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The Burda Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Signal president Meredith Whittaker to its Board of Directors, the company's highest strategic management body. The Board of Directors comprises publisher Hubert Burda, Elisabeth Burda Furtwängler and Jacob Burda as well as Olaf Koch (Chairman), Andreas Rittstieg and Ulrike Handel.
As a leading scholar with a distinguished career in technology, Meredith's addition is aligned with Burda's longstanding commitment to innovation and bold leadership in the digital age. Back in the early 1990s, Hubert Burda had begun preparing his company for the Internet era with great foresight, integrating new technologies at an early stage and developing them inhouse. At the same time, he was an early advocate for a "level playing field" for media companies in Europe in competition with tech monopolies. With the appointment of Meredith to the Board of Directors, the Burda family is building on this strong forward-thinking DNA that has always made Burda a successful company.
Meredith is currently the President of Signal, an organization renowned for its principled and innovative approach to technology. She joins Burda with nearly 20 years of experience in the technology sector, a distinguished academic record, and a proven history of creative critical thinking. As a renowned scholar and advocate for human-first technology, Meredith has consistently challenged the status quo, and her work continues to shape global debates around AI, privacy, and the political economy of the technology sector. She has consistently advocated for and helped build technologies that embody fundamental rights while delivering on user expectations. And her current leadership of Signal, the world’s foremost private communications platform, demonstrates her expertise in navigating complex geopolitical landscapes while never losing sight of core values.
Meredith was formerly the Minderoo Research Professor at New York University (NYU), and the faculty director & co-founder of the AI Now Institute, where she continues to serve as Chief Advisor. She also served as a senior advisor on AI to former Chair Lina Khan at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and was listed among the 100 most influential people in AI by TIME magazine in 2023 and 2024. Her leadership was also recognized recently, as Signal was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies in 2025. In addition, she is the 2024 Helmut-Schmidt-Zukunftspreis recipient and was awarded the prestigious Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship. Meredith began her career at Google, where she worked for over 13 years and founded Google's Open Research Group. During her time at Google, she also co-founded M-Lab, which remains the world’s largest source of open data on internet performance.
“Meredith is a singular figure whose career has been defined by a non-negotiable focus on doing the right thing. Her desire to create a new tech ecosystem with a novel set of incentives fits well with us. We are delighted to have her be an integral part to our new team.”
Jacob Burda, shareholder and member of the Board of Directors
“Meredith is one of a kind, with her impressive technological expertise and versatility grounded in a strong moral compass. Her appointment aligns with our strategic vision of integrating cutting-edge technology with media to foster an environment where innovative ideas can thrive while upholding ethical standards.”
Elisabeth Burda Furtwaengler, shareholder and member of the Board of Directors
“The Burda legacy is well known in the technology industry, from the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in Munich to Hubert Burda’s breathtaking recognition of the promise of the internet in the early 1990s, many years before such views were commonplace. I’m deeply honored to take on this role to help guide Burda during this exciting and consequential time.”
Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal
