TIME names Richardson and Brantley Executives of the Year
CrowdStrike's new AI chief and the NFL's tech leader recognized for advancing autonomous systems in cybersecurity and sports.
What to know
- TIME magazine's 2026 Executives of the Year include CrowdStrike's Bartley Richardson and the NFL's Gary Brantley, recognized for advancing autonomous AI systems in cybersecurity and sports.
- Richardson leads CrowdStrike's Cyber Superintelligence Lab and its SafeMind system, which uses paired AI models to give defenders continuous learning advantages in combating attacks.
- Brantley oversees the NFL's technology ecosystem and AI initiatives, including computer vision for officiating, automated content localization, and real-time coaching analytics.
“The best security is the security you don't have to think about.”
Bartley Richardson, Chief AI and Autonomous Systems Officer, CrowdStrike · TIME ↗
Bartley Richardson Chief AI and Autonomous Systems Officer, CrowdStrikeGary Brantley Chief Information Officer, NFL
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Brantley leads NFL's AI rollout, including computer vision and content localization
Gary Brantley oversees the NFL's ongoing AI rollout with recent innovations including a virtual measurement system using high-definition cameras and computer vision to replace traditional chain crews for first-down tracking, a generative AI content engine that automatically translates and localizes media assets for global audiences, and real-time data products for coaches.
“We want to bring fans really close to the game, and technology is an enabler to do that.”
— Gary Brantley -
first by Time, 1d ago
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- Executives of the Year: Bartley Richardson Time · 1d ago
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Bartley Richardson https:// time.com/collection/executives -of-the-year-tech-data/2026/bartley-richardson/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Top Stories @ top-stories-time
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Gary Brantley https:// time.com/collection/executives -of-the-year-tech-data/2026/gary-brantley/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub Posted into Top Stories @ top-stories-time
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background
Richardson leads CrowdStrike's Cyber Superintelligence Lab and launches SafeMind — Richardson is shepherding CrowdStrike's new Cyber Superintelligence Lab, an AI research lab dedicated to building autonomous cybersecurity systems. Its first release, SafeMind, is an agentic system that combats AI attacks by pairing offensive and defensive cybersecurity models in an autonomous loop of learning and remediation.
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background
TIME recognizes Richardson and Brantley as Executives of the Year — TIME magazine published profiles recognizing Bartley Richardson, CrowdStrike's chief AI and autonomous systems officer (joined in June), and Gary Brantley, the NFL's chief information officer since 2022, as 2026 Executives of the Year for their work advancing AI and autonomous systems in their respective fields.