2026 Asness Summit Programming

Times and events are subject to change. Listed events are for registered Asness Summit attendees only.

Pre-Asness Summit Programming

10:00 AM -1:30 PM
Student Leadership Day

9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Faculty Academic Workshop Day

9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Executive Education Sampler

6:00-8:00 PM
Welcome to Nashville Reception

Country Music Hall of Fame

The Pinnacle Nashville

8:00-9:00 AM
Check-In and Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:15 AM
Moderator Welcome

Summit Moderator: Niloofar Howe, Special Advisor to the Chancellor, Vanderbilt University, Senior Operating Partner, Energy Impact Partners

9:15-9:30 AM
Opening Remarks: Daniel Diermeier, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University

9:30-10:30 AM
Opening Keynote Address: General Dan Caine, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

10:30-11:30 AM
Summit Panel: Weaponized Lifelines: Supply Chains as Gray Zone Battlegrounds

Session Chair: Lieutenant General Ed Cardon (Ret.)
Panelist: Dr. Kimberly Kagan, Founder & President, Institute for the Study of War

12:00-1:00 PM
Lunch and Keynote Address: Dan Wang, Research Fellow, Stanford Hoover Institution; NYT Bestselling Author

1:00-2:00 PM
Keynote Fireside Chat: Gina Raimondo, Distinguished Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce

2:00-3:00 PM
Networking Break

3:00-4:00 PM
Summit Panel: Perception is Power: Winning the Cognitive Battlespace Beneath the Illusion of Peace

Session Chair: Gillian Tett, Provost, King’s College, Cambridge, Columnist and Editorial Board Member, Financial Times
Panelist: Brett Goldstein, Special Advisor to the Chancellor, Vanderbilt University
Panelist: Julian Barnes, Journalist, New York Times; Fellow, Vanderbilt Institute of National Security
Panelist: Brett Benson, Associate Professor, Political Science and Asian Studies, Vanderbilt University

4:00-4:55 PM
Closing Keynote and Fireside Chat

4:55-5:00 PM
Closing of Day One

5:00-7:00 PM
Reception

The Pinnacle Nashville

8:00-9:00 AM
Check-In and Continental Breakfast

9:00-9:15 AM
Moderator Welcome

Summit Moderator: Tiffiny A. Tung, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Vanderbilt University Department of Anthropology

9:15-10:15 AM
Opening Keynote Address and Fireside Chat: General Michael Kurilla (Ret.), U.S. Army; Former Commander, U.S. Central Command

10:15-11:15 AM
Summit Panel: Access, Actions and Influence: Cyber Operations in the Age of Asymmetry

Session Chair: Niloofar Razi Howe, Distinguished Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University, Senior Operating Partner, Energy Impact Partners
Panelist: Lori Reynolds, Lieutenant General (Ret.), United States Marine Corps
Panelist: Kevin Mandia, Partner at Ballistic Ventures
Panelist: Pat Opet, Global Chief Information Security Officer, JPMorganChase
Panelist: General Tim Haugh (Ret), Former Commander, US Cyber Command; Former Director, National Security Agency; Former Chief, Central Security Service

11:15 AM-12:15 PM
Keynote Address and Fireside Chat

12:15 PM-1:15 PM
Lunch

1:15-2:15 PM
Keynote Fireside Chat

2:15-3:15 PM
Summit Panel: The Vanguard Forecast: National Security Predictions for 2026

Session Chair: Lieutenant General Charlie “Tuna” Moore (Ret.), Distinguished Visiting Professor, Vanderbilt University; Former Deputy Commander, U.S. Cyber Command
Panelist: Peter Zeihan, Founder, Zeihan on Geopolitics
Panelist: Matt Pottinger, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Panelist: Frederick Kagan, Director and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute (AEI)

3:15-3:45 PM
Closing Keynote Address: General Paul Nakasone (Ret.), Founding Director, Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security

3:45–4:00 PM
Closing of Summit: Brett Goldstein, Special Advisor to the Chancellor, Vanderbilt University