Live coverage

• June 4, 2026, 2:56 pm

  AI forces us to reassert human centrality, says President Aoun

  To kick off his headline speech in the British capital, Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun asks attendees for a show of hands. Compared to the Industrial Revolution, which began on these shores about 250 years ago, he asks attendees whether they believe that the impact of the AI Revolution will equal the Industrial Revolution? Or will today’s shift be greater still? 

  The votes are split, with some raising their hand twice – “cheating!” says Aoun. Today, it’s a great time to explore the profound difference between these two paradigmatic shifts. The Industrial Revolution put powerful new tools in the hands of humans but it remains an open discussion whether AI will simply augment our abilities. AI is the first entity of our creation that can act autonomously, make its own decisions, and define its own journey. As Silicon Valley researchers strive for superintelligent AI, which is “superior to us as human beings in all endeavours,” we must confront the power of AI not simply to augment human capabilities but to displace humans, he says.

  

  “We, as a society, are going to face a constant balancing act between AI agency and human agency,” he tells the full-house at BAFTA. “From this perspective, the role of humans is going to be called into question, and I believe that human centrality has to be reasserted and redefined in this changing environment.”

  Universities must likewise reassert and redefine their mission. “Our mission is very clear. Our mission is not to preserve knowledge and disseminate it. Our mission is to put the human beings at the centre again, which means that our education has to focus on each student and on the community of students,” he says. “We are also responsible for creating new discoveries that are going to augment human beings and not relegate them to the side.”

  — Matthew Ponsford

• June 4, 2026, 1:41 pm

  Data literacy is key for digital commerce, Mastercard CEO says 

  Following the panel “Human Leadership in the Age of AI” led by Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun, it’s time for “The Future of Technology and how the World Moves Money” with Young Global Leader Kathy Sun introducing Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach.

  2025 was a strong year for Mastercard, with net revenue of $32.8 billion, according to the company’s latest earnings report.

  “Twenty years ago, we were called a credit card company. Today, we are many things for different types of personas, the most global way to pay, given our license in China. We are also a platform that drives decisions for businesses. We are also an essential part of keeping the digital economy safe. When you see our brand, there is trust,” Miebach explains.

  “When you look at the future of digital commerce, agents will be used on our behalf. We will apply all this technology in the real world, around strategy, governance, and capability.”

  

  
  “When it comes to talent around AI, it is very important to have people with great data literacy and problem-framing skills; this is what we do with our employees. Coding is not really that useful anymore, but data literacy is,” Miebach says.

  For the Mastercard CEO, there is also a dual challenge between the approaches in Brussels and Washington, between a more regulatory and a more risk-taking approach, respectively.

  “It’s important to look at things in time. Ten years ago, people also felt that the world was complicated. It is important to distinguish between secular trends and cyclical trends. Secular trends do not change that much”.

  Geographically, there are different issues: in America, the issue is affordability, in Africa, it is access.

  When it comes to founding a company, Miebach explains that founders need to be driven by a plan, but also by what happens. 

  When it comes to AI, the CEO points out that the technology that moves money will keep changing, but what is not changing is the expectation: the technology must be safe, immediate, intuitive and simple. 

  — Angelo Boccato

• June 3, 2026, 4:23 pm

  Don’t erode trust with AI, warns Northeastern University London’s governor

  Brands that sell themselves on quality must think very carefully about how they use AI to promote products, warns Julietta Dexter, governor of Northeastern University London.

  Dexter is a branding expert with decades of experience working to develop luxury brands. When brands claim to represent “luxury and craftsmanship and artisanship,” customers are quick to call them out on social media for cutting costs on delivering content through generative AI, she explains.

  

  “In my world, Gucci, Valentino, Coca-Cola have had absolute pastings on socials,” says Dexter, CEO of Brand Potential, a strategic brand development agency. 

  In a wide-ranging discussion at Devon House, the center of Northeastern’s London campus, Dexter was joined in conversation with Peter Cameron, who has led key brands like Wedgewood and All-Cald, and John V. Pulichino, chair and CEO, Group III International, which has achieved over $5 billion in sales of SWISSGEAR travel gear and watches branded by the maker of Swiss Army knives.

  All agreed that AI is here to stay but marketing campaigns shouldn’t undermine trust built up over decades by respected brands. 

  • — Matthew Ponsford
• June 4, 2026, 1:29 pm

  Grad praises GLS for ‘conversation on AI that is not scary’

  The GLS is rolling, and before we find out who will win the Global Venture Forum Award (worth £100,000 in funding) and sit on the Funding Throne, let’s hear from another brilliant alum, Mariana Travlou.

