Kaj Larsen Bio

Kaj Larsen is a U.S. Navy SEAL, and award-winning filmmaker, philanthropist, and technology entrepreneur. Kaj was born in Santa Cruz, California, and graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a degree in Political Science. He earned a Masters degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. At Harvard, Kaj was awarded a fellowship from the Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics, and Public Policy. He was also a joint fellow at Tufts Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism studies. His focus includes international security policy, media politics, and political affairs.

Kaj is the co-founder of the Guild Financial, a fintech literacy and investing platform dedicated to helping the military community build wealth.  In 2023 Guild was acquired by Siebert Financial (SIEB). Kaj continues to serve economic opportunity in the military as an angel investor, advisor, and philanthropist.

As a filmmaker, Kaj created and executive produced the Netflix original series The Business of Drugs which debuted as the #1 streaming show in America. He previously hosted the Emmy award winning series VICE on HBO. At VICE Kaj has produced documentaries on conflict and national security issues. He is the only journalist to be embedded in the Nigerian fight against Boko Haram, and conducted the first exclusive interview with the architect of the CIA’s enhanced interrogation program which became the feature film The Report. Kaj was a correspondent at CNN as a member of CNN’s Special Investigations and Documentary unit. He has also conducted reportage from war zones and conflict spots around the world, in places such as Pakistan, Yemen, Cambodia, Colombia, and the African continent. His feature documentaries have covered topics ranging from the drug war in Mexico to the devastating floods in Pakistan. He was Aaron Sorkin’s private consultant on the hit HBO series Newsroom. His film and television work has earned him critical acclaim including an Academy Award nomination, two Emmy nominations, a Peabody nomination, two Telly awards, and several Golden Cine awards.

Prior to his work in television, Kaj spent five years on active duty serving as a US Navy SEAL. As a Lieutenant he led a team of special warfare personnel in military operations overseas deploying as a detachment Commander in support of the Global War on Terrorism. In his reserve service, Lieutenant Commander Larsen stood up the Naval Special Warfare detachment of Special Operations Command Africa where he deployed in support of multiple low intensity conflicts across the Africa continent. He continues his uniformed service as the Commander of the Southern division of the Special Missions Unit of the Florida State Guard

Kaj used his pay from the service to help launch The Mission Continues, and served on the Board of Directors for five years. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum where he is a strategic advisor at the intersection of national security and technology. Kaj previously served on the Boards of Advisors to the Veteran Service Organization Team Rubicon Global. He has deployed three times in support of Team Rubicon to render Humanitarian assistance in Pakistan, the Philippines, and the US. He is a certified Master and Scientific diver for Miami based Force Blue, which repurposes the skills of combat divers towards ocean conservation. He continues to repurpose his military skills towards humanitarian efforts by deploying to conflict zones around the world in places such as Afghanistan, Somalia, and Ukraine.