Walter Isaacson is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, and past Chairman and CEO of CNN and Managing Editor of Time magazine. He is the author of several biographies, including Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger. His biography of Albert Einstein – Einstein: His Life and Universe – was released in April 2007.
Isaacson began his career at the Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans Times-Picayune/States-Item. In 1978 he joined Time Magazine where he served as a political correspondent, national editor and editor of new media before becoming the magazine’s 14th managing editor in 1996. In 2001 he became Chairman and CEO of CNN , and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003.
He was appointed after Hurricane Katrina to be the vice-chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. He is on the Board of Directors of United Airlines, Tulane University, the National Constitution Center, and he is chairman of the board of Teach for America.