The Milken Institute, a global nonpartisan think tank, is expanding its footprint across North America through high-level international forums and regional data-driven initiatives. By bridging macroeconomic strategy with regional development, the Institute is evaluating how capital allocation, institutional investment, and cross-border partnerships shape regional competitiveness.

Milken Institute

Michael Milken founded the Milken Institute in 1991. He was the head of high-yield securities of the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, which was based in New York City, New York, United States and forced into bankruptcy in 1990.

The institute’s work is organized around four pillars namely finance, health, strategic philanthropy. Based in Santa Monica, California, USA, it has offices in New York, in Washington, D.C., USA, in Miami, Florida, USA, in London, England, United Kingdom, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and in Singapore.

Denver, Colorado

On September 17, 2026, the Milken Institute will headline venture developer Innosphere’s flagship “Innovation After Hours” event at the National Western Center’s Legacy Building in Denver, Colorado, USA. Hosted alongside the Colorado Innovation Council and sponsored by law firm FBT Gibbons, the gathering convenes leaders across the state’s advanced industries, including quantum computing, bioscience, aerospace, and photonics.

Keynote presentations from Milken Institute directors Brock Smith, PhD, and Rachel Halfaker will provide a data-backed analysis of Colorado’s competitive standing using metrics from the Institute’s annual Best-Performing Cities report and its 10,000 Communities Initiative. Following the keynote, a panel featuring executives from the Colorado BioScience Association, Elevate Quantum, Metro Denver EDC, and Innosphere will translate the research into strategies to strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem.

Mexico City

Concurrently, the Milken Institute is expanding its international reach into Latin America with the Global Investors’ Symposium Mexico City 2026, set for October 28, 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Mexico City, Mexico. The summit will gather global institutional investors, corporate executives, and policymakers to evaluate private capital trends, cross-border investments, and infrastructure expansion across the Americas.

Centered on the theme “Capital in a Changing World,” the symposium will analyze Mexico’s evolving role in North American supply chains and nearshoring, highlighted by record-setting foreign direct investment and projects like the Green Corridors initiative. The agenda also spotlights Mexico’s growing institutional investor ecosystem—spanning pension funds, family offices, and development finance institutions—as a primary engine driving regional infrastructure, technology, and energy markets.

Together, these initiatives highlight the Milken Institute’s multifaceted approach to economic development across North America. From evaluating metro-level innovation hubs in Colorado to facilitating international capital flows in Mexico City, the institute continues to provide actionable frameworks and collaborative platforms for leaders navigating global market shifts