PeopleofSuperintelligence

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Will Hurd

Also known as William Hurd, William Ballard Hurd

Will Hurd is a former CIA officer and Texas congressman who worked on artificial intelligence policy in Congress and sat on OpenAI's board. A computer science graduate of Texas A&M University, he served as a CIA clandestine officer from 2000 to 2009 and represented Texas's 23rd district in the House from 2015 to 2021. As chairman of the House Oversight IT Subcommittee, he opened a three-part AI hearing series in 2018, and in 2020 he coauthored a national AI strategy resolution with Robin Kelly that passed the House. He joined OpenAI's board in May 2021, left it in July 2023 before running for the Republican presidential nomination with a plan to regulate AI, and joined the board of Personal AI in 2024. He is President of ICON Prime, the defense and space division of the construction-technology company ICON.

Now at
Personal AI, Icon and Council on Foreign Relations
Born
1977
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 2000–2009

    Clandestine officer at the CIA

    After earning a computer science degree at Texas A&M University, he works as a CIA clandestine officer from 2000 to 2009. His tours include operations roles in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

  2. 2015–2021

    Congressman from Texas

    He represents Texas's 23rd congressional district in the US House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021. In his first term he chairs the Information Technology Subcommittee of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and in his second term he joins the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

  3. 2018

    A House hearing series on AI

    In February 2018, as chairman of the House Oversight IT Subcommittee, he announces a three-part hearing series on artificial intelligence. The series aims to define criteria that guide how government understands and adopts AI.

  4. 2020

    A national AI strategy resolution

    In September 2020, he and Representative Robin Kelly of Illinois introduce a resolution to create a national artificial intelligence strategy. The House passes the nonbinding resolution unanimously in December 2020, with actions in workforce, national security, research and development, and ethics.

  5. May 2021–July 2023

    A seat on OpenAI's board

    He joins the board of directors of OpenAI in May 2021. In July 2023, he announces his resignation from the board ahead of his presidential campaign.

  6. 2023

    A 2023 presidential campaign

    He announces a run for the Republican presidential nomination in June 2023. In September 2023 he releases a plan to regulate AI that proposes creating a branch of the executive devoted to the issue, and in October 2023 he suspends his campaign and endorses Nikki Haley.

  7. July 2024–October 2024

    Personal AI and CHAOS Industries

    In July 2024, he joins the board of Personal AI, a company that builds digital twins for experts in regulated industries. CHAOS Industries, a company building defense and national security systems, names him Chief Strategy Officer in October 2024.

  8. Since April 2026

    President of ICON Prime

    ICON names him Division President of ICON Prime in April 2026, when the construction-technology company launches the unit to deploy its robotic construction systems for the US military and NASA. He also serves on the boards of Personal.AI and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Career

  1. Since 2026IconDivision President
  2. Since 2024Personal AIBoard Member
  3. NowCouncil on Foreign RelationsBoard Member
  4. From 2024CHAOS IndustriesChief Strategy Officer
  5. 2021–2023OpenAIBoard Member
  6. 2015–2021United States House of RepresentativesRepresentative
  7. 2000–2009Central Intelligence AgencyClandestine Officer

Education

  1. Texas A&M UniversityComputer science degree

From the biography.

  1. Direct Form 990 pay in the latest returns of 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site is highest at $2.1M at the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) (2024)Includes Will Hurd. IRS Form 990 compensation across 39 nonprofits with AI people on this site from 2012 to 2025: in the latest returns, Mozilla reports $6.1M including related-company pay (2024) and the Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) leads direct nonprofit pay at $2.1M (2024).
  2. Among employers with 30+ full-time cases, OpenAI leads primary technical role H-1B pay at $310,000, and Amazon, Google and Microsoft file 57% of all casesIncludes OpenAI. Across 440,669 certified US H-1B filings from 44 employers (FY2020–FY2026), OpenAI leads primary technical role base pay at $310,000 and xAI leads overall base pay at $290,000.
  3. 22 of 133 people shaping AI with a former OpenAI role now work at AnthropicIncludes OpenAI. Our estimates of where OpenAI recruits came from and where 133 people with former OpenAI roles work now, including the companies and labs they founded.
  4. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes OpenAI. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Will Hurd yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Will Hurd - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 20 October 2026.
  2. Game Changers: Artificial Intelligence Part I - House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform oversight.house.gov. Checked 20 October 2026.
  3. Hurd: U.S. can triumph in 'battle' for AI dominance against China | FedScoop fedscoop.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  4. Hurd and Kelly's national AI strategy resolution passes House | FedScoop fedscoop.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  5. Former Congressman and OpenAI Board Member William Hurd to join Personal AI Board personal.ai. Checked 20 October 2026.
  6. CHAOS Industries Names Former U.S. Congressman and C.I.A. Veteran Will Hurd as Chief Strategy Officer markets.financialcontent.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  7. ICON Launches ICON Prime, a Dedicated Government Division focused on Military, Intelligence, and Space Applications to Accelerate Robotic Construction for National Security iconbuild.com. Checked 20 October 2026.
  8. William Hurd | Council on Foreign Relations cfr.org. Checked 20 October 2026.