Teresa Carlson spent more than two decades selling cloud technology to federal agencies. First at Microsoft. Then at Amazon Web Services. Now she has a new assignment. Global head of public sector at Anthropic.
The hire, announced this week, marks the first time the artificial intelligence company has created such a dedicated role. It arrives at a delicate moment. Anthropic has secured major government contracts. Yet it has also faced export restrictions on its most advanced models and tensions with the Pentagon. Carlson brings deep relationships across Washington and a track record of scaling public sector businesses at the largest cloud providers.
“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 statement. “AI is changing how we work and how we live, and that change has to happen in collaboration with governments.”
The comments, shared with FedScoop on July 7, 2026, capture both her experience and the company’s pitch. Anthropic needs someone who can open doors. Someone who understands procurement. Someone trusted on both sides of the table. Few fit that description better than Carlson.
Her resume tells the story. She served as vice president of federal sales and operations at Microsoft from 2000 to 2010. A decade later she moved to AWS, where she founded and led its worldwide public sector business. That unit eventually grew to cover financial services, energy, telecommunications, aerospace and satellite operations. She later held roles at Splunk as president and chief growth officer, returned briefly to Microsoft as corporate vice president and entrepreneur-in-residence, and most recently led the General Catalyst Institute, the public policy arm of the venture firm that has invested in Anthropic.
Six times she has been recognized with the Wash100 Award, which honors top federal technology executives. Boards and advisory roles at the White House Historical Association, National Portrait Gallery and Atlantic Council add to her establishment credentials. This isn’t a typical Silicon Valley transplant. It’s a Washington insider with decades of federal IT experience.
Anthropic wasted little time signaling the significance. Kate Earle Jensen, the company’s head of Americas, put it plainly. “Few people are as trusted across government and industry as Teresa, or understand how governments adopt new technology as well,” she told FedScoop. “We’re fortunate to have her leading this work for us in the U.S. and worldwide.”
The timing matters. Anthropic has poured resources into government access. In 2024 it partnered with Palantir and AWS to deliver Claude models to defense and intelligence agencies. By 2025 it landed a $200 million Department of Defense contract and became the first AI lab to integrate models into classified networks. Yet success bred scrutiny.
Last year the Trump administration restricted foreign use of Anthropic’s most capable models after concerns raised by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, according to a Wall Street Journal report from June 2026. The Pentagon labeled the company a supply chain risk in early 2026, prompting agencies to begin phasing out its tools. Amazon nevertheless continued offering Claude to AWS customers outside defense work, as detailed in a March 2026 CNBC article.
Those frictions haven’t stopped progress. The U.S. later lifted access restrictions on models including Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 after Anthropic made commitments. The company pledged expanded early access for government partners to test models and safeguards. It promised faster notifications on jailbreaks or misuse. It began sharing updated safeguards, threat intelligence and even collaborating with Amazon, Google, Microsoft and others on a shared framework for assessing jailbreak severity. A new program invites external security researchers to submit findings.
Carlson joins amid this recalibration. She told ExecutiveBiz she sees an opportunity to continue “putting the best technology available into the hands of those who serve the public.” But she added a note of caution. Something this powerful requires both urgency and deliberation. American AI leadership, exercised with allies and democratic partners, will shape how work gets done and how government serves people.
The move reflects broader shifts. Hyperscalers and AI labs now compete fiercely for government contracts. Microsoft, Google and Amazon all offer Anthropic’s models through their platforms while pursuing their own frontier systems. AWS remains Anthropic’s primary cloud partner, providing massive compute through Trainium chips and a multi-gigawatt agreement signed earlier this year.
Yet the relationship isn’t without complications. Amazon’s investment in Anthropic and its role in flagging security concerns created awkward optics. Carlson’s AWS pedigree could help smooth those ties. Or it could raise questions about independence. Either way, her presence signals Anthropic’s seriousness about federal business.
Public sector sales differ from commercial ones. Procurement cycles stretch long. Compliance demands run high. Trust matters more than flashy demos. Carlson built her career on exactly those realities. At Microsoft she helped establish federal cloud adoption. At AWS she scaled what became a multibillion-dollar operation serving governments worldwide.
Her experience at General Catalyst adds another dimension. There she shaped policy conversations around AI, working with startups and policymakers. That background aligns neatly with Anthropic’s emphasis on responsible development and government coordination. The company has hired former Biden administration officials before. It has criticized certain Trump policies. Carlson’s nonpartisan profile and extensive network could prove useful in bridging divides.
Challenges remain. The Pentagon’s phase-out timeline gives some agencies six months to transition away from Anthropic tools. Replacing deeply integrated AI capabilities won’t happen overnight. A February 2026 Defense One report noted it could take months for the military to swap out the systems. Some commands already rely heavily on Claude for mission workflows.
Carlson will need to rebuild momentum. That means reassuring customers. Expanding international public sector work. Strengthening partnerships with resellers like Carahsoft. And continuing the delicate dance between innovation speed and government caution.
Anthropic isn’t alone in this hunt. OpenAI recently signed its own AWS contract for government use. Other labs chase similar opportunities. The federal AI market promises enormous revenue but demands patience, relationships and ironclad security postures.
So Carlson steps in. A veteran operator for a company still maturing its government strategy. Her arrival won’t erase past tensions. But it equips Anthropic with someone who knows the terrain, the players and the process. In a field where technical prowess gets you in the door but execution keeps you there, that matters.
The coming months will test whether her expertise can translate Anthropic’s model capabilities into sustained public sector adoption. Governments worldwide watch closely. The technology changes fast. The institutions that govern it move slower. Bridging that gap has defined Carlson’s career. Now it defines her new mandate at one of AI’s most ambitious companies.
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