> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nyc-ai.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Governance architecture

> Board structure, institutional representation, and the operating team behind Empire AI.

Empire AI uses a hybrid governance model built to balance state oversight, university participation, technical expertise, and philanthropic backing. The board currently consists of 16 members: 14 voting members and 2 advisory observers.

## Board of directors

| Affiliation                                | Representative      | Role                         |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| Bloomberg                                  | Tom Secunda         | Board chair                  |
| B Capital Group / Renaissance Technologies | Howard Morgan       | At-large board member        |
| Independent technology leadership          | Kim Hazelwood       | At-large board member        |
| State University of New York               | Ram Ramasubramanian | Institutional representative |
| University at Buffalo                      | Venu Govindaraju    | Institutional representative |
| City University of New York                | Joshua Brumberg     | Institutional representative |
| Columbia University                        | Jeannette Wing      | Institutional representative |
| Cornell University                         | Krystyn Van Vliet   | Institutional representative |
| New York University                        | Nina Gray           | Institutional representative |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute           | Robert Hull         | Institutional representative |
| University of Rochester                    | Stephen Dewhurst    | Institutional representative |
| Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai    | Girish Nadkarni     | Institutional representative |
| NY Creates                                 | Douglas Grose       | Institutional representative |
| Liz Fine Associates LLC                    | Liz Fine            | Institutional representative |
| Simons Foundation                          | Ian Fisk            | Advisory observer            |
| NYSTAR                                     | Ben Verschueren     | Advisory observer            |

This mix gives the consortium academic legitimacy, operational grounding, and access to external expertise in infrastructure, venture creation, and large-scale research administration.

## Operating leadership

Daily execution sits with a smaller management and technical team:

| Role                                            | Leader                                  |
| ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| Director of research computing                  | Kiran Keshav                            |
| Project director for infrastructure development | Rachel L. Walker                        |
| Director of business operations                 | Loreley Giraudon                        |
| Strategic advisor                               | Jim Courtland                           |
| Manager of high performance computing systems   | Cesar Arias                             |
| System administrators                           | Robert Reichenbach and Anthony Siracuse |

Kiran Keshav leads the research-computing side of the platform: cluster operations, technical direction, and the translation of Empire AI's shared-infrastructure model into a usable environment for researchers.

<Info>
  The Empire AI source materials also highlight the importance of the at-large members. Kim Hazelwood brings deep AI systems and infrastructure expertise, while Howard Morgan adds commercialization and venture-building perspective that can help research move into startup or translational pathways.
</Info>

## Why this structure matters

Empire AI depends on coordination across public universities, private research institutions, state agencies, and philanthropic supporters. A single-campus governance model would not be strong enough for that. The current board design spreads representation across member institutions while preserving room for outside technical and strategic guidance.