Dr. Ashby Monk is the Executive and Research Director of the Stanford Global Projects Center. He is also a Senior Research Associate at the University of Oxford and a Senior Advisor to the Chief Investment Officer of the University of California. Dr. Monk has a strong track record of academic and industry publications. He was named by aiCIO magazine as one of the most influential academics in the institutional investing world. His research and writing has been featured in The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Institutional Investor, Reuters, Forbes, and on National Public Radio among a variety of other media. His current research focus is on the design and governance of institutional investors, with particular specialization on pension and sovereign wealth funds. He received his Doctorate in Economic Geography at Oxford University and holds a Master's in International Economics from the Universite de Paris I - Pantheon Sorbonne and a Bachelor's in Economics from Princeton University.
Management Team
Dr. Ashby Monk
Executive Director
Mike Steep
Adjunct Professor and Executive Director, Digital Cities
Michael Steep is Adjunct Professor and Executive Director of the Stanford Global Projects Center's Digital Cities Program. Michael is also former Senior Vice President of Global Business Operations for the PARC innovation center in Palo Alto, California. He has over two decades of operating experience managing global P&L's, sales, digital marketing, strategy, business development, and strategic alliances for Microsoft, Lexmark (IBM), Apple, and HP. Mr. Steep’s team at Apple launched the first digital camera. Today, he works with commercial clients on transforming their industry and company business models by leveraging emerging technologies - big data, predictive analytics, cloud, mobile, and privacy. He also serves on the Smart City London Board and is Contributing Editor for Forbes writing articles on digital cities, disruptive technologies, and executive leadership. Mr. Steep’s passion is corporate transformation through effective leadership and practical approaches to innovation. He has worked extensively at Microsoft and PARC with executives from companies crossing multiple industries including Aerospace, Healthcare, Pharma, and Automotive. He works with the top Innovation and R&D executives from companies including Airbus, BMW, Google, Merck, BP, and Booz Allen. Mr. Steep’s MBA is from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and he has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Digital Business at Imperial College London.
Michael Bennon
Managing Director
Michael Bennon is a Managing Director at the Stanford Global Projects Center, developing new initiatives for the GPC and managing our student programs and industry affiliations. Michael’s research areas of interest for the center and work experience are in Public Sector finance, infrastructure and real estate investment, and project organization design. Michael served as a Captain in the US Army and US Army Corps of Engineers for five years, leading Engineer units, managing projects, and planning for infrastructure development in the United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Thailand. Michael received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and received an MSCE and MBA from Stanford University.
Terra Strong
Research Program Manager
Terra Strong is Research Program Manager at the Stanford Global Projects Center (GPC). Terra received her bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Information Technology from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and completed academic placements at the National Geographic Channel (NGC), Clear Channel Radio, a PBS-production company, and Lussier Studios in Los Angeles, CA. Highlights of these placements include shadowing the production of ad campaigns for Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage,developing website content for a variety of NGC shows, as well as assisting with the production of the PBS documentary, Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power.Prior to working at the GPC, Terra led SEO and social media campaigns for global brands at a web marketing agency in Emeryville, CA, building on her experience supporting development initiatives at non-profit organizations central to Washington D.C. and California.
