By Lisa Stiffler
Publication Date: 2026-03-17 18:48:00
— Steven VanRoekel, a longtime former Microsoft leader and U.S. chief information officer under President Obama, is now CEO of Earth Species Project (ESP). The non-profit research lab is using artificial intelligence to better understand animal communication in creatures from carrion crows to beluga whales.
VanRoekel, who is based in Bend, Ore., said his career has focused on driving impact at scale, and that ESP is poised for a big breakthroughs.
AI can “unlock the mysteries of our planet, especially around animal communication,” he said in an ESP blog. “Once we begin unlocking that mystery, we could see shifts on the scale of Copernican or Galilean moments in history: new science, new understanding, and perhaps most importantly, new relationships with our planet.”
— Krzysztof Duleba joined LinkedIn’s Bellevue, Wash., office as a distinguished engineer in its…