Anthropic taps Microsoft, AWS alum Teresa Carlson to lead public sector work

Longtime IT industry leader Teresa Carlson has joined Anthropic to lead its public sector strategy as the artificial intelligence company navigates relationships with the U.S. and other governments.

Carlson — who is known for her past leadership at Microsoft and Amazon Web Services — is now Anthropic’s global head of public sector, the Claude maker shared Tuesday. She is the first person to hold that title at the company.

“After more than two decades helping government leaders navigate new technologies, I joined Anthropic because it prioritized working alongside government early and takes this as seriously as anything it does,” Carlson said in a written statement shared with FedScoop. “AI is changing how we work and how we live, and that change has to happen in collaboration with governments.” 

Carlson has had a long career leading public sector strategy for tech companies. In the 2000s, she served as vice president of federal sales and operations at Microsoft for roughly a decade, and later moved to AWS, where she spent another decade building out its global public sector work. 

In more recent years, Carlson has held a number of titles. She was president and chief growth officer at Splunk, rejoined Microsoft as a corporate vice president and entrepreneur-in-residence, and, most recently, served as president of General Catalyst Institute — a public policy offshoot of a venture capital firm that counts Anthropic among its investees. 

She is also currently vice chair of the White House Historical Association, a trustee of the National Portrait Gallery, and a board and executive committee member of the Atlantic Council.

“Few people are as trusted across government and industry as Teresa, or understand how governments adopt new technology as well,” Kate Earle Jensen, Anthropic’s head of Americas, said in a written statement. “We’re fortunate to have her leading this work for us in the US and worldwide.”

News of Carlson’s hire comes as some of the tensions between Anthropic and the U.S. government appear to be loosening in recent weeks. 

The Trump administration scrapped restrictions on the company’s Claude Mythos and Claude Fable models following discussions with the company. Those unusual restrictions were fueled by concerns that the models could be jailbroken and used maliciously, but the company and the government have since smoothed things over.

The company’s lawsuit against the administration over the Department of Defense, however, still remains active. Emails detailing the initial spat over AI usage that led to a governmentwide ban and label of the company as a supply-chain risk were entered into the public court record last week, and the parties are slated for a motions hearing at the end of the month. 

Notably, Carlson has supporters from both sides of the political spectrum. 

Colin Crowell, former senior counselor to Obama-era Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski, said in a written comment that Carlson is “a force of nature, and a tireless advocate for leveling up government.” Crowell is currently global managing director of advisory firm The Blue Owl Group.

Likewise, Chip Pickering, a former six-term Republican congressman from Mississippi and current CEO of the trade association Incompas, said in a written statement that Carlson has “earned trust on both sides of the aisle because she puts the country first.”

“If America is going to keep its lead in AI, government has to be part of it — and no one is better positioned to help make that happen,” Pickering said. “Anthropic made a smart move here.”