 gathering has been published below and on the organization’s meeting page, though the substance of discussions will remain undisclosed.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS 2026
Abrams, Stacey (USA), CEO, Sage Works Production
Alverà, Marco (ITA), Co-Founder, zhero.net; CEO, TES
Applebaum, Anne (USA), Staff Writer, The Atlantic
Auchincloss, Murray (GBR), Former CEO, BP plc
Barroso, José Manuel (PRT), Chair International Advisors, Goldman Sachs International
Bartosiewicz, Adam (POL), Vice President, WB Group
Baudson, Valérie (FRA), CEO, Amundi SA
Berg, Caroline (SWE), CEO, Axel Johnson
Birol, Fatih (INT), Executive Director, International Energy Agency
Boël, Harold (BEL), CEO, Sofina
Bosek, Peter (AUT), CEO and Chief Retail Officer, Erste Group Bank AG
Bourla, Albert (USA), Chair and CEO, Pfizer Inc.
Budliger, Helene (CHE), State Secretary for Economic Affairs
Burgum, Douglas (USA), Secretary of the Interior
Busch, Roland (DEU), President and CEO, Siemens AG
Calviño, Nadia (INT), President, European Investment Bank
Cantell, Aaro (FIN), Chair, Normet Group
Castries, Henri de (FRA), President, Institut Montaigne
Cavendish, Camilla (GBR), Member House of Lords
Chambers, Jack (IRL), Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Reform and Digitalisation
Christiansen, Jeppe (DNK), CEO, Maj Invest group
Clark, Jack (USA), Co-Founder and Head of Public Benefit, Anthropic PBC
Colao, Vittorio (ITA), Vice Chair EMEA, General Atlantic Service Company LP
Collison, Patrick (IRL), CEO, Stripe
Döpfner, Mathias (DEU), Chair and CEO, Axel Springer SE
Driscoll, Daniel P. (USA), Secretary of the Army
Economy, Elizabeth (USA), Hargrove Senior Fellow, Stanford University
Ek, Daniel (SWE), Chair, Spotify SA
Eriksen, Øyvind (NOR), President and CEO, Aker ASA
Escrivá, José Luis (ESP), Governor, Bank of Spain
Ferguson, Niall (USA), Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Stanford University
Foroohar, Rana (USA), Associate Editor, Financial Times
Freeland, Chrystia (CAN), Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine
Fürstenberg, Jeanette zu (DEU), Managing Director, General Catalyst
Georgieva, Kristalina (INT), Managing Director, IMF
Gil, Pilar (ESP), CEO, PRISA Media
Greer, Jamieson (USA), United States Trade Representative
Guttenberg, Karl-Theodor zu (DEU), Chair, Spitzberg Partners LLC
Harrington, Kevin (USA), Former Senior Director for Strategic Planning, National Security Council
Hassabis, Demis (GBR), Co-Founder and CEO, Google DeepMind
Heraty, Anne (IRL), Chair, Sherry Fitzgerald and IBEC
Hoffmann, André (CHE), Vice Chair, Roche Holding Ltd.
Horstmann, Uwe (DEU), CEO, Stark
Hunt, Colin (IRL), CEO, AIB Group plc
Jakobs, Roy (NLD), President and CEO, Royal Philips
Jetten, Rob (NLD), Prime Minister
Jonson, Pål (SWE), Minister for Defence
Kaag, Sigrid (NLD), Co-Chair Board of Directors, United Nations Foundation
Kagan, Kimberly (USA), President, Institute for the Study of War
Kamyshin, Oleksandr (UKR), Advisor to the President of Ukraine for Strategic Affairs
Karp, Alex (USA), CEO, Palantir Technologies Inc.
