Central Intelligence Agency has appointed Nand Mulchandani as CIA’s first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With more than 25 years of experience working in Silicon Valley as well as the Department of Defense (DoD), Mulchandani brings substantial private sector, startup, and government expertise to the CIA.

As the CTO, Mulchandani will ensure the agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations and scanning the horizon for tomorrow’s innovations to further the CIA’s mission.  “Since my confirmation, I have prioritised 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 CIA director William J Burns.

Mulchandani has a strong background in enterprise infrastructure products, marketing, and sales. Earlier, he has worked as the CTO at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and also the acting director at the US Department of Defense where he spearheaded the DoD’s next-generation AI efforts.

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).  He has a degree in computer science and math from Cornell, and an MS degree in management from Stanford, and a master’s in public administration from Harvard.

“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,” said Mulchandani.