# Will Ackerly

> Will Ackerly is the Chief Architect and co-founder of Virtru, the Washington, D.C. data-security company built around an idea he developed during eight years at the National Security Agency: protect information itself, not merely the systems around it. An electrical and computer engineer by training, he led development of the Trusted Data Format, has been named on 25 patents, and remains an advocate for open, interoperable standards that let access rules travel with data.

- **Role:** Chief Architect and Co-Founder at Virtru
- **Organizations:** Virtru, National Security Agency, Advanced Micro Devices
- **Education:** Dual degree in electrical engineering and computer engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Led development of the Trusted Data Format while at the NSA., Co-founded Virtru in 2012., Holds 25 patents, according to Virtru's official leadership biography.

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Worked as an electrical engineer at AMD designing Peripheral Component Interconnect subsystems.
- **2004-2012** — Spent eight years at the National Security Agency specializing in cross-agency cloud analytics and security architecture.
- **2009** — Led development of the Trusted Data Format, later published as an open standard by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
- **2012** — Left the NSA and co-founded Virtru with his brother John Ackerly.
- **2015** — Named No. 21 on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list.
- **2019** — Testified before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform about Virtru's FedRAMP experience and barriers facing small cloud-security providers.
- **2024** — Spoke at DMV Rising on open innovation and category creation in cybersecurity.
- **2025** — As Chief Architect, articulated Virtru's microsecurity strategy after the company announced $50 million in new funding.

## Achievements

- Led development of the Trusted Data Format while at the NSA.
- Co-founded Virtru in 2012.
- Holds 25 patents, according to Virtru's official leadership biography.
- Named No. 21 on Fortune's 2015 40 Under 40 list.
- Helped advance OpenTDF and open, interoperable data-protection standards.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — Virtru announced $50 million in new funding at a $500 million valuation; Ackerly described the company's strategy of binding granular security directly to data as microsecurity.
- **2024-09** — Joined the DMV Rising panel on open innovation and category creation in cybersecurity.
- **2024-10** — Virtru was profiled by Inc. for translating its government data-sharing model into an easy-to-use business product.

## Links

- Website: https://www.virtru.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-ackerly-33b70130

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/will-ackerly
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27