America’s long-term economic strength, global competitiveness and national security depend on smart, forward-looking public policies that enable U.S. businesses to lead, innovate and thrive. That imperative is more urgent than ever. Geopolitical rivalries are deepening, global trade is being reshaped and AI is redrawing the boundaries of economic leadership.
Professor Dilawar Syed launched the LBJ Business Forum at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin in 2025 with a six-event series that brings business leaders, entrepreneurs and policymakers to campus for substantive discussions on major policy challenges facing American business.
The Forum returns in 2026-27 with a new series focused on some of the most consequential issues shaping the U.S. economy: AI safety and reliability; automation and the future of workforce; the state of trade following sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration; and the future of small business as a generation of owners approaches retirement in the “Silver Tsunami."
Free and open to students, faculty, business executives, policymakers and the community at large!
RSVP to the Upcoming Event Series:
October 28:
Keeping Humans in Command
Policy Debate Over Catastrophic AI Risk and U.S. Innovation
Doors open at 4 p.m.
December 2:
A New Social Contract for the AI Economy
Creating pathways to skills, mobility, and economic security in the age of AI
Doors open at 4 p.m.
February 11:
The Silver Tsunami and the Future of U.S. Small Business
Managing a historic generational transfer of small-business ownership and its implications for workers, communities, and the economy
Doors open at 4 p.m.
April TBD:
U.S. Competitiveness and the Future of Trade
Navigating supply chains and economic interdependence in an era of tariffs
Doors open at 4 p.m.