An investigative journalist, author, and television producer, Stephen Witt frequently writes for The New Yorker and is the author of two acclaimed books that decode how industries are upended by innovation and the people who drive it.
Witt’s latest work, The Thinking Machine, tells the definitive story of Nvidia and its co-founder Jensen Huang, charting the rise of a company now valued at more than $3 trillion. Through six hours of rare interviews with Huang and conversations with his closest colleagues, Stephen Witt reveals a CEO unlike the archetypal Silicon Valley optimist. Huang, he shows, is propelled not by boundless confidence but by fear of failure, paranoia about competition, and guilt at the thought of letting others down. For business leaders, Witt offers a rare insight into the patterns behind paradigm shifts, the psychology of risk, and the emotional engines that power extraordinary companies.
Stephen Witt’s first book, How Music Got Free, uncovered the unlikely alliance of scientists, smugglers, and executives that collapsed the record industry and changed entertainment forever. Hailed as “the best account of the digital music revolution” by critics, the book was later adapted into a television series he co-produced with Eminem and LeBron James, featuring industry legends from Jimmy Iovine to 50 Cent.
As executive producer of Supervillain, Witt explored the rise and fall of rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, again blending cultural narrative with forensic reporting. Stephen Witt’s work challenges leaders to confront the emotional engines that drive great companies, to view disruption not as accident but as inevitability, and to prepare their organisations for the paradigm shifts that have already transformed music, media, and now AI.