Kirtley, David (USA), CEO, Helion Energy
Koç, Ali (TUR), Vice Chair, Koç Holding
Kostrzewa, Wojciech (POL), President, Polish Business Roundtable
Kotkin, Stephen (USA), Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Kratsios, Michael (USA), Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chair, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Kravis, Marie-Josée (USA), Chair, The Museum of Modern Art
Kubilius, Andrius (INT), Commissioner Defence and Space, European Commission
Kudelski, André (CHE), Chair and CEO, Kudelski Group SA
Lammy, David (GBR), Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice
Laubenthal, Markus (INT), General and Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Leeuwen, Geoffrey van (INT), Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary General
Lescure, Roland (FRA), Minister for Economy, Finance and Industrial, Energy and Digital Sovereignty
Letta, Enrico (ITA), Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs
Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Chair, dsm-firmenich AG
Lighthizer, Robert (USA), Chair, Center for American Trade
Liikanen, Erkki (FIN), Chair, IFRS Foundation Trustees
MacGregor, Catherine (FRA), CEO Group, ENGIE
McCoy, Danny (IRL), CEO, Ibec
McGurk, Brett (USA), Global Affairs Analyst, CNN
McInnes, Ross (FRA), President, Safran Group
Meelby Jensen, Britt (DNK), CEO, Ambu A/S
Mensch, Arthur (FRA), Co-Founder and CEO, Mistral AI
Metreweli, Blaise (GBR), Chief, Secret Intelligence Service
Micklethwait, John (USA), Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP
Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
Moreira, Duarte (PRT), Co-Founder and CEO, Zeno Partners
Motzfeldt, Vivian (GRL), Former Minister of Foreign Affairs
Moura Guedes, Guta (PRT), Chair and Co-Founder, ExperimentaDesign
Murati, Mira (USA), CEO, Thinking Machines Lab
Nadal, Alberto (ESP), Shadow Economic Minister, Popular Party
Netherlands, H.M. the King of the (NLD),
Netherlands, H.M. the Queen of the (NLD),
Olechowski, Jacek (POL), Founder, Mediacap
Orszag, Peter R. (USA), CEO and Chair, Lazard
Özyeğin, Murat (TUR), Chair, Fiba Group
Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), Chair, TITAN SA
Paparo, Samuel (USA), Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command
Perryman, Skye (USA), President and CEO, Democracy Forward
Pierrakakis, Kyriakos (GRC), Minister of Economy and Finance
Pouyanné, Patrick (FRA), Chair and CEO, TotalEnergies SE
Rachman, Gideon (GBR), Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times
Rappard, Rolly van (NLD), Co-Founder and Chair, CVC Capital Partners
Roche, Nicolas (FRA), Secretary General, General Secretariat for Defence and National Security
Rovere, Silvia Maria (ITA), Chair, Poste Italiane S.p.A.
Rutte, Mark (INT), Secretary General, NATO
Sawers, John (GBR), Executive Chair, Newbridge Advisory Ltd.
Sbokou-Constantakopoulou, Costantza (GRC), UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador
Schadlow, Nadia (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
Scherf, Gundbert (DEU), Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Helsing GmbH
Schimpf, Brian (USA), Co-Founder and CEO, Anduril Industries
Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Executive Chair and CEO, Relativity Space Inc
Sedwill, Mark (GBR), Chair of Trustees, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Sewell, Terri (USA), Member of Congress
Sewing, Christian (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Bank AG
Shirzad, Faryar (USA), Chief Policy Officer, Coinbase
Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), Minister of Foreign Affairs
Sinirlioğlu, Feridun H. (TUR), Secretary General, OSCE
Smith, Brad (USA), Vice Chair and President, Microsoft Corporation
Smith, Jason (USA), Member of Congress
Stoltenberg, Jens (NOR), Minister of Finance
Stubb, Alexander (FIN), President of the Republic
Sutter, Petra De (BEL), Rector, Ghent University
Tangen, Nicolai (NOR), CEO, Norges Bank Investment Management
Tara, Mehmet (TUR), President and Chair, Enka Holding
Terekh, Iryna (UKR), CEO and CTO, Fire Point LLC
Thalhammer, Anna (AUT), Editor-in-Chief, Profil
Tucker, Mark (GBR), Chair, AIA Group Ltd
Valentini, Valentino (ITA), Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy
Valtonen, Elina (FIN), Minister of Foreign Affairs
Vassy, Luis (FRA), President, Sciences Po
Vestager, Margrethe (DNK), Chair, Danish Technical University
Wallenberg, Marcus (SWE), Chair, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB
Wang, Alexandr (USA), Chief AI Officer, Meta
Zakaria, Fareed (USA), Host, Fareed Zakaria GPS
Zarakol, Ayse (TUR), Professor of International Relations, University of Cambridge
Zeiler, Gerhard (AUT), President, Warner Bros. Discovery International
Zipse, Oliver (DEU), Chair, BMW AG
The organization released a list of discussion topics, presented alphabetically, covering a wide range of global issues. These include artificial intelligence, Arctic security, China, digital finance, energy diversification, Europe, global trade, the Middle East, Russia, the trans-Atlantic defense-industrial relationship, Ukraine, the United States, the future of warfare, and the broader Western alliance.
The meeting’s agenda reflects current international developments, including evolving economic conditions, military conflicts, and technological advancements. While the forum is intended to facilitate open dialogue among participants, its closed nature means that deliberations and viewpoints expressed during the sessions are not made public.
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