  Travlou holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and psychology from Northeastern University.

  Back in 2024, she won a Women Who Empower Innovator Award from Northeastern University, and she is the founder of Nous Health, which is dedicated to empowering individuals through dedicated digital mental health support.

  The services offered by Nous Health include counseling, psychotherapy and life coaching.

  In Travlou’s view, an approach to lifelong education and connection is what makes Northeastern different, emerging from the crowd.

  Travlou says she attended the GLS because: “First of all, there are a lot of interesting people, and then there is a conversation on AI that is not scary.”

  The stories of Northeastern alumni are a truly global kaleidoscope of experiences … and now onward, a winner will be announced shortly, so stay tuned! 

  — Angelo Boccato

• June 4, 2026, 1:25 pm

  A truly global conversation on AI and its impacts

  Fresh from sharing the stage with President Joseph E. Aoun, Northeastern grad Kat Tse says she’s enjoyed the “thoughtful and thorough discussion” on AI and globalization throughout the summit. Tse put questions to Aoun about the role of AI in the arts and storytelling, and the two discussed the pursuits in which AI can’t match human ability but can “augment” our capabilities. 

  Toronto-born and Hong Kong-raised Tse graduated with a degree in communication studies from Boston in 2024, with a stop at Northeastern London during the spring of 2022. She says it’s always fun to catch up with other alums at events in Hong Kong and London: “It’s just incredible to see how global the institution is,” says Tse.

  

  Tse launched fashion wellness magazine Terms & Conditions during her time at Northeastern and the publication has continued to grow since graduation. The support of the alumni network has “not only made my career possible but made it possible for my business to expand,” she says. 

  In recognition of her work, she took home the Empowering Global Change Award from Northeastern University’s 2024 Women Who Empower Innovator Awards.

  • — Matthew Ponsford
• June 4, 2026, 9:56 am

  ‘The Noise Stops Here’

  A dazzling curtain-raiser to the big day as attendees found themselves engulfed in the pandemonium that accompanies today’s AI boom. As guests took their seats for day two of the Global Leadership Summit at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London, screens fell to cover the sunlit windows and digital headlines began lighting up the walls, representing the clashing views that greet AI, as a liberating superpower or malevolent force. 

  Finally, today’s message rang out loud and clear, emblazoned on the academy’s walls: “The Noise Stops Here.” Diane MacGillivray, senior vice president for University Advancement at Northeastern University, reminded the audience of the importance of today’s theme, the critical importance of human leadership in the age of AI. Welcoming guests, she asked everyone to seize one moment of quiet and reflection amid the noise and seek out “the voices you hear if you really listen,” she said.

  

  We carry many voices around with us, whether close friends and family or mentors and inspirational leaders we follow, she added. 

  Today’s headline speakers will offer new perspectives, including: Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard; Dame Emma Walmsley, former CEO of GSK; and Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group. But first – up next – is Northeastern University President Joseph E. Aoun, the person who “literally wrote the book on leadership in the Age of AI,.” she announced.

  “But maybe in the cacophony of chaos, the voice you have the hardest time hearing is your own,” MacGillivray said. “This is a conference that is for you.” With that, the day began. 

  — Matthew Ponsford

• June 3, 2026, 4:53 pm

  Enterprising projects in Northeastern’s global network 

  As the first day of the GLS concludes, it is time to take a look at the Global Showcase and what some Northeastern alumni, students and professors have been working on. 

  Khushi Shah is here to talk about Drizzle, a patent-pending smart irrigation system, while she is also competing for the Global Venture Forum Pitch Sessions’ award of £100,000.

  Drizzle’s idea came from a trip to India when Shah was 19 and she witnessed the impact of water scarcity. She chose irrigation because that is the sector where water is often wasted in the U.S.

  “Mapping Black London” is a project started in 2022 and focused on Charles Ignatius Sancho, abolitionist, writer, and composer born on a slave ship and sold into slavery in New Grenada. The project, which is the brainchild of London-based Northeastern history professor Olly Ayers and Boston-based professor Nicole Algae, has involved mapping London all around Ignatius Sancho’s life, where he lived and where he worked.

  Ranch Lab, by Northeastern alum Bella Wood, is focused on working with private landowners to set up lab incubators, as what she described as a sort of “Ranch think tank.”

  Hailing from nine generations of cattle ranchers, Wood’s family background is well-suited to her venture and she has family support. Her main takeaway of the day was Northeastern’s culture of Yes.

  For Natasha Davidson, an alum of Northeastern School of Management, the highlight of the day was listening to guidance from the founders in Northeastern’s version of “Dragon’s Den.” For Mohamed Kante, it was the embrace of Northeastern’s global  network.

