In this Telescope LENS Q&A, we talk with Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, Senior Vice President of Global Impact Initiatives at the U.S. Council for International Business (USCIB). With extensive experience bridging global public policy and private sector interests, Kristen shares insights on fostering innovation ecosystems, building coalitions across political divides, and ensuring American competitiveness in emerging technologies.

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Tell me a little bit about what your day-to-day work looks like and how that ties into Telescope?

We represent U.S. economic interests in the multilateral system. We give our members direct access to participate in policy negotiations with international policy makers and regulatory authorities that will develop these rules and standards. This ties in a lot with the work you're doing on emerging tech and AI because there are a lot of potential restrictions coming down the pipeline.

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My day-to-day work involves a lot of international travel because I must be on the ground at many negotiations. I've been to Geneva three times in the past four months alone. I also manage our policy teams that cover the environment, health, corporate responsibility, labor affairs, and international product policy.

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We actually take our members to the actual negotiations. So they are meeting with the policymakers on the ground. We're making interventions in the UN system, where you get the microphone, saying why an idea is good or bad, and the ramifications it will have for the private sector. A lot of times, many of these laws are passed kind of in silos. They don't understand how this will impact the economy, different economic actors, and businesses. So they must hear the voice of the private sector.

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Is there an idea you've come across recently that made you think this could improve things?

I see so many amazing innovations coming out of them, and not just money-makers. If you look at the world's most pressing global challenges, governments alone cannot solve them. It's essential that they partner, at least tap into all of the innovations coming out of the private sector, whether it's climate change, pollution, or economic instability.

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I just got back from Helsinki. I was actually awarded a Fulbright grant to spend two weeks there with the Helsinki Mayor's team. I was looking at how cities have really stepped up to create ecosystems and new high-growth areas like tech or AI to spur more innovations.

New York City started doing this 10 years ago. It was entirely dependent on financial services. During the financial crisis, it realized that it needed to expand into high-growth areas like tech and life sciences. So, it donated city land. It set up a bunch of public-private partnerships with companies, VC funds, and universities, and it was so successful that it now has more tech jobs than financial services jobs.

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In Helsinki, they have a program called 90 Day Fin. They take a cohort of international entrepreneurs and deep tech startups from all over the world and host them for 90 days. They give them working space, put them in incubators, and help give them access to VC funds. Their startups have raised over 1 billion euros. That's over 40% of Finland's early-stage venture capital.

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How can we do a better job of finding and lifting up emerging or nontraditional talent?

If we want to keep our cutting-edge technology in this industry, we must be able to attract the top talent, the top innovators, from all over the world. There is a huge global race to get this talent. I'm sure you've read the articles about many of the major tech companies buying out AI companies and AI startups, not because they want their technology but because that's their only way of getting the talent.

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So, I think it's very important that our country doesn't restrict the number of talented individuals and startups coming from abroad because we need to attract and retain them in order to keep our edge. Without them, it's not possible. That's been the U.S.'s secret sauce. The secret sauce of our economy is drawing in these innovators, their energy, and their hard work ethic.

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Is there someone whose work has inspired you recently in advancing security and prosperity?

The first person that comes to mind is the mayor of Helsinki, Mayor Sazanoff. He's young—just 32 years old—dynamic, and conservative by Helsinki standards, but he works with a far-left, green council majority. And then he has to work with far-right players as well.

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One is that he's been able to build coalitions with very diverse political views. He said he does this by focusing on practical issues and finding the best solution to solve concrete issues, not delving into what divides us. He said he always looks for common ground and common solutions, and he admitted that this is hard work, but it makes his city and his country much more stable and secure.

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The second thing I admire about him is that he's actively building out this startup ecosystem. He realizes that you can't have security without economic prosperity, and you can't deliver services without a strong economy. To do that, the city has a very important role to play in facilitating economic development.

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As you look ahead, what gives you the most hope?

A future that works for all of us is a future where anyone can thrive if they choose to do so. There are no ceilings or restrictions to your success, and you are all given an equal opportunity to succeed. Much of that comes down to access to quality education from a very young age. And if we all have that, we can all thrive.

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It's crucial to see as many public-private partnerships as possible in this realm. As I said, the government alone cannot help us reach the next level. You really need to bring in the private sector to develop the most effective solutions. And we must include the private sector in that because that's the U.S.'s secret sauce. We develop such amazing innovators and entrepreneurs, and we really need to tap into them for solutions to get our entire population up to speed in these exciting new industries.

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