Featured Speakers

Featured Speakers are innovators and creatives at the top of their industries sharing ideas, processes, and expertise in the hopes of inspiring a better world.



Check out last years 2025 Conference Lineup


About Featured Speakers and Sessions

 

Spanning the many tracks and themes of the SXSW Conference, Featured Speakers offer attendees the knowledge, leadership and inspiration to shape their professional careers and personal lives in our ever-evolving path forward.

Join us at the 2026 SXSW Conference from March 12-18.

Watch Past Featured Speakers

Explore the Video Archive

Featured Session: Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health with Selena Gomez – Photo by Jakayla Canaday

Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health with Selena Gomez

2024 Featured Speaker
Featured Session with Dev Patel - Photo by Marina Alvarez

Monkey Man: A Conversation with Director and Star Dev Patel

2024 Featured Speaker
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: Good Humor: Lilly Singh on her Entertainment-First Approach to Changing Culture – Photo by Shannon Johnston

Good Humor: Lilly Singh on her Entertainment-First Approach to Changing Culture

2024 Featured Speaker
Featured Speaker José Andrés and Delta CEO Ed Bastian – Photo by Jason Bollenbacher –

People First, Always featuring Delta CEO Ed Bastian & José Andrés

2024 Featured Session
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: A Conversation with Daisy Ridley – Photo by Adam Kissick

A Conversation with Daisy Ridley

2024 Featured Speaker
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: A Conversation with

A Conversation with Civil War Filmmaker Alex Garland and Cast

2024 Featured Speaker
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: Icons of Impact: A Conversation with Dwyane Wade – Photo by Andy Wenstrand

Icons of Impact: A Conversation with Dwyane Wade

2024 Featured Speaker
A Conversation with Sydney Sweeney - SXSW 2024 - Photo by Darah Hubbard

A Conversation with Sydney Sweeney

2024 Featured Speaker
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: Def Jam Renewed: The Hip-Hop Legend’s Next 40 Years with Chuck D –

Def Jam Renewed: The Hip-Hop Legend’s Next 40 years with Chuck D.

2024 Featured Speaker
SXSW 2024 Featured Session: AI and Humanity’s Co-evolution with OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT Peter Deng – Photo by Akash Kataria

AI and Humanity’s Co-evolution with OpenAI’s Head of ChatGPT Peter Deng

2024 Featured Speaker

Auntie Deb

SXSW 2022

"We will only change our future when we recognize what needs to be changed and when we say the words out loud."

Watch Now
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland speaks at 'Auntie Deb's Guide to Equity & Inclusion' – SXSW 2022 – Photo by Hutton Supancic/Getty Images for SXSW

Amy Webb

SXSW Online 2021

"Our goal is not predicting — it is preparing for what comes next."

Watch Now
Amy Webb - SXSW 2019 Featured Speaker - Photo by Mike Jordan

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

SXSW 2019

"I don’t think that our government is irredeemable. If I did, I wouldn’t have run for office."

Watch Now
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - 2019 - Photo by Adam Kissick

J.J. Abrams

SXSW 2016

"We want to see stories that are unique, that have points of view that might not be expected."

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J.J. Abrams at SXSW 2016 – Photo by Judy Won

Stacey Abrams

SXSW 2019

"We have to stop allowing identity to be weaponized against us."

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Stacey Abrams - Photo by Danny Matson

Anthony Bourdain

SXSW 2016

"Making TV should be fun. It should be a creative expression...Everybody should be pushing it and having a good day at work."

Watch Now
Anthony Bourdain - Photo by David Tait

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