TED Announces Search for a New Steward to Take the Beloved Brand into its Next Chapter
The nonprofit is calling on its global community to help identify its next custodian
NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, it was officially announced that TED, the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating, and spreading ideas, will embark on its next chapter. Chris Anderson, Head of TED, shared in an open letter to the TED community that, after steering the organization for the past 25 years, he is planning to gift the entire organization and all of its components to its next steward.
"Letting go is a powerful idea that I've been astonished by time and time again," said Chris Anderson, Head of TED. "After all, it was when we started giving away our content online in 2006 that TED Talks became a global phenomenon, shared widely and translated into more than 100 languages. And it was when we started sharing our brand in the form of free TEDx licenses that local organizers responded by volunteering incredible efforts of their own, carrying our way of sharing ideas to communities all over the world."
Anderson continued: "As I've dreamed of the best possible future for TED, it's natural that we should continue to be guided by this principle, and take the ultimate step of letting go of its stewardship to someone else. Rather than commence a multitude of private conversations, I think it's more in the spirit of TED to open up this process to our global community."
Any group or person with the financial resources and the ideas to propel TED forward for the next 25 years and beyond is welcome to submit a proposal. Each party will be assessed based in part on the criteria outlined in today's announcement and any money received will go directly toward supporting the future growth of TED.
TED has enlisted LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank with deep roots in the media, technology, communications and creative industries, to assist with the transition. Proposal ideas may be submitted to nextchapter@ted.com.
About TED
TED is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to discovering, debating and spreading ideas that spark conversation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful change. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.
TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, but today it spans a multitude of worldwide communities and initiatives exploring everything from science and business to education, arts and global issues. In addition to the TED Talks curated from our annual conferences and published on TED.com, we produce original podcasts, short video series, animated educational lessons (TED-Ed) and TV programs that are translated into more than 100 languages and distributed via partnerships around the world. Each year, thousands of independently run TEDx events bring people together to share ideas and bridge divides in communities on every continent. Through the Audacious Project, TED has helped catalyze more than $3 billion in funding for projects that seek to make the world more beautiful, sustainable and just. In 2020, TED launched Countdown, an initiative to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis and mobilize a movement for a net-zero future, and in 2023 TED launched TED Democracy to spark a new kind of conversation focused on realistic pathways towards a more vibrant and equitable future. View a full list of TED's many programs and initiatives.
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Contact
press@ted.com
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SOURCE TED Conferences