
Farhaan Ladhani
CEO & Co-Founder, Digital Public Square
2022, 2023
Farhaan is CEO of Digital Public Square and a co-founder of the organization. For nearly 20 years, he has been leading efforts on the use of digital tools to connect and mobilize people online.
Farhaan has deep experience leading cross-functional teams, including in high-conflict and crisis environments. With nearly a decade of public service from Canada’s former International Development Agency, to most recently serving as the Prime Minister of Canada’s senior advisor for digital, Farhaan Ladhani has a record of generating real-world outcomes on a number of first-in-kind initiatives.
While at Global Affairs Canada, Farhaan’s foreign assignments included the Head of Section for Strategic Communications in Kandahar where he led a team of Afghan, US, Canadian, and international partners responsible for executing strategic communications and public engagement initiatives throughout Kandahar Province. From 2006 to 2008, Farhaan was based in Washington, D.C. at the Embassy of Canada where he focused on the development of social and new media initiatives.
Farhaan has conceived, designed and delivered a series of groundbreaking efforts to support human rights-related campaigns in a variety of countries through the use of digital tools. These include strategies to counter extremist violence in Kandahar in support of the Afghan government, and campaigns to equip Egyptian democracy activists with support from Silicon Valley technologists. Farhaan has extensive experience with projects involving free expression in areas of the world affected by censorship.
Under Farhaan’s leadership, the team at the Digital Public Square is at the forefront of developing new technology and tools to foster online engagement with expertise in reaching marginalized communities, those facing repression, and those in sensitive digital space.

The effort to eradicate hate requires the active participation of every component of our society, to include governments, the private sector, communities of faith and indeed every aspect of civil society. There is no more urgent task in front of us. The organizers of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit are doing the United States and the world an enormous service by tackling hatred and extremism with a focus on honest dialogue and conversation, genuine learning and practical solutions. This will not happen overnight, but the Pittsburgh community’s leadership in this effort is genuinely inspiring and motivating.
