--- title: How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders description: For nearly a decade, through our Next Generation Leaders franchise, we've been sharing the stories of trailblazers shaping our future canonical: https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/ author: Sam Jacobs article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-10-05T11:00:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:52:58.936Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders og:description: For nearly a decade, through our Next Generation Leaders franchise, we've been sharing the stories of trailblazers shaping our future og:url: https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb4809d0d7a8d1b/698a40ec16d8840f32c3c4af/humza-yousaf-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: humza-yousaf-3 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders twitter:description: For nearly a decade, through our Next Generation Leaders franchise, we've been sharing the stories of trailblazers shaping our future twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb4809d0d7a8d1b/698a40ec16d8840f32c3c4af/humza-yousaf-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs takes readers inside the newsroom, revealing the journalists, ideas and editorial choices behind the stories shaping the global conversation. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=963f0fbb-d9ad-432a-9a3c-4a8571e1a156&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Sam Jacobs, Editor-in-Chief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership Globally minded knowledge seekers. Readers who turn to journalism to understand the world, with meaningful concentrations among educators, students, media professionals, civic institutions and knowledge workers. ### TIME Inside TIME: key statements * Inside TIME is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent.  by [Sam Jacobs](https://time.com/author/samuel-p-jacobs/)  ## Sam Jacobs Editor in Chief of TIME Oct 5, 2023 11:00 AM UTC  Yousaf speaks to supporters outside the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23. Yousaf speaks to supporters outside the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23. Gabriella Demczuk for TIME  by [Sam Jacobs](https://time.com/author/samuel-p-jacobs/)  ## Sam Jacobs Editor in Chief of TIME Oct 5, 2023 11:00 AM UTC In the wake of Mahsa Jina Amini’s death, Iranian chess master [Sara Khadem](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6317290/sara-khadem/) defied her country’s mandatory dress regulations during competition. Indian ­YouTuber [Dhruv Rathee](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6317267/dhruv-rathee/) is facing threats for fact-­checking trending topics on Indian social media for millions of his followers. [Jonathon Heyward](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6317276/jonathon-heyward/) recently became the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s first music director of color and, at 31, the youngest current music director of any major U.S. orchestra. These are three of the individuals profiled in this fall’s class of [Next Generation Leaders](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/), the nine-year-old franchise made possible by our partnership with Rolex. Their stories continue to reshape for us what leadership can be. Through Next Generation Leaders, we explore influence in many forms, including artistry, athleticism, and activism. And we examine rising leaders breaking barriers in traditional realms of power like politics. Representing this fall’s group on the cover is the First Minister of Scotland, [Humza Yousaf](https://time.com/collection/next-generation-leaders/6317249/humza-yousaf-leaders/), who has earned himself a growing series of firsts: At 27, he became the youngest member of the Scottish Parliament to join the Scottish government. Now 38, he is the first Muslim politician to lead a Western democracy, as well as the first nonwhite and youngest First Minister of his country.  Photograph by Gabriella Demczuk for TIME Yousaf is leading at a moment of competing crises­—scandal hitting his Scottish National Party and significant increases in the cost of living, to name just two. He knows that his identity matters to voters and to history. He says of seeing his portrait hung at Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister, “I really stand out because I look different. It was really emotional. I remember looking at it and thinking, almost whatever happens now ... mine will always be the one that looks different.” We look forward to taking Next Generation Leaders into its second decade next year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/"},"headline":"How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders","datePublished":"2023-10-05T11:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:52:58.936Z","description":"For nearly a decade, through our Next Generation Leaders franchise, we've been sharing the stories of trailblazers shaping our future","url":"https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/","keywords":["Next Generation Leaders","Cover Story","Magazine","NGL Articles"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb4809d0d7a8d1b/698a40ec16d8840f32c3c4af/humza-yousaf-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Jacobs","jobTitle":"Editor in Chief of TIME","url":"https://time.com/author/samuel-p-jacobs/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6eb4809d0d7a8d1b/698a40ec16d8840f32c3c4af/humza-yousaf-3.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"humza-yousaf-3","caption":"Yousaf speaks to supporters outside the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23.","creditText":"Gabriella Demczuk for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/next-generation-leaders/","name":"Next Generation Leaders"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6320159/new-next-generation-leaders-2023/","name":"How We Chose the New Class of Next Generation Leaders"}}]}] ```