Brad Garlinghouse wins top Harvard business leadership award

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has been named the 2026 Business Leader of the Year by the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California

Summary

• Brad Garlinghouse received Harvard’s 2026 Business Leader of the Year award in San Francisco this week.
• Harvard praised Garlinghouse for scaling Ripple while keeping focus on the company’s long-term business vision.
• Ripple expanded through major acquisitions, global licenses, and XRP ETF momentum after its SEC battle.

The award was presented during a dinner at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco. The Harvard Business School Association of Northern California has given the award since 1969. Past recipients include Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Intel co-founder Gordon Moore.

Harvard Business School Professor David B. Yoffie praised Garlinghouse’s leadership at Ripple. He pointed to the CEO’s work in building the company while keeping its core business direction in place.

Yoffie said Garlinghouse showed an “extraordinary ability to scale a complex platform while maintaining a steadfast commitment to his core vision.” The comment came as Garlinghouse marked 11 years at Ripple.

Garlinghouse’s path at Ripple

Garlinghouse joined Ripple in April 2015 as chief operating officer after earlier executive roles at AOL and Yahoo. He later became CEO in 2016 after co-founder Chris Larsen brought him into the company.

Before joining Ripple, Garlinghouse had reportedly considered a role at Uber. He later became one of the most visible executives in the crypto sector, especially during Ripple’s long legal dispute with the SEC.

Ripple expands after legal battle

Ripple has continued to grow after its legal fight with the SEC. Garlinghouse has also become a leading voice in calls for clearer crypto rules in the United States.

Over the past year, Ripple completed large acquisitions, including GTreasury for $1 billion and Hidden Road for $1.25 billion. The company later rebranded Hidden Road as Ripple Prime, a clearing platform focused on institutional finance.

Ripple also secured key licenses in global markets, including an Electronic Money Institution license in the United Kingdom. The company has also benefited from growing interest in XRP products after XRP spot ETFs launched last year.

The Harvard award adds another public milestone for Garlinghouse as Ripple expands its role in crypto payments, custody, stablecoins, and institutional markets.