Omidyar Network today announced that Michele L. Jawando will lead as its new president, furthering the organization’s mission of helping to steer the digital revolution in service of shared power, prosperity, and possibility. Michele brings a wide range of experience to her new role, including work at the intersection of law, government, nonprofit leadership, community advocacy, and the private sector. In this new role, Michele will oversee Omidyar Network’s updated organizational strategy to hardwire humanity into our digital future.
We are immensely proud to have Michele as our president,” said Omidyar Network CEO Mike Kubzansky. “Michele has long been a valued member of our leadership team, and her unique background and cross-sectoral track record make her the perfect fit to lead this new chapter. With her combined experience in policy making, inside one of the leading tech firms, and as a partner to other philanthropies, Michele is ideally suited to steer the ship at this key moment in our organizational history.”
Omidyar Network’s updated strategy—first announced last July—builds on the organization’s 20-year legacy and more than $1.94 billion of investments in both nonprofit grants and for-profit ventures since its inception. With this strategic evolution, Omidyar Network is using all tools at its disposal, including its tech fluency and foresight, expansive ‘big tent’ approach, and broad investment toolkit, to meet this critical turning point in the digital revolution.
Going forward, the organization will engage, partner, and fund companies and leaders to elevate humanity’s voice in digital technology. Omidyar Network will work specifically across three interrelated drivers of our digital future:
- The culture of tech: Investing in new coalitions, cultural and narrative change, storytellers, and media that shifts how people understand and engage with technology; and emphasizing stories focused on hope, abundance, and security.
- Investment priorities include supporting independent tech journalism and working with writers, photographers, directors, musicians, publishers, and other creatives to elevate under-told stories about technology’s influence. We will work to amplify emerging voices—including families, people of faith, working Americans, veterans, artists, entrepreneurs, investors, and others—to help form a new collective voice on technology issues. This will broaden who is viewed as a tech expert and bring new voices to bear on our debates on digital technology’s role in our lives.
- The governance of tech: Supporting individuals, coalitions, and non-profit institutions working to modernize and strengthen tech policy multilaterally, federally, and in key US states; and protecting public interest in areas like competition, privacy, data ownership and use, safety, inclusion, and how technology affects work and workers.
- Investment priorities include boosting online safety and privacy; ensuring open, competitive technology marketplaces; building digital public infrastructure; expanding access to compute, data, and other tools; ensuring individuals retain agency in their relationship to AI and other tech; fostering innovation and competition, e.g.via R&D; articulating and updating liability frameworks for tech; and establishing rights and protections for workers, innovators, and creators.
- The business of tech: Investing in companies developing responsible AI and guardrails; mobilizing and educating investors to be thoughtful about how they invest in AI; and working to ensure that as AI rolls out in the workforce, it augments wages and roles and allows working Americans to share in the prosperity they are helping to create.
- Investment priorities include working directly with tech companies and their employees to advance responsible practices; advising startups on sustainable, pro-social strategies critical to long-term responsible growth; providing capital to mission and safety-driven disruptive companies; working with investors, researchers, business networks, and industry leaders to define a higher standard for corporations in the digital age; investing in talent to work in tech incumbents, startups, and government who can help bring new perspectives to bear on product development and other priorities; and supporting tech companies and networks focused on inclusive innovation and responsible leadership.
I am thrilled to take on this role at Omidyar Network, especially at such a pivotal moment in the push for a more responsible, inclusive, and innovative digital future,” said newly-appointed President Michele L. Jawando. “I step into this position with deep optimism about technology’s power to serve humanity, and the belief that we have a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future. I am honored to lead this organization, with a brilliant team of leaders and a wide-ranging network of partners at the vanguard of innovation, ideas, and markets. I look forward to building on the extraordinary legacy at Omidyar Network and helping shape the visionary future we imagine.”
Prior to her time at Omidyar Network, Michele held executive roles at Google, led strategic initiatives at the Center for American Progress, and served as General Counsel to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and counsel to Rep. Gregory Meeks. Throughout her career, she has focused on the importance of centering humanity in technology, helping shape a digital future rooted in shared power, opportunity, and mutualistic values.
In addition to Michele’s appointment, Anamitra Deb will serve as the organization’s new senior vice president of programs and policy, and Gretchen Phillips will serve as senior vice president of strategic partnerships and chief operations officer. Michele will report to Mike Kubzansky, who will continue in his role as CEO and shift his focus to engage on a set of key partnerships with other public, philanthropic, and private sector funders in the service of Omidyar Network’s updated mission. Alexis Krieg is available to speak with media interested in exploring Michele’s new role as president.