Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been named the 2026 Business Leader of the Year by the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California (HBSANC). The award was presented during a sold-out celebratory dinner at San Francisco's historic Julia Morgan Ballroom. Since its inception in 1969, the HBS Business Leader of the Year Award has recognized exceptional executives with substantial impact on the broader business community. Past honorees include Andy Jassy, John Chambers, and Gordon Moore.
Harvard Business School Professor David B. Yoffie praised Garlinghouse for his "extraordinary ability to scale a complex platform while maintaining a steadfast commitment to his core vision." This recognition comes after Ripple concluded its prolonged legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year, allowing the company to regain momentum and refocus on expansion strategies.
Garlinghouse, who recently celebrated his 11th anniversary at Ripple, previously held executive roles at AOL and Yahoo. He was initially skeptical of the cryptocurrency industry and intended to take a position at Uber, but Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen convinced him to join as Chief Operating Officer in April 2015. He was elevated to CEO the following year.
Over the past year, Ripple has logged remarkable achievements, including major corporate acquisitions. It completed a $1 billion acquisition of GTreasury and a $1.25 billion acquisition and rebranding of Hidden Road into "Ripple Prime," a clearing platform now deeply integrated into Wall Street's post-trade infrastructure. XRP spot exchange-traded funds were successfully launched last year, which Garlinghouse had predicted. Ripple has also secured key global licenses, including a coveted Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the United Kingdom, enabling expanded services within regulated markets.
