AJ Thomas

What’s the secret sauce to building great companies? It’s not just capital, strategy, or product. It’s people. And not just any people—but the ones who build the future. This past week at the HIGHER Community Altitude Summit, I was in the room with some of the most forward-thinking global Talent Acquisition leaders—those shaping how we find, engage, and grow the people who power the world’s most iconic brands and boldest startups. We didn’t just talk about pipelines or process. 🌶️ We explored spicy topics that included: – The shifting power dynamics in organizations – The rise of talent as a growth function – How AI is redefining both the recruiter, our systems, and the candidate experience – What it means to build cultures that actually scale across borders and generations as technology continue to evolve faster than the pace of our learning I left inspired by the honesty, the urgency, and the shared commitment to reimagining the future of work. Also got to reunite and reminisce with the one and only Alice White who made me belly laugh until I aged back to my twenties. (Good times and awesome memories!) Grateful to be part of this evolving community—and to continue designing the systems, stories, and experiences that connect talent to opportunity in more human, intentional, and impactful ways. These are the important conversations leaders are having on building great companies today and in the future. Thanks to the amazing support of Talentful and BrightHire for bringing this to life in such an epic way! #HigherAltitude #TalentAcquisition #FutureOfWork #PeopleAndCulture #TALeadership #ExecutiveSearch

What an incredible experience delivering this closing keynote alongside my friend and fellow #troublemaker, the brilliant @boskolive at the @google AI Salon during LA Tech Week! Our conversation, dove deep into our shared vision for the Future of Entertainment and Creativity and how it requires access, education, and investment for maximum impact. And it couldn’t have been more relevant or timely. Bosko’s work with @hiiiwav and @electrospit is the perfect example of cross-disciplinary innovation—where creativity, technology, and impact collide to make good trouble. His passion for empowering the next wave of creators and building tools that democratize access to capital and technology embodies what we believe will be transformative for creators, artists, and the entire industry. I have so much love and respect for creatives, technologists, and impact-driven troublemakers like Bosko, who are reimagining what’s possible and reshaping the industry. These are the visionaries breaking down barriers, inspiring new ways of thinking, and investing in the next generation of talent. The path forward in entertainment and creativity and the transformation happening in this industry must involve access, education, and investment if we’re going to drive maximum impact. We had the wonderful experience of hearing directly from artists and creatives themselves what this technology shifts mean for them when @mahletsees from @youtubemusic , @ommaskeith , @iamroblewis , and @kingwillonius took their turn at sharing the experience of the AI technology shift from their perspective. Troublemakers like them are already showing us the way through curiosity, challenging norms, and willingness to engage in perspective shifting dialogue and community. I couldn’t be prouder to share the stage with them and to showcase the power of the collision of creatives, technologists, and impact -driven troublemakers from the @goodtroubleventures Troublemaker Coalition to further the movement. And ofcourse we wouldn’t be a thing if there wasn’t live music to close off the keynote! #LATechWeek #GoogleAISalon #GoodTroubleVentures #EntertainmentInnovation #FutureOfCreativity #HiiiWAV #ElectroSpit

Reliving this vibe today and all the things ahead! Always give love, always work in the light, bring joy, with people you love building things for the better. ❤️⚡️#loveandlightning #nextchapter

We’re having the best time at Human Tech Week 2026! So much to see, learn, and engage with. @hiiiwav is a proud partner this year 🙌 Human Tech Week is from May 11 - May 15 in San Francisco. 🌉 More than 1,200 participants, 250 speakers, and 800 companies came together to explore what it means to build technology that helps us heal, grow, and thrive. It will be an EPIC week! 🔗 in @humantechweek ’s bio

I get asked to do a lot of things. I say no to most of them. When @nicholbradford asked me to co-chair the @humantechweek Future of Work Summit with Rosanna Durruthyfeom @linkedin , I sat with it. Held it up against everything else competing for the same yes. And then I leaned all the way in. Here’s why. My most authentic work lives in a very specific place: investing in people & products that drive outcomes, developing talent, building teams, and building the strong communities that surround that work. This Summit — at this moment, with these humans — is exactly that work. We are in the middle of one of the biggest reorganizations of work in human history. #AI agents are showing up in every workflow, every team, every conversation about “what’s next.” And too many of those conversations are happening WITHOUT the humans whose lives are on the other end. I know that’s not a future we want to inherit. The future belongs to people who still believe in one. And who are willing to build it on purpose. Nichol is one of the most thoughtful operators I know. Rosanna brings the conscience and convening power of LinkedIn at exactly the right moment. And the three of us share something rare: a refusal to treat “human-centered tech” as a marketing line. It has to be the actual product — shaped by the lived experiences and imagined futures of the people who’ll use it. That’s why we built the speaker lineup the way we did. 21 voices across 7 thematic blocks. Founders, builders, coaches, investors, operators. People who aren’t just talking about agency, hope, and reach. They’re engineering it into the systems they ship every day. The Future of Work Summit is on May 12. And Human tech Week spans May 11-15 at Hibernia Bank. San Francisco. One day. One room. If you’re in SF come through, we’d love to see you.

