US Army's nerd force; Palantir, Meta, OpenAI tech bosses join Executive Innovation Corps, one sold knives in college
The
US Army
officially launched Detachment 201:
Executive Innovation Corps
on June 13, 2025, as part of its broader Army Transformation Initiative. The new reserve unit aims to integrate top technology executives into the Army Reserve to support innovation and modernization across military operations.
Participants are commissioned as part-time lieutenant colonels and will serve as strategic advisors, offering insight into emerging technologies and supporting the development of tech-driven defense capabilities.
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Four prominent figures from the tech industry were sworn in as the inaugural members of the Executive Innovation Corps. The founding cohort includes Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer at Palantir; Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer of Meta; Kevin Weil, Chief Product Officer at OpenAI; and Bob
McGrew
, former Chief Research Officer at
OpenAI
and current advisor at Thinking Machines Lab.
Here's more about who they are and why they are chosen to be the new nerds for US Army's invasion into military tech:
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Shyam Sankar: from Systems Engineer to Palantir's Chief Technologist
Shyam Sankar is Chief Technology Officer of Palantir Technologies and one of the most vocal advocates for revitalizing the US defense industrial base. His professional journey reflects a deep commitment to applied technology, national resilience, and transformation of how government institutions work with private-sector software.
Sankar holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Science in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. His career began in the early 2000s with ZeroChaos as a developer and later transitioned into business roles at Xoom Corporation, including VP of Network Management for Asia Pacific. These formative roles gave him early exposure to financial technology, distributed systems, and emerging markets.
In 2006, Sankar joined Palantir Technologies, then a relatively young company, as Chief Operating Officer. For nearly 17 years, he played a leading role in building Palantir into one of the most prominent defense-tech software firms in the world. His work spanned operations, product strategy, and client engagement, particularly with national security and military institutions. In 2023, he was named Chief Technology Officer.
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Sankar is also Chairman of Ginkgo Bioworks, a synthetic biology firm, and a trustee at the Hudson Institute, reflecting his broader interests in biotechnology and strategic policy. He is a frequent public voice on the urgent need to modernize the defense industrial base in the face of rising geopolitical threats and technological stagnation.
His commissioning into the Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel represents a formal extension of his work to bridge civilian and military technology. Sankar's perspective is shaped by his belief that the US must reawaken its Cold War-era spirit of industrial mobilization. His work champions speed, utility, and interoperability in defense software, values he sees as essential for modern warfighting and deterrence.
Andrew Bosworth: from sales rep to Meta's Chief Technologist
Andrew Bosworth, widely known in the tech industry as 'Boz,' is Chief Technology Officer at Meta and one of the company's most senior engineering leaders. His journey from selling knives door-to-door to leading
Meta
's long-term technology vision highlights a career defined by relentless execution, product innovation, and scale.
Bosworth's career began not in Silicon Valley, but with a headset and a kitchen demo kit. As a field sales manager at Vector Marketing, he sold Cutco knives door-to-door during college. His ability to train, motivate, and manage sales teams, while personally driving over $40,000 in individual sales in just 12 weeks, laid an early foundation in high-performance communication and leadership. He went on to manage over 100 representatives and helped drive $1 million in summer sales, giving him a rare edge in people operations and team dynamics.
He graduated from Harvard University in 2004 with an A.B. in Computer Science, concentrating on the study of mind, brain, and behavior. Post-graduation, Bosworth joined Microsoft as a software design engineer on the Visio team, contributing to layout and routing systems for a $350 million-a-year product. The role gave him deep exposure to large-scale codebases and mission-critical software design.
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In 2006, he joined Facebook as one of its earliest engineers. He was instrumental in building core products such as News Feed, Groups, and Messaging, some of the most widely used social features in the world. Over the next 16 years, he expanded into leadership roles spanning infrastructure, machine learning, and ultimately hardware.
In 2017, Bosworth was tapped to lead Meta's Reality Labs division, overseeing Oculus virtual reality development and the company's push into augmented reality. His work helped shape Meta's strategy toward immersive computing and the broader vision of the metaverse.
Appointed Chief Technology Officer in January 2022, Bosworth today oversees Meta's investment in foundational technologies like AI, AR/VR, and wearable computing. He is a key driver of Meta's efforts to evolve from a social media company to a platform for spatial and intelligent computing.
His recent commissioning into the US Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel reflects a growing recognition that defense transformation requires private-sector technologists with deep operating experience. Bosworth's unique combination of frontline sales, engineering discipline, and executive leadership makes him one of the rare technologists equally comfortable pitching products and building platforms that touch billions.
Kevin Weil: from Twitter visionary to OpenAI's Product Strategist
Kevin Weil serves as Chief Product Officer at OpenAI, bringing over a decade of experience building consumer-scale products at the intersection of data, design, and emerging technology. At OpenAI, he leads the development and delivery of AI tools like ChatGPT and the OpenAI API, helping shape how billions will interact with artificial intelligence.
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Weil graduated from Harvard with a degree in physics and began his career as a software engineer. He rose to prominence during his tenure at Twitter, where he served as SVP of Product, helping shape its core timeline and ads platform during a period of exponential user growth. His product leadership was marked by an emphasis on simplicity, velocity, and impact.
He later held executive roles at Instagram, where he helped build Stories and explore new formats, and at Facebook's blockchain initiative, Novi. At each stop, Weil's focus has been on making cutting-edge tech accessible, intuitive, and scalable for everyday users.
At OpenAI, he is responsible for translating advanced research into widely-used products. Under his guidance, the company has rapidly expanded access to AI systems through partnerships, developer platforms, and consumer apps. His product instincts play a key role in how OpenAI balances innovation with responsible deployment.
Weil was recently commissioned into the US Army Reserve as part of the Executive Innovation Corps. His inclusion signals the military's intent to work with product thinkers capable of rapid iteration, interface design, and aligning advanced technology with real-world usability.
Bob McGrew: from OpenAI research to strategic AI advising
Bob McGrew is an AI veteran whose work spans some of the most important frontiers of machine learning and safety. As the former Chief Research Officer at OpenAI, he led research programs focused on alignment, large language models, and responsible AI deployment efforts that helped lay the groundwork for tools like GPT-4 and reinforcement learning techniques.
McGrew holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University, where his research focused on algorithmic game theory and computational economics. Before OpenAI, he worked at Facebook and other Silicon Valley labs where he applied ML at scale.
At OpenAI, McGrew was instrumental in setting long-term research agendas and leading collaborations with academia, government, and other research institutions. He became known for his pragmatic approach to research translation: pushing theoretical work toward real-world impact.
Now an advisor at Thinking Machines Lab, a Manila-based AI consultancy, McGrew focuses on building AI solutions for development, sustainability, and national resilience. His global perspective on AI's impact makes him a valuable bridge between frontier research and practical deployment.
Recently, McGrew joined the US Army Reserve's Executive Innovation Corps as a lieutenant colonel. His background in both technical research and ethical AI frameworks positions him to advise on military AI applications that are safe, explainable, and aligned with democratic values.
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