Transition

CIA hires first-ever chief technology officer

Nand Mulchandani brings more than 25 years' experience working in Silicon Valley and at the Department of Defense.

May 2, 2022

The acting director of the Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, Nand Mulchandani, briefs reporters about DoD's recent initiatives with artificial intelligence, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., July 8, 2020. (DoD photo by Lisa Ferdinando)

The CIA named Nand Mulchandani its first-ever chief technology officer, citing a need for cutting-edge innovations, Friday.

Mulchandani brings more than 25 years’ experience working in Silicon Valley and for the Department of Defense, to a role in which he’ll be identifying emerging technologies to apply to the CIA’s mission.

CIA Director William Burns has prioritized technology and the hiring of a CTO since his confirmation.

“I am honored to join CIA in this role and look forward to working with the agency’s incredible team of technologists and domain experts, who already deliver world-class intelligence and capabilities, to help build a comprehensive technology strategy that delivers exciting capabilities working closely with industry and partners,” Mulchandani said in the announcement.

Mulchandani previously served as CTO and acting director of DOD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Before that he co-founded several startups including Oblix, Determina, OpenDNS and ScaleXtreme acquired by Oracle, VMWare, Cisco and Citrix respectively.

Mulchandani has a degree in computer science and math from Cornell University, a Master of Science in management from Stanford University, and a Master in public administration from Harvard University.