Team | BTR.is

Leadership

Josh Klein

Architect of Sovereign Autonomy | Founder, BTR

Josh Klein architected the world's first national K-12 AI education pilot, orchestrating Anthropic and Google inside a single government deployment in six months. It is the capstone of two decades spent turning frontier technology into national strategy: crypto, blockchain, cloud, and now sovereign AI.

His advisory record spans security-sensitive government organizations, engagements from Iceland to Zanzibar, and ongoing strategic advisory work with institutions like MBZUAI, the world's first AI-dedicated university, in Abu Dhabi. Working relationships with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Cloud, AWS, and NVIDIA keep BTR clients at the frontier.

Operating from Iceland, a nation recognized for digital innovation, sustainable infrastructure, and strong privacy protections, BTR provides independent counsel at the intersection of national interests and the technological frontier.

Credentials & Recognition

Advisory & Board Roles

Iceland Modern Media Initiative (MMI) – Board Advisor World Economic Forum Expert Network Singularity University – Advisor

Speaking

TED Davos / WEF Stanford MIT Media Lab Harvard Business School SXSW

Publications & Media

The Guardian Harvard Business Review Fortune New York Times Wired BBC

Client Categories

National governments and ministries
Security-sensitive government agencies
Multilateral organizations
Fortune 500 enterprises
Leading technology companies

By The Numbers

Years of experience 20+

Countries with active engagements 4

Fortune 500 clients 50+

Frontier vendors orchestrated in one program 2

For strategic consultation:

josh@btr.is

Our People

Senior Advisors & Practitioners

BTR brings together deep expertise in enterprise AI strategy, sovereign infrastructure, behavioral economics, and government AI deployment, alongside the educators who led the Iceland pilot on the ground.

Bill Cromie

Technical Cofounder & Sovereign Infrastructure

Serial CTO specializing in large-scale, mission-critical systems at the intersection of AI, identity, and public infrastructure. Currently building Vouch, a sovereign-grade identity platform for governments.

Co-founder of Blue Ridge Labs at Robin Hood, launching FreshEBT, GoodCall, JustFix. Co-creator of NTWRKR multi-agent architecture for government AI deployment.

Vouch (Identity) Blue Ridge Labs NTWRKR (Co-creator) NYU Economics

Dr. Eszter Czibor

Research & Evaluation

Behavioural economist specializing in science, innovation and technology policy. PhD from University of Amsterdam, postdoctoral scholar at University of Chicago.

Currently teaching "AI Economy" at University of Reykjavik. Senior research roles at Nesta's Innovation Growth Lab and StateUp, working with European Commission, UNDP, NASA SBIR.

PhD Economics University of Reykjavik Nesta Innovation Growth Lab European Commission

Gísli Guðmundsson

Iceland Strategy & Operations

Senior Consultant at KPMG Iceland focusing on practical AI applications. Previously at Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation where he led development of Iceland's first AI Action Plan.

Founded multiple hardware startups with international experience spanning China, Germany, and UK. Currently finishing Master's in AI and Language Technology.

KPMG Iceland Iceland AI Action Plan MSc AI & Language Tech Serial Entrepreneur

Tinna Ösp Arnardóttir

National Pilot Co-Lead, Education

Co-led Iceland's national AI in education pilot alongside Anthropic, MMS, the Ministry of Education and Children, and the Icelandic Teachers' Union, coordinating classroom deployment across 31 secondary schools. Head of the Business Department at Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ and an educator since 2008.

Invited speaker at the OECD's "Effective Uses of Generative AI in Education" conference. Awarded an ISK 1.7M innovation grant for AI-in-education design work.

National AI Pilot Co-Lead OECD Speaker Head of Business Dept, FG Educator since 2008

Fríða Gylfadóttir

National Pilot Co-Lead, Education

Co-led Iceland's national AI in education pilot alongside Anthropic, MMS, the Ministry of Education and Children, and the Icelandic Teachers' Union. Head of the English Department at Fjölbrautaskólinn í Garðabæ, where she has taught since 2009.

Invited speaker at the OECD Digital Education Outlook 2026 conference. Her classroom AI practice was featured in The New York Times' coverage of global AI adoption in schools.

National AI Pilot Co-Lead OECD Speaker The New York Times Head of English Dept, FG

Ecosystem

Working With the Leading AI Ecosystem

BTR maintains active working relationships with the world's leading AI providers through pilot discussions, joint engagements, and government coordination work, and brought two of them into a single national program.