Gavin Hood is currently the Chief of Staff at Palantir Technologies, a Silicon Valley software company that has developed the world's most advanced data integration and analysis capabilities. Palantir's technologies are used in the government and commercial sectors world-wide.
Prior to joining Palantir in 2012, Gavin accumulated more than 14 years of front-line experience as a senior legal and policy adviser. In 2009-2012, he was the first UK legal adviser to the British Embassy in Washington, DC, where he advised on international legal and policy issues, focusing on the national security sphere. He has held a number of positions in the UK Foreign Office, including as the first legal adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. In 1999, he joined the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, where he monitored and reported on human rights violations and contributed to the development of the justice system and strategies for tackling ethnic-based violence.