NTI Board Elects Ray Rothrock as Chair

Technology investor and nuclear engineer brings decades of cybersecurity, energy, and business leadership to guide NTI’s Board of Directors

The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) Board of Directors is pleased to announce it has elected Ray Rothrock, an internationally recognized business and tech leader, as its Chair. A technology investor, nuclear engineer, cybersecurity expert, and clean energy advocate, Rothrock succeeds NTI Co-Founder and Chair Sam Nunn, who launched NTI with Co-Founder Ted Turner in 2001 and served as the organization’s CEO through 2017.

“Ray combines technical depth with decades of experience building and governing organizations at the leading edge of technology,” said Nunn, who will continue to serve on NTI’s Board. “He understands both the risks posed by evolving technologies and the opportunities they create to address nuclear and biological dangers. I am grateful to Ray for taking on this important new role.”

Rothrock is a partner emeritus at Venrock, the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, and a former Executive Chairman of RedSeal. He has served as Chair of the National Venture Capital Association and was twice selected for the Forbes Midas List. Elected as a Life Member in 2026, Rothrock has served on the MIT Corporation for more than a decade, including as a member of its Executive Committee.

“I am both honored and humbled to be asked to chair NTI’s Board at a time when nuclear, biological, and emerging technology threats are growing and converging,” said Rothrock, who has served on NTI’s Board since 2019. “NTI’s credibility, its convening power, and its team are unmatched. I am grateful to Sam, Ted, and NTI’s exceptional Board for their vision and leadership. As NTI marks its 25th anniversary, I look forward building on the shoulders of NTI’s giants and working closely with NTI President and CEO Christine Wormuth and my fellow Board members to help NTI deliver on its important mission in the years ahead.”

Wormuth said Rothrock’s appointment comes at a critical time. “Ray’s insights into cyber risks, energy security, and innovation will be invaluable as NTI sharpens its focus on the intersection of emerging technologies with nuclear and biological security,” she said. “We are fortunate to have his guidance and deep expertise as NTI maps a future of impact and progress on global risk reduction.”

Rothrock holds a BS in Nuclear Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from Texas A&M University, an MS in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an MBA with Distinction from the Harvard Business School. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University and a recipient of the Dr. Frank J. Malina ’34 Renaissance Medallion Award, presented by the university’s Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. He also is a Distinguished Alumnus of the MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering Department and Distinguished Member of Tau Beta Pi.

He is the author of the critically acclaimed book Digital Resilience: Is Your Company Ready for the Next Cyber Threat? (HarperCollins Leadership).  He was a co-producer of the Emmy-nominated documentary, Chasing the Moon (2019) and Starman (2025), as well as executive producer of Pandora’s Promise (2013) and Atomic Hope (2022).