Nand Mulchandani chosen as CIA’s first CTO
INDIAN-AMERICAN IT expert Nand Mulchandani, who studied at a Delhi school, has been appointed the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) first-ever chief technology officer.
The CIA Director William J. Burns made the announcement of Mulchandani's appointment on Friday (29).
Glad about Mulchandani’s appointment to the top post, said Burns, adding ‘since my confirmation, I have prioritized focusing on technology and the new CTO position is a very important part of that effort’.
‘I am delighted Nand has joined our team and will bring his extensive experience to this crucial new role,‘ he said.
Mulchandani has over 25 years of expertise working in Silicon Valley as well as the Department of Defense (DoD) and brings substantial private sector, startup, and government expertise to CIA, the agency said in a statement.
Upon getting aboard as the new CTO of the CIA, Mulchandani said: ‘I am honoured 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.’
In his new role, Mulchandani will ensure the agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations and scanning the horizon for tomorrow’s innovations to further the CIA's mission.
Prior to joining the CIA, Mulchandani most recently served as the CTO and Acting Director of DoD's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. He also co-founded and was CEO of several successful startups such as
Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina (acquired by VMWare), OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco), and ScaleXtreme (acquired by Citrix).
Mulchandani went to Delhi's Bluebells School International and later studied at top US institutes. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Cornell University, a Master’s in Science and Management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a Master of Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.