Susan Athey
Susan Athey has spent her career at the intersection of economics and technology, shaping the way we understand markets, digital platforms, and the power of data. A pioneering economist, she has influenced everything from auction theory to the role of artificial intelligence in decision-making. Her work doesn’t stay confined to academia—it has helped shape corporate strategy, public policy, and even the foundations of modern tech regulation.
Athey’s research spans a wide range of topics, but at its core is a drive to understand how digital platforms shape economic behavior. She is the first woman to win the John Bates Clark Medal—awarded to the most influential American economist under 40—she has long been recognized as a leader in the field. She has advised major tech firms, including Microsoft, on machine learning applications and algorithmic market design. But her role is not just one of insight—it is one of action.
When I photographed Athey at her home near Stanford on February 20, 2025, she had recently completed her tenure as an appointee in the Justice Department, where she played a central role in shaping modern antitrust policy. Just as the news broke that the Trump administration planned to retain the 2023 Merger Guidelines, it became clear how significant her contributions had been. As a principal author of these guidelines, she helped establish the economic rationale for blocking mergers that allowed dominant firms to entrench their power—whether by acquiring complementary products that could be leveraged to sustain monopolies or by enabling major digital platforms to eliminate competitive threats.
Her team at the DOJ pursued major monopolization cases, taking on industry giants like Live Nation/Ticketmaster, UnitedHealth, Google, and Apple. One of the most consequential victories came in a case exposing Google’s multi-billion-dollar payments to Apple to maintain search defaults—an arrangement that reinforced Google’s dominance in online search. The success of these cases underscored the growing role of economic analysis in defining the limits of corporate power in the digital age.
Her home reflected the balance she maintains between rigorous intellectual work and a rich personal life. Books filled the rooms, covering economics, policy, and technology, but also literature and philosophy. Her husband, Nobel laureate Guido Imbens, was there, and the two economists moved easily between topics—discussing research, policy, and art.
Athey is not just an observer of economic systems; she is a force in shaping them. Whether designing better algorithms for online marketplaces, crafting legal arguments in high-stakes regulatory battles, or mentoring the next generation of economists, her impact is undeniable. She operates with a rare mix of precision and pragmatism—able to model an abstract problem with mathematical rigor, but always with an eye toward real-world consequences.
In a digital age where power is increasingly concentrated, Athey’s work is a reminder that economics is not just about theory—it is about accountability, fairness, and the systems that shape our daily lives.
Susan Athey
Susan Athey has spent her career at the intersection of economics and technology, shaping the way we understand markets, digital platforms, and the power of data. A pioneering economist, she has influenced everything from auction theory to the role of artificial intelligence in decision-making. Her work doesn’t stay confined to academia—it has helped shape corporate strategy, public policy, and even the foundations of modern tech regulation.
Athey’s research spans a wide range of topics, but at its core is a drive to understand how digital platforms shape economic behavior. She is the first woman to win the John Bates Clark Medal—awarded to the most influential American economist under 40—she has long been recognized as a leader in the field. She has advised major tech firms, including Microsoft, on machine learning applications and algorithmic market design. But her role is not just one of insight—it is one of action.
When I photographed Athey at her home near Stanford on February 20, 2025, she had recently completed her tenure as an appointee in the Justice Department, where she played a central role in shaping modern antitrust policy. Just as the news broke that the Trump administration planned to retain the 2023 Merger Guidelines, it became clear how significant her contributions had been. As a principal author of these guidelines, she helped establish the economic rationale for blocking mergers that allowed dominant firms to entrench their power—whether by acquiring complementary products that could be leveraged to sustain monopolies or by enabling major digital platforms to eliminate competitive threats.
Her team at the DOJ pursued major monopolization cases, taking on industry giants like Live Nation/Ticketmaster, UnitedHealth, Google, and Apple. One of the most consequential victories came in a case exposing Google’s multi-billion-dollar payments to Apple to maintain search defaults—an arrangement that reinforced Google’s dominance in online search. The success of these cases underscored the growing role of economic analysis in defining the limits of corporate power in the digital age.
Her home reflected the balance she maintains between rigorous intellectual work and a rich personal life. Books filled the rooms, covering economics, policy, and technology, but also literature and philosophy. Her husband, Nobel laureate Guido Imbens, was there, and the two economists moved easily between topics—discussing research, policy, and art.
Athey is not just an observer of economic systems; she is a force in shaping them. Whether designing better algorithms for online marketplaces, crafting legal arguments in high-stakes regulatory battles, or mentoring the next generation of economists, her impact is undeniable. She operates with a rare mix of precision and pragmatism—able to model an abstract problem with mathematical rigor, but always with an eye toward real-world consequences.
In a digital age where power is increasingly concentrated, Athey’s work is a reminder that economics is not just about theory—it is about accountability, fairness, and the systems that shape our daily lives.