  It’s a wrap for today. On Thursday, the GLS will start with Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun discussing “Human Leadership in the Age of AI.”

  — Angelo Bocatto 

• June 3, 2026, 4:52 pm

  A closing reminder of the entrepreneurial roots of the London campus 

  Richard D’Amore, chairman of the Board of Trustees, brought an end to the first day of the 2026 Global Leadership Summit by reminding attendees that the London campus itself is a product of the entrepreneurial vision of a handful of founders.

  Northeastern University London began life as New College of the Humanities, which was opened in 2011 by the philosopher A.C. Grayling, before becoming part of the Northeastern network in 2018. Since its partnership with Northeastern, it has grown from around 200 students to almost 2,000. 

  

  D’Amore recalls how he happened to be with President Joseph E. Aoun on the summer day 11 years ago when he toured the small campus of the New College of the Humanities, in Bloomsbury Square, in central London. “I said: ‘That’s a beautiful, quaint building. 
We’re going to have a nice, little, quaint school here,’” he laughs. “But they had a bigger vision, and, of course, organically, this has grown into just an amazing success.”

  Reflecting on that day, Aoun thanked Grayling, now principal of Northeastern University London. “He had a vision. He launched a college, a new college for the humanities, and what he wanted to do is think differently about education,” says Aoun. “And he saw the opportunity for us to work on his vision and to scale it up together. And he said, why don’t we partner together? And the rest is what you see today.”

  Today, that initial vision is evident in talks from Grayling and D’Amore, as well as a wide range of leaders from across the Northeastern network. As the evening networking begins, guests are left with the message that some connections spark many more. 

  • — Matthew Ponsford 
• June 3, 2026, 4:51 pm

  Real estate tech expert says: Know the pain points

  It’s a question that Julieta Moradei gets a lot: “Will AI come for my job?”

  Not so, she tells them.

  “You want to become an expert in your industry first and understand the pain points,” she said during a session on real estate, technology and impact during the Global Leadership Summit in London.

  Moradei is a Northeastern University graduate and founder of ArcCanvas, which helps developers and real estate leaders adopt technology. She spoke on a panel with Siena Corporation president and Northeastern Trustee Todd Manganaro and Northeastern Young Global Leader Eric Doroski.

  It’s with this knowledge that industry leaders can then wield the tools of AI to create solutions. And the construction industry is ripe with opportunities.

  “Construction is actually the largest industry vertical in the world,” she said. “Although we’re the biggest, we’re also the least innovative. We’re the last to adopt technology.”

  With a growing number of solutions, from assisting with the permitting process to 3D printing homes to analyzing data points to determine the best design, the challenge now is a willingness to adopt them.

  “You can have the best technology since sliced bread. If people are not adopting it, it goes nowhere,” she said.

  One fix for this is to establish a “technology orchestrator” who can address these “pain points” with a solution using AI, robotics or computational design.

  But that’s a matter of understanding “how we can upscale people,” she said, and not so much teaching a specific technology, but rather the methodology to find and implement solutions.
  “It’s not that we don’t have talented people,” she said. “It’s a lack of people who have the resources to jump in and understand what AI tools, what robotics tool matches with the pain point.”

  – Hannah Morse

• June 3, 2026, 4:49 pm

  For this CEO, success means marching to his own tune

  For Chaitanya “Chet” Kanojia, CEO of Starry Group Holdings, Inc, distinction has always mattered to him more than monetary success.  

  Speaking at the “Founder’s Perspective: What Building a Startup Actually Looks Like,” session, he clarifies that “By distinction, I don’t mean awards. I mean being different and marching to my own tune has been far more important to me than success or anything else.” 

  The technology CEO, whose company provides wireless internet infrastructure, learned that about himself early in his career, he told the gathered group. 

  That drive to stand out and take his own path might be partly why Kanoji tried his hand at creating several startups operating at the intersection of telecom and cable television, he shared.

  In those experiences, Kanojia learned quite quickly that many of the executives he worked with tended to be arrogant.

  But he also learned some valuable lessons from his investors, most notably how money worked. 

  For the first five years in one of the companies he was helping lead, his primary investor couldn’t understand how he was generating $5 million in cash when the company’s revenue was only $1 million, he recalled to the group.

  He noted that for many with a technical background, like himself, learning finance in the real world involves finding someone who can teach you the ropes. 

  That venture capitalist investor was that person for him, he says.

  “It’s not about learning it from a book,” he emphasized. “It’s about finding a great mentor who can teach you.” 

  – Cesareo Contreras

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