By 
NEW YORK – December 16, 2025
We’re thrilled to announce a significant strategic addition to the Labrynth family! William James “Jim” Haynes II, a distinguished corporate executive and former General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense, has officially joined our Board of Directors. This pivotal appointment underscores Labrynth’s commitment to revolutionizing the often-convoluted world of permitting, licensing, compliance, and regulatory approvals.
Governments and industries worldwide are grappling with the immense challenge of bureaucratic red tape – complex regulations that can stifle innovation and slow down crucial development. Labrynth, an AI-native company, is at the forefront of tackling this economic bottleneck with outcomes-based, transparent artificial intelligence. Jim Haynes’s arrival is set to accelerate our mission to untangle these ‘Gordian knots’ and pave the way for a more efficient future.
A Career Defined by Navigating Complexity
Jim Haynes brings an unparalleled depth of experience to Labrynth. As the longest-serving Pentagon General Counsel in history, he oversaw a legal ecosystem of over 10,000 lawyers, advising Secretaries of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and Robert M. Gates on policies, operations, international agreements, and large-scale administrative systems. His two Senate-confirmed appointments under two U.S. Presidents highlight his remarkable public service career and intimate understanding of federal regulatory landscapes.
Beyond his public sector achievements, Haynes has an impressive private-sector track record, holding C-suite roles in information technology, biotech, energy, and manufacturing. He played a key leadership role in the $9.7 billion sale of CSRA Inc. to General Dynamics and held senior positions at Chevron Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, and SIGA Technologies. Currently, he serves as Executive Vice President and Strategic Counselor of Blacklake Group, a holding company focused on national security issues.
What This Means for Labrynth
Labrynth Founder and CEO Stuart Lacey emphasizes the transformative impact of Haynes’s appointment: “Jim is a transformational addition to Labrynth. From the Pentagon to Fortune 500 boardrooms, he has navigated some of the most complex regulatory systems in the world. His perspective embodies exactly what Labrynth stands for: trusted, transparent intelligence that helps government and industry work together to accelerate growth. Jim’s leadership will help guide Labrynth as we scale a new regulatory infrastructure for the AI-powered economy.”
Haynes himself is equally enthusiastic about joining Labrynth’s vision:
“Permitting and regulatory approvals have become one of the most significant friction points limiting innovation and infrastructure progress in America. Labrynth’s outcomes-based platform is a perfect example of cutting-edge vertical AI – focusing on delivering real value to governments and industry in a simple way that reduces delays, strengthens accountability and enables faster, smarter economic development. I am proud to join a company that is reimagining regulatory systems not by cutting corners, but by elevating clarity, efficiency and trust.”
Pioneering a Smarter Regulatory Future
Haynes’s appointment comes at a crucial time as Labrynth accelerates deployments nationwide. Our innovative solutions, like the rapidly growing Red Tape Index (benchmarking City and State permitting performance), and our groundbreaking municipal partnership in Lancaster, California (where our AI-powered permitting assistant is already streamlining development workflows and reducing turnaround times), are demonstrating tangible results.
At Labrynth, we’re not just applying AI; we’re building trusted, AI-enabled regulatory systems that unlock economic opportunity. With Jim Haynes’s expertise and leadership, we are even better positioned to continue our mission of creating a smarter, faster, and fairer regulatory system for governments and industries alike.
To learn more about Labrynth’s transparent AI solutions, visit www.labrynth.ai.
Source: Original Article
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