CIA announces first-ever chief technology officer
CIA Director William Burns on Friday declared that he had appointed a prolific Silicon Valley entrepreneur to serve as the agency’s first-at any time main technological know-how officer.
Nand Mulchandani — who co-established and helmed quite a few tech startups and most not long ago served as main technological innovation officer and interim director of the Pentagon’s Joint Synthetic Intelligence Middle — will fill the a short while ago produced position this summer.
“Since my confirmation, I have prioritized focusing on know-how and the new CTO placement is a very important aspect of that hard work,” Burns claimed in a assertion. “I am delighted Nand has joined our group and will provide his in depth working experience to this important new job.”
The appointment marks the most recent stage by the CIA main to revamp the agency’s solution to technological innovation and level of competition, particularly towards China.
Final 12 months the spy company set up two new mission facilities: one targeted on China and one more dubbed the Transnational and Know-how Mission Heart, devoted to overseas technological enhancement.
Mulchandani will report straight to Burns and will guide the agency’s technologies tactic.
“I’m honored to sign up for CIA in this role and seem ahead to doing work with the agency’s incredible workforce of technologists and domain professionals, who now supply globe-class intelligence and capabilities to help establish a thorough engineering technique that delivers fascinating abilities, performing closely with sector and associates,” Mulchandani reported in a statement.
Last thirty day period Burns emphasised the relevance of keeping up with the speed of innovation all through an yearly Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on world wide threats.
“Nothing is likely to make any difference a lot more to the long run of CIA and the U.S. intelligence neighborhood extra broadly than our capability to compete technologically. It’s the main arena … for competitors with China,” he told lawmakers, citing the development of the two new hubs and the CTO post.
“All of that demonstrates the enormously substantial priority that we will continue to attest to that established of troubles,” he included.
Prior to serving at the Protection Office, Mulchandani served uncovered and was the CEO of various startups, some of which were afterwards acquired by business giants like Oracle, Cisco and VMware.
He holds a degree in pc science and math from Cornell University, as effectively as a master’s of science diploma in management from Stanford University and a master’s in public administration diploma from Harvard College.