Anthropic announced Tuesday that it has added renowned legal scholar and international affairs expert Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar to its Long-Term Benefit Trust, the company’s independent governance body responsible for selecting board members and advising company leadership.
The Trust plays a unique role inside Anthropic’s structure. Unlike a traditional corporate board, it operates independently from financial interests and is designed to keep the company focused on the long-term social impact of advanced artificial intelligence.
A Veteran Leader Joins the Trust
Cuéllar brings decades of public service and academic leadership to the position. Over the course of his career, he has worked under three U.S. presidential administrations, served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of California, and currently chairs the board of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation.
He is also president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, though he is expected to step down from that role in July as he transitions into new leadership positions at Stanford University.
Reflecting on his appointment, Cuéllar emphasized the growing importance of responsible oversight in the AI sector.
“As AI capabilities advance at an unprecedented pace, the need for governance structures that marry private sector dynamism with civic responsibility has never been more urgent,” he said.
Two Founding Members Conclude Their Service
Alongside Cuéllar’s appointment, Anthropic confirmed that two long-standing members of the Trust — Kanika Bahl, CEO of Evidence Action, and Zachary Robinson, CEO of the Centre for Effective Altruism — have completed their terms.
Both Bahl and Robinson had served on the Trust since its creation. Anthropic credited them with helping shape the organization during its formative years and establishing the foundations of its independent oversight model.
Anthropic President Daniela Amodei expressed appreciation for their work, noting that the Trust’s early progress was deeply influenced by their leadership and guidance.
The Role of the Long-Term Benefit Trust
Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers, Anthropic embedded the idea of an independent trust into its earliest investment documents. The company publicly detailed the Trust’s structure in 2023, positioning it as an experimental approach to AI governance.
Trust members do not hold financial stakes in Anthropic, even as the company’s valuation has reportedly surged. New trustees are chosen by existing members in consultation with the company, with the stated goal of helping Anthropic “maximize the benefits of advanced AI and mitigate its risks.”
Anthropic has openly described the Trust as a living framework — one that may evolve as AI systems become more powerful and societal expectations around technology governance continue to grow.
Looking Ahead
With Cuéllar joining the Trust and two founding members stepping aside, Anthropic signals both continuity and change in its governance vision. The company is reinforcing its commitment to independent oversight while bringing in new expertise shaped by years of experience at the intersection of law, public policy, and global affairs.
As AI development accelerates, Anthropic’s leadership says the Trust will remain central to ensuring that innovation is matched with responsibility — and that long-term societal interests stay at the core of the company’s mission.
