Jared Birchall

Jared Birchall
Born	1974 Modesto, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Corporate leader, executive
Years active	1999–present
Known for	CEO of Neuralink; financial advisor to Elon Musk; executive roles at The Boring Company, Musk Foundation, xAI

Jared John Birchall (born 1974) is an American corporate leader and ex-banker. He currently holds the position of CEO at the neurotechnology firm Neuralink and has overseen billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's financial affairs since 2016. Birchall also occupies executive and administrative posts within Musk’s enterprises such as The Boring Company, Musk Foundation, and xAI, in addition to managing Musk’s family office.

Early life and education

Born in 1974 in Modesto, California, Birchall grew up as one of eleven siblings in a family involved in touring music. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at Brigham Young University in 1999, following two years spent on a missionary assignment.

1999–2016: Financial sector

Birchall launched his career in finance at Goldman Sachs in New York in 1999 before transitioning to Merrill Lynch & Co. in Los Angeles, where he worked as a private wealth advisor. From 2010 until 2016, he served as senior vice president of private banking at Morgan Stanley. Documentation indicates his departure from Merrill Lynch in 2010 was due to unauthorized communication with clients.

2016–present: Association with Elon Musk

Birchall first connected with Musk while providing counsel on nine-figure lending arrangements at Morgan Stanley. In 2016, Musk engaged him to create and oversee his family office, Excession LLC.

Although listed as CEO, CFO, and president of Neuralink since its inception in 2016, Bloomberg notes Birchall does not participate in day-to-day management, with his titles primarily fulfilling legal requirements. He joined the board of Musk’s tunneling enterprise, The Boring Company, in 2018 and holds board memberships at the Musk Foundation and Ad Astra school.

Recognized as Musk’s personal troubleshooter and close aide, Birchall handles various logistics including security measures and property deals. In 2018, he acted as CEO of Foundation Security, a firm specializing in detective services and armored transport. He notably coordinated private investigative efforts during Musk’s defamation lawsuit linked to the Tham Luang cave incident.

In 2021, Birchall opposed assigning charitable donation decisions to Igor Kurganov—a former poker professional turned foundation co-manager—resulting in Kurganov’s removal after FBI inquiries into potential foreign influence.

Birchall became a legal and financial advisor to the Dogecoin Foundation board in August 2021 and exclusively manages Musk’s cryptocurrency transactions as of 2023.

He was instrumental during Musk’s 2022 Twitter acquisition by securing multi-billion dollar financing under tight time constraints and supervising cost reduction initiatives including employee layoffs.

In 2023, Birchall established Musk’s AI venture xAI, fulfilling roles as secretary and CFO.

Following Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, Birchall provided counsel to the Trump transition team on space policy and artificial intelligence development, assisted in forming AI and cryptocurrency advisory councils, and conducted interviews for State Department appointments.

Personal life

Birchall is married with five children and actively practices the faith of Latter-day Saint. He moved to Austin, Texas in 2020 after residing in Stevenson Ranch, California, where he served as counselor to the bishop of his local church congregation.

See also

• Frank William Gay, member of the LDS Church and corporate advisor to Howard Hughes
• Alex Spiro, legal counsel closely associated with Elon Musk