America's CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) has picked Indian-origin IT professional Nand Mulchandani as its first chief technology officer (CTO). The CIA said that as the CTO, Mulchandani will ensure the agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations and scanning the horizon for tomorrow’s innovations to further the agency’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.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mulchandani went to Bluebells School International in Delhi and went on to study in some of the world’s top institutes. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Math from Cornell, a degree of Master of Science in Management from Stanford and a degree of Master in Public Administration from Harvard.
Prior to joining the CIA, Mulchandani served as the CTO and acting director of the Department of Defence’s artificial intelligence centre. He has been a serial entrepreneur and was CEO of several successful startups, including Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina (acquired by VMware), OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco) and ScaleXtreme (acquired by Citrix).
In his LinkedIn post, Mulchandani said technology is eating the world, and “there is no question around the impact it is having on human intelligence gathering (HU- MINT), which is surprisingly at the core of almost all the other types of intelligence that is collected and processed”.
“This impact is so significant to the CIA’s mission that director Burns made the focus on technology one of his top priorities. Creating this new role and having it report directly to him is a clear signal that he’s serious about driving this change. I couldn’t be a luckier person to get this job and am excited to continue my journey in public service with the CIA,” he said.
Speaking about his appointment, 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.”