Today I’m on the @startupgrind stage doing what I love most — pulling the future forward. Emceeing and moderating insights from investors to founders on the VC Pitch stage. Bringing investors face to face with the founders building in applied, autonomous, and generative AI. And moderating a panel asking the question that actually matters right now: what does all of this mean for us? For society. For work. For people. Also representing @philippines in my Filipiniana Bolero for the first time on stage! Any Filipino Founders here this week come see me and @briansparkx we want you on the @siliconvalleyimpact podcast!

We are thrilled to welcome AJ Thomas to the Brava Theater stage for Ignite SF #19! @helloajthomas AJ is a master at navigating the intersections of creativity, technology, and humanity. As the Founder of The Troublemaker Lab and a former leadership powerhouse at Google X, she has spent her career helping bold visionaries turn chaos into a catalyst for change. In her talk, “Culture, Chaos, and The Courage to Create,” AJ will challenge us to rethink the status quo. In a world of constant disruption, how do we build ecosystems where imagination thrives? How do we find the “good trouble” necessary to innovate? Come witness AJ take on the ultimate challenge: 20 slides, 15 seconds each, and 5 minutes to ignite your perspective. 🗓️ Event Details: • When: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 • Where: Brava Theater, San Francisco • Doors: 6:00 PM (Bar will be open!) • Talks Begin: 7:00 PM Don’t miss out on a night of fast ideas and bold voices. Tickets in Bio and Stories 🔥🎟️

@ted 2026. Quite possibly a wonderful space for expansion, learning, and seeing friends and friends I hadn’t met yet. The current world we live in doesn’t do justice to the potential and possibilities that are available if we just slowed down long enough to be present. There’s so much about this experience that I can wax poetic about. The one thing I will say is that it was a transformative time touching the edge of what this community knows how to do well - being a human with humans. Until next year. Here’s a few slices of the many moments of humanity, community, and courage. More snaps in stories I’ll share later. Until then, stay courageous. ⚡️

When you dare to be powerful, to use your strength in the service of your vision, then it becomes less and less important whether you are afraid. Have courage, take the leap —- whatever it is the free-fall is just a pre-flight experience. 📸 @arielnavaphotography

Last week at the @thebatterysf , I participated in shaping a conversation that felt bigger than any single company, any single artist, any single room. Standing alongside @tina.davis of @empire records, @juliemwenah , and Kamel Jacob-Bell of @sf.hiphop and @marchspencer of the @rechargegroup — leaders who have shaped culture and protected artists at the highest levels — we got real and unscripted and we weren’t there to recap what’s broken. We were there to redesign it. We talked about what happens when artists stop asking for permission and start building infrastructure. When creatives don’t just make culture — they own the rails it runs on — we also shared our personal testimonies of how God has brought us to these places to impact and influence a generation through our own humble beginnings. For me, I shared something I believe deeply: Creators are not just “talent.” They are founders. They are innovators. They are venture-scale innovation engines when given the right tech stack and ownership of their IP. For too long, value has been extracted from the very people who generated it. What’s shifting now is powerful. Real-time data is outmaneuvering legacy systems. Technology is becoming a tool for sovereignty — not just scale. Wealth preservation and narrative control are entering the same sentence. This is the rise of the Sovereign Creative Founder. And this isn’t just about entertainment. It’s about ownership. It’s about infrastructure. It’s about who holds power in the next economy. I left that stage energized — not because of hype, but because of alignment. The rooms are evolving. The questions are sharper. The builders are thinking long-term. So I’ll leave you with what we left the room with: Are you building for the old system… or the one we’re actively designing? #TheSovereignStack #CreatorEconomy #TechEquity #Ownership

Joining the brilliant @yesimsarahjones for “America, Who Hurt You?” was truly a highlight of the month. 🎤 We really went there…diving deep into creativity, consciousness, and what the future of AI actually looks like for all of us. Huge thank you to everyone who showed up! ⚡️ #Ai #Creatives #bayarea #explorepage #TechCulture

Today was a good day. Grateful + excited to share that I’ve been invited to mentor founders in the Northeastern University Social Innovation Launchpad, hosted at the @kaporcenter ✨ Over the next 5 weeks, I’ll be working with world-class, mission-driven founders to help them move from pitch → product-market fit, sharpen their vision, and build companies designed for real impact. What I love most about this program is the heart of it: 🚀 locally grown startups 🌱 community-centered innovation 🔥 founders building solutions that actually matter It feels like home when equity, creativity, and entrepreneurship meet — right in the heart of Oakland. Honored to support this next generation of builders and help strengthen a powerful local startup ecosystem. @carrie_valdee So honored to be part of this magic you and the entire Northeastern team is creating in the heart of the Town. Let’s build Bay Area! 💥 @kaporfoundation @northeastern @oaklandtechweek #SocialInnovation #StartupMentor #Oakland #FounderLife #GoodTrouble @bwanzo