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.



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.

Explore confirmed Featured Sessions for SXSW 2025 below and build your list of must-see events on the SXSW Schedule.

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Conference News

Catch up on the latest Conference announcements for SXSW 2025 across 23 diverse tracks of programming.

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

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

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."

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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."

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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."

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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."

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Anthony Bourdain - Photo by David Tait

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