# Three executives reflect on leadership in the tech age

> At TIME's Executives of the Year dinner in New York, tech leaders discussed how human choices will shape technology's impact.
- Title: Three executives reflect on leadership in the tech age · TIME
- Summary: At TIME's Executives of the Year dinner in New York, tech leaders discussed how human choices will shape technology's impact. Three executives at Citi…
- Keywords: citi, wikimedia foundation, national football league, david griffiths, selena deckelmann, gary brantley, artificial intelligence, technology leadership, time executives of the year, news, world, Three
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/13/execs-of-the-year-toasts
- Author: Connor Greene
- Published: 2026-10-14T04:45:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: citi, wikimedia foundation, national football league, david griffiths, selena deckelmann, gary brantley, artificial intelligence, technology leadership, time executives of the year, news, world
## Three leaders gather in New York
David Griffiths of Citi, Selena Deckelmann of Wikimedia Foundation, and Gary Brantley of the NFL gave toasts at TIME's Executives of the Year Impact Dinner on Tuesday evening.
## Griffiths warns of quiet choices ahead
Griffiths, group head of artificial intelligence at Citi, said human decision-making will determine technology's impact.Most choices about the future will be quiet: who we listen to, what we fund, when we wait, when we act.

> Most of the choices about what comes next won't feel historic when we make them. They'll be quiet: who we listen to, what we fund, when we decide to wait, and when we decide to act.
## Deckelmann emphasizes human connection
Deckelmann, chief technology and product officer at Wikimedia Foundation, said technology cannot decide how to live a good life.

> Technology can't decide how to live a good life or give our lives meaning. Our people and communities do.
## Brantley credits parents for leadership lessons
Brantley, senior vice president and chief information officer at the NFL, spoke about his parents' influence on his leadership approach. They taught him to show up every day even when tired, discouraged, or unmotivated.

> You show up each and every day even when you are tired, even when you are discouraged, and especially when you do not feel like it.
## Key takeaway

Three executives at Citi, Wikimedia Foundation and the NFL reflected on leadership roles at TIME's Executives of the Year Impact Dinner on Tuesday evening in New York.