Brad Smith

Brad Smith attended Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private university and Ivy League member in Princeton, New Jersey. Chartered on October 22, 1746 as the College of New Jersey, it moved to Princeton in 1756 and adopted its present name in 1896. Undergraduate education leads to A.B. and B.S.E. degrees and emphasizes small-group discussion, independent research and residential college life. Graduate education spans the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. As of October 2026, Christopher L. Eisgruber was president. Its 2026–27 operating budget was $3.407 billion, including $342 million for undergraduate aid.Open the full entry, earned his J.D. from Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University, formally Columbia University in the City of New York, is a private research university in New York City and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1754 by royal charter from King George II as King's College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in New York State and the fifth oldest in the United States. It was renamed Columbia College in 1784 and adopted the university name and moved to Manhattan's Morningside Heights in 1896. It has 17 schools and four affiliated colleges, with 35,978 students enrolled in fall 2025. Legal scholar Jennifer L. Mnookin became president on July 1, 2026.Open the full entry Law School and studied international law and economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva; he then worked at the law firm Covington & Burling, first as an associate and later as a partner.⁠[1]

He joined Microsoft in 1993, spending his first three years in Paris leading the company’s legal and corporate affairs team in Europe.⁠[1][2]

In 2002 he was named Microsoft’s general counsel, and over the following decade he handled the resolution of the company’s antitrust cases, taking part in negotiations alongside then-CEO Steve BallmerSteve BallmerSteve Ballmer is an American businessman and philanthropist who joined Microsoft in 1980 and succeeded Bill Gates as its chief executive officer from 2000 to 2014. After stepping down he bought the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, co-founded the philanthropy Ballmer Group with his wife Connie Ballmer, and founded the government-data website USAFacts.Open the full entry.⁠[3][2]

In 2008 he co-founded Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) with Angelina Jolie, chaired its board for 15 years and became board chair emeritus in 2024.⁠[1]

Since 2014 he has served on Princeton University’s board of trustees.⁠[1]

In September 2015, CEO Satya NadellaSatya NadellaSatya Nadella is a business executive who serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft; his leadership career spans cloud computing, developer platforms, corporate acquisitions, and artificial intelligence.Open the full entry promoted him to president of Microsoft, a post vacant since 2002; he also served as chief legal officer, overseeing privacy, security, accessibility, environmental sustainability and digital inclusion, and led a business, legal and corporate affairs team spanning 55 countries.⁠[2]

The same year he joined the board of Netflix.⁠[3][1]

He co-wrote Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age with Carol Ann Browne; he has said he co-authored it in 2019 and that its chapter on AI and ethics bears the title “tools and weapons.”⁠[1][4]

Microsoft’s board approved the appointment of him, then president, as vice chair; he has since held the titles of vice chair and president.⁠[3][1]

In a foreword to Microsoft’s report Governing AI: A Blueprint for the Future, he set out a five-point policy blueprint calling for new regulation and licensing of highly capable foundation models, oversight by a new government agency, and effective “safety brakes” for AI systems that control critical infrastructure. He wrote that AI is an extraordinary tool but can also become a powerful weapon.⁠[4]

As Microsoft’s vice chair and president, he testified at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law titled “Oversight of A.I.: Legislating on Artificial Intelligence.”⁠[5]

With chief sustainability officer Melanie Nakagawa, he co-wrote the introduction to Microsoft’s 2026 Environmental Sustainability Report, acknowledging that the AI infrastructure buildout has raised demand for energy, water and materials as well as emissions, while saying the company is not lowering its ambition.⁠[6]

The BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry published an interview with him on October 12, 2026. In it he called AI a “weapon and a tool” that puts global cybersecurity at risk and said the moment had arrived to institute global safety rules. Comparing it with everyday goods, he said every carton of milk in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection, and that “right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI.”⁠[7][8]

In the interview he backed a legal obligation to alert an organization whose systems had been breached by rogue AI agents, appeared to favor approval by outside evaluators before AI products are released, and supported kill switches that could pause or slow AI if humans lose control of it. He argued that the UK, rather than the US or the EU, is best placed to lead on such rules, and said the problem with voluntary commitments is that only the “good companies” comply, while it is the less responsible companies that need worrying about.⁠[7]

He is vice chair and president of Microsoft, leading and representing the company’s work on public issues including AI, cybersecurity and privacy; he also chairs the board of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship program.⁠[1]

Microsoft: Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[1]

X: Public account: https://x.com/bradsmi (opens in a new window)⁠[1]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradsmi/ (opens in a new window)⁠[1]