Gary Edson is a White House veteran, non-profit executive, and business entrepreneur.
He is President of More Perfect, a bipartisan alliance of more than 30 Presidential Centers, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Karsh Institute of Democracy at UVA, and over 100 other organizations united to support and renew democracy as we approach the 250th anniversary of independence in 2026. Edson is also President of the COVID Collaborative, a national assembly of leaders and experts across health, education, and the economy, working to strengthen U.S. health security.
In government, Edson served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy National Economic Advisor to President George W. Bush. He co-led the development of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the largest commitment ever by any nation to combat a single disease, which has saved an estimated 25 million lives; conceived and led the creation of the ground-breaking Millennium Challenge Corporation to fight global poverty; coordinated the crack down on terrorist finance after 9/11; oversaw the response to financial crises in Latin America and elsewhere; and shepherded initiatives on global peacekeeping, human trafficking, and neglected tropical diseases.
Edson was the president’s chief negotiator for summits of G7, Latin American, EU, and Asia-Pacific leaders. He also served as deputy to Special Presidential Envoy and former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, in successfully forging an unprecedented international agreement to forgive Iraq’s $120B debt.
Earlier in his government career, Edson served as General Counsel to the U.S. Trade Representative, and as Special Assistant to the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State.
In the non-profit sector, Edson served as acting CEO of Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon (now Go Further – Ending AIDS and Cervical Cancer), overseeing the development of an innovative strategy to end cervical cancer deaths among HIV-positive women in Africa. He previously served as President of Conservation International, and CEO of the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, helping Haiti rebuild after the devastating 2010 earthquake.
Edson is an affiliate partner of Lindsay Goldberg LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, and was previously Vice President of Equity Group Investments and Chairman of PAR Systems, Inc., a provider of intelligent robotic systems. He also was Managing Director of Baker & McKenzie Policy and Compliance Consulting, and a Managing Director of Stonebridge International (now the Albright Stonebridge Group).
Edson earned a B.A. with distinction and honors in anthropology from Stanford University, and J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Chicago. He was a Henry Luce Scholar, working for The Japan Times in Tokyo.