Chris Ward is the CEO of Fire Mountain Labs, where he leads the company’s mission to advance safe and assured AI. Under his direction, Fire Mountain Labs delivers pioneering AI assurance solutions to enterprise and government clients, ensuring AI systems are deployed with security, integrity, and accountability.

With over a decade of experience in AI and AI Security, Chris has coauthored 23 publications in the field and brings deep technical and operational expertise. A veteran of Active Duty U.S. Navy service, Chris also brings deep expertise from Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center Pacific, the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC), the MITRE Corporation, and several successful AI startups. His background spans operational technology, national security, and cutting-edge AI innovation.

As a trusted voice in the AI ecosystem, Chris operates as an honest broker—bridging government, industry, academia, and small organizations. He advocates for AI adopters navigating a crowded and hype-driven landscape, championing pragmatic, secure, and trustworthy solutions that serve the public good and strengthen national resilience.

Before founding Fire Mountain Labs, Chris held senior leadership roles in AI security research and red teaming, where he shaped industry standards in AI risk assessment, penetration testing, secure AI governance, and adversarial threat modeling.