Kahlil (KB) Byrd

Business leader, Concerned citizen, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Investor, Public servant, Social entrepreneur, Technologist

Kahlil (KB) Byrd is a national leader at the intersection of technology, politics, cross-partisan reform, and impact. He previously led Americans Elect, a national bipartisan effort to reimagine the presidential nominating process. He is the founder of Invest America (data-driven policy, strategy, and execution for family offices and corporations) and Shur (economic mobility for Professionals with Student Loans). KB serves as board president of Unite NY, focused on systemic reform in New York State, and sits on the board of With Honor, electing bipartisan principled veterans to Congress. KB is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served with CFR as an International Affairs Fellow. He graduated from Morehouse College and Harvard Kennedy School.

Cross-Partisan Reform Organizations in Action. As America approaches its 250th anniversary, I’m energized by Courage Action, a new initiative I co-founded -- partnering with leaders like Rye Barcott, co-founder of With Honor and former TED Fellow. With a committed community of Americans, we are building a cross-partisan movement supporting and elevating elected and civic leaders who choose courage over appeasement during this moment when strongmen are rising at home and abroad. Courage Action delivers targeted media, field operations, and rapid-response support to protect leaders taking hard votes and public stances for democracy and the rule of law. We also design experiences—like delegations to Ukraine and the Munich Security Conference—that reinforce the stakes at home and abroad. I’m seeking partners to help scale this work and think through new ways to champion courageous leadership in the U.S. (https://courageaction.org/)

As a first-time CEO, I was green but had game. In 2009, American Elect launched to re-imagine the U.S. primary system and place a bipartisan presidential ticket on all 50 state ballots. This $45 million political start-up had 150 paid staff and 8,000 contractors and volunteers. Our strategy and organization withstood brutal pressure from the two parties and inspired 1 million to sign on. We got close--Tom Friedman and others wrote glowingly about our work and we briefed 150 potential candidates about running for president as an independent. April 2012, the music stopped. Pres. Obama and Gov. Romney became the race that year, and we were done. Still, Americans Elect is a cornerstone of independent politics and set my life path as a reformer.

Cross Partisan Politics, Entrepreneurship, Impact Investment, Research and Big Data, US Politics