Ansgar Baums is General Manager at Microsoft and a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Centre.
He is co-author of the books Tech Cold War: The Geopolitics of Technology (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2025) and The Hour of the Rhinos: How Companies Manage the New Geopolitical Risks (Murmann Verlag, 2025). “The Hour of the Rhinos” was awarded the Business Impact Award 2026.
In 2023, Ansgar Baums was a Helmut Schmidt Fellow at the German Marshall Fund. Prior to that, he worked in government relations at Zoom Video Communications. Before that, Ansgar Baums held various positions in the corporate world, most recently as Head of the Global Strategy Programme at HP and as Head of Government Relations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at HP. Ansgar Baums has also worked for SAP AG, the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (Bitkom), and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Ansgar Baums holds a Master’s degree with distinction in International Strategy and Economics from the University of St Andrews, as well as a diploma in Political Science from the Free University of Berlin.
Ansgar Baums Lecture topics
Ansgar Baums’ talks explore the intricate connections between global technology policy and the role of corporations. His presentations focus on the following core themes:
The Big Picture: Technology at the Center of Geopolitics
- Why is technology a central factor in geopolitics today?
- What does history teach us about the relationship between technology and power structures?
- What role do corporations play in this context? Are they actors like states, or should we think of them differently?
Geotech Statecraft: Developments in Global Capitals
- An overview of current policy measures such as export controls, entity bans, and tariffs.
- The underlying “theories of harm” driving these policies.
- Analysis of global power shifts driven by technological advancements.
The Corporate Perspective: How Companies Respond to Geopolitical Interventions
- The challenges companies face from disruptions in their global value chains.
- Expected reactions to political measures and possible strategies to incorporate geopolitics into risk management.
Outlook: The Future of Technology Companies in a Fragmented World
- What trends and developments await technology companies in an increasingly geopolitically fragmented landscape?
- Actionable recommendations for successfully navigating a complex global environment.
Ansgar Baums combines in-depth knowledge of geopolitical developments with a profound understanding of corporate realities. His talks are practical, analytical, and provide companies with valuable insights to address geopolitical risks in a dynamic world.