Claremont McKenna College will celebrate its 78th Commencement Ceremony and the Class of 2026 on May 16 with Akshata Murty ’02 and The Right Honourable PM Rishi Sunak MP as joint keynote speakers.
From 2022-2024, Sunak’s tenure as the 57th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was marked by a return to economic stability and forging a global leadership position in new technologies, including artificial intelligence. The Windsor Framework he negotiated with the EU also helped to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland. During her time living in Downing Street, Murty launched Lessons at 10, an initiative providing students across the United Kingdom with the opportunity to visit No. 10, learn about its history, and bring education to life with the help of inspiring guests and experts.
The pair also recently established The Richmond Project, a philanthropic organization in the United Kingdom determined to break down barriers to numeracy across all ages. Murty has said that she and her husband were guided by a shared “passion for education,” and specifically, a desire to build confidence around data and numbers as a means to “support innovative solutions that drive social mobility.”
“Individually and as a team, Akshata and Rishi exemplify responsible leadership. From Rishi’s service to the United Kingdom as Prime Minister and a current Member of Parliament, to Akshata’s support of young entrepreneurs, education, arts and sciences, and varied philanthropic causes, they have both made a significant impact on business, government, and the professions,” said CMC President Hiram Chodosh.
“We are moved by their selfless leadership, generous support, and close friendship to so many throughout the CMC community. It is an honor that they will be joining us for this special Commencement celebration.”
Murty and Sunak’s advocacy includes generous support of CMC, notably through the founding and sustained excellence of the Murty Sunak Quantitative and Computing Lab (QCL). Their commitment to the QCL, which opened in 2018 as an interdisciplinary campus hub for data and computation, served as an early catalyst for CMC’s integrated sciences vision. Additionally, Murty and Sunak established an endowed philosophy professorship in PPE that allowed the program to double its student capacity. They have further supported students, faculty, and alumni across a variety of initiatives and hosted events, including those with connections to India and the United Kingdom.
Murty currently serves as a member of CMC’s Board of Trustees (since 2011) and previously served on the Advisory Council for the Berger Institute for Individual and Social Development. She has made invaluable contributions across the College as a member of the Academic Affairs, Building and Grounds, and Student Affairs Committees, as well as the Public Art Subcommittee.
From 2013-2023, Murty ran Catamaran Ventures UK, an investment platform providing funding and strategic advice to early-stage consumer-oriented companies, primarily in the United Kingdom. She is also a Trustee of the V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum) and the Murty Trust while being a supporter of the Murty Classical Library of India. Murty earned a B.A. in Economics and French from CMC, and an MBA from Stanford University, where she and Sunak met before getting married in 2009.
Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Sunak led the country’s economic response to COVID-19 as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020-2022. First elected to Parliament in 2015, Sunak represents the constituency of Richmond and Northallerton in North Yorkshire.
Before entering politics, Sunak worked in finance at Goldman Sachs, The Children’s Investment Fund, and as co-founder of an investment firm supporting British businesses. He was educated at Winchester College and Oxford University, and has an MBA from Stanford University, where he was a Fulbright scholar. Sunak serves on the World Leaders Circle at the Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University and is the William C. Edwards Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.
CMC’s 2026 Commencement Ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 16 at Pritzlaff Field.