Raffi Krikorian

CTO, Emerson Collective

Raffi Krikorian is Chief Technology Officer at Emerson Collective, where he focuses on using technology and data to accelerate solutions that promote social good. Before joining Emerson Collective, Raffi served as the first Chief Technology Officer of the Democratic National Committee, where he used data, technology, and digital security to support the election processes of Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. 

Before moving to the political sector, he was the Engineering Director of Uber's Advanced Technologies Center, where he led the rollout of the first passenger-carrying self-driving car fleet. He also designed the backend infrastructure at Twitter, where he served as Vice President of Platform Engineering. Today, Raffi’s work at Emerson Collective leverages innovative technology to help rethink complex societal systems and improve the lives of individuals and communities. 

Raffi is the host of the "Technically Optimistic" podcast, exploring technology's impact on society with influential guests including Representative Jay Obernolte, Educator and CEO of Khan Academy, Sal Khan, Nobel Peace Prize winner and CEO of Rappler, Maria Ressa, and British Canadian blogger, Cory Doctorow. The podcast gained significant recognition and is now available as a Substack newsletter with Season 2 available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.