After a nine-month global search to find a successor for Chris Anderson, who led TED for 25 years, Logan McClure Davda has been named its new CEO and Sal Khan of Khan Academy as vision steward.
Khan will guide TED’s long-term vision around lifelong learning and community building, including AI, to build connection and understanding, while Davda will oversee day-to-day operations.
In addition, Jay Herratti, who has served as CEO for a decade helping expand TEDx and growing its digital presence, is stepping down from his operational role and is transitioning to the board of trustees as a strategic advisor.
More than 100 organizations, investors, and individuals worldwide expressed interest in leading TED, said Anderson. The organization also received proposals to acquire TED outright, but it remains committed to staying a nonprofit dedicated to freely sharing knowledge and ideas.
“From the start, our goal was to find a way for TED to grow its impact while preserving its soul,” said Anderson, who will remain on the board and officially pass the torch at TED 2026 in Vancouver.
Changes aren’t strictly personnel. The 2026 conference in Vancouver, April 13-17, will be its last as it heads back to California in 2027.
Where Technology, Entertainment, and Design First Converged
TED, an acronym for Technology, Entertainment, Design, was started in 1984 in Monterey, California by Richard Saul Wurman who lost money on his first gathering and vowed to never do it again.
After a five-year hiatus from the conference industry, he succumbed to the many who urged him to do another.
The format was deliberate featuring no panels, no dress code, and no speeches from behind a lectern. “A lectern protects your groin and makes you less vulnerable,” Wurman says. “When one is vulnerable they speak more truthfully. Plus, nobody could speak for very long and if they did I pulled them off.”
Breaks were revered and never shortened. “They are the most important part of a conference as this is when people meet each other,” he adds.
In 2001, Anderson’s Sapling Foundation acquired TED, and the organization grew in both scope and global impact.
Over the past 25 years, Anderson has built the organization into a worldwide community that includes its flagship annual conference, TED Talks, original podcasts, and independently run TEDx events. Its reach spans continents, with a library of more than 7,000 TED Talks and 250,000 TEDx Talks.
In 2024, TED celebrated its 40th anniversary. Although the organization has evolved in that time, its overarching mission has not, said Monique Ruff-Bell, chief program and strategy officer at TED Conferences.
“You come to be motivated, inspired and changed. To think differently,” said Ruff-Bell.
The annual conference features more than 80 TED Talks over five days. TED Talks vary in length. “They can be six minutes, 12 minutes, just not more than 18 minutes,” said Ruff-Bell.
Two Leaders, One Vision for TED
In addition to being TED’s new vision steward, Khan will continue to lead Khan Academy, which he began by creating math videos and software to help his cousins. He grew Khan Academy into a trusted, free learning resource for students, and a partner for schools and districts, with over 170 million registered users in over 50 languages. Khan Academy and TED will continue to operate independently.
“TED has been one of the world’s great amplifiers of ideas,” said Khan.“I’m honored to help steward its next chapter, one that will further empower people everywhere to learn, connect and collaborate for a better future.”
Davda, whose current role is head of impact, is credited with co-founding TED’s fellows program, a global initiative that identifies, supports, and amplifies exceptional innovators, leaders, and changemakers from diverse fields and regions around the world.
“Logan brings deep understanding of TED’s culture, values, and community,” said Anderson.“Her partnership with Sal gives TED the ideal combination of visionary imagination and trusted operational leadership.”
Wurman’s New Conference
Wurman is still at it at 90, producing another conference, Wurman Prelude, slated for January 10-12, at the New World Center, a Frank Gehry-designed concert hall in Miami. He plans to gather 300 although he only invited 100, he said with a laugh.
“The conference is about whose shoulders you stand on. The auditorium holds 700 but we are only going to accept 300 so everybody can meet and talk. It’s a different idea than getting bigger and bigger and spreading the word,” said Wurman.
