Indian-american appointed CIA’S first tech officer
Nand Mulchandani, an Indian-american Silicon Valley IT expert who studied at a Delhi school, has been appointed the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) first-ever chief technology officer.
The announcement for the coveted position was made by director William J Burns on social media.
According to the CIA, Mulchandani has over 25 years of expertise working in Silicon Valley.
“CIA Director William J. Burns appoints Nand Mulchandani as CIA’S first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With more than 25 years of experience, Mr. Mulchandani will ensure the Agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations to further CIA’S mission,” the CIA said in a tweet.
“With more than 25 years experience working in Silicon Valley as well as the Department of Defense (DOD), Mr. Mulchandani brings substantial private sector, startup, and government expertise to CIA,” Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said in a statement on Friday.
“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,” said Director Burns.
Reacting after the announcement, Mulchandani said he looked forward to “working
with the Agency’s incredible team of technologists and domain experts”.
“I am honoured to join the 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,” said Mulchandani.
In his role as the CTO, Mulchandani will ensure that the Agency is leveraging cuttingedge innovations, the CIA statement said. Additionally, “scanning the horizon for tomorrow’s innovations to further the CIA’S mission” will also be on Mulchandani’s agenda as the CTO.
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 — Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina (acquired by Vmware), OPENDNS (acquired by Cisco), and Scalextreme (acquired by Citrix).