James Manyika
James Manyika is Google’s senior vice president for Research, Labs, Technology & Society, leading work across Google and Alphabet. A Rhodes Scholar who grew up in Zimbabwe, he studied electrical engineering at the University of Zimbabwe, completed Oxford degrees in AI, robotics and computation, and published Decentralized Data Fusion in 1993. At McKinsey, he spent more than 25 years, led McKinsey Global Institute research on technology and economic trends, and published No Ordinary Disruption in 2015; he served as vice-chair of the President’s Global Development Council. At Google, he coauthored a statement on responsible AI and served as vice-chair of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee. He also co-chaired the UN Secretary-General’s AI advisory body, whose 2024 report offered recommendations for international AI governance.
Timeline
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1992–1995
From Zimbabwe to Oxford
A Rhodes Scholar, he grew up in Zimbabwe and earned a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Zimbabwe. At Oxford, he completed DPhil, MSc and MA degrees in AI, robotics and computation, and published Decentralized Data Fusion in 1993. He served as a Junior Research Fellow in Engineering at Balliol from 1992 to 1995.
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2015
Mapping economic disruption
At McKinsey, he led McKinsey Global Institute research on technology, the economy and competitiveness, and served on the firm’s board. His 2015 book No Ordinary Disruption examined global economic trends; he later became a senior partner emeritus at McKinsey and chair emeritus of MGI after more than 25 years at the firm.
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By 2015
Advising on development policy
As vice-chair of the President’s Global Development Council, he helped advise the president and other senior United States officials on global development.
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June 2022
Focusing technology on society
As Google’s SVP of Technology & Society, he wrote that his role focused on using technology to benefit society.
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January 2023
Explaining Google’s AI approach
In January 2023, he coauthored Google’s statement “Why we focus on AI (and to what end),” which set out the company’s commitment to responsible AI development.
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April 2023
Advising on national AI policy
As vice-chair of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, he served on the federal committee that advised the president and agencies on AI.
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2023–2024
Setting a global AI agenda
He co-chaired the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Body on AI. The body’s 2024 report offered seven recommendations for international AI governance.
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As of October 2026
Leading research across Google
As of October 2026, he is Google’s SVP for Research, Labs, Technology & Society, leading efforts across Google and Alphabet to advance innovations for people and society.
Sources and credits
Photo: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.
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- James Manyika
- A conversation with Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler) and Lisa Brown
- How tech can support transformational growth in Africa
- About News from Google
- President’s Global Development Council
- Why we focus on AI (and to what end)
- National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) Meeting
- UN Secretary-General launches AI Advisory Body on risks, opportunities, and international governance of artificial intelligence
- Dr James Manyika in conversation with Professor Philippa Webb
- Unlocking AI’s potential for all through global collaboration
- James Manyika