Babel Street Appoints AI Industry Leader John W. Larson as President and Chief AI Officer to Power Next-Level Growth

Named a Top AI Executive to Watch in 2025 for his work at Booz Allen Hamilton, Larson will lead development of new AI capabilities for innovation and intelligence advantage

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Babel Street, a global leader in mission-grade risk intelligence, today announced John W. Larson has joined the company as President and Chief AI Officer. This marks a major expansion of the company’s executive leadership, where he will lead efforts to scale Babel Street’s AI advantage and accelerate the next generation of product innovation.

A nationally recognized AI and technology leader, Larson brings more than two decades of experience building high-performance AI organizations. He joins Babel Street after serving as Executive Vice President and Head of Artificial Intelligence at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he played a pivotal role in establishing and reinforcing the firm’s position as the leading provider of AI services to the U.S. federal government – a distinction the company has held since GFY 2022 and corroborated by industry analysts.

Under his leadership, Booz Allen’s dedicated AI portfolio grew at a compound rate exceeding 30% annually, scaling from an emerging contributor in the low hundreds of millions to approximately $800 million by fiscal year 2025, with continued strong growth momentum into fiscal 2026. His impact earned him recognition as one of the Top AI Executives to Watch in 2025.

While at Booze Allen Hamilton, he launched a series of reusable mission-aligned AI products, established industry-shaping partnerships with NVIDIA, AWS, and next-generation AI start-ups, and built responsible AI governance frameworks that accelerated secure, explainable AI adoption across defense, intelligence, and civil agencies. Prior to this, Larson held senior leadership roles at IHS Markit (now S&P Global), Deloitte, IBM, and PwC.

As Babel Street’s President and Chief AI Officer, he will direct the company’s technology strategy, expand its intelligence advantage, and drive the next generation of capabilities that help organizations detect risk earlier.

“John is one of the most transformative AI leaders in the industry,” said Benji Hutchinson, CEO of Babel Street. “He has built and scaled AI programs at a level few executives have achieved. His leadership will position Babel Street to expand our platform capabilities to deliver even greater value to our customers operating in high-stakes, high-complexity environments. John will help Babel Street continue to earn a place as a trusted technology partner for the world's most advanced identity intelligence and risk operations.”

“Babel Street leads the sector in mission-grade risk intelligence with the most expansive data sources and access worldwide,” Larson said. “I’m excited to further that advantage with AI to amplify risk detection and make these powerful capabilities accessible to more organizations – and the personnel – that stand on the front lines of risk. When we detect threats sooner and respond with precision, we protect more people and strengthen our national resilience.”

With Larson’s appointment, Babel Street deepens its commitment to helping organizations see more, know sooner, and act smarter in an increasingly complex and adversarial world.

About Babel Street

Babel Street delivers mission-grade risk intelligence for organizations across government, defense, and the private sector to expose hidden identities, secure vendor networks, and identify threats. Our AI-native platform empowers the most trusted organizations in the world with the strategic advantage needed to stay ahead of risk and protect their missions. Headquartered in the U.S., Babel Street has an established presence in Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, and the U.K. For more information, visit babelstreet.com.