In yet another triumph of the Indian origin Americans in the political and administrative landscape in the US, Nand Mulchandani, has been appointed by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as the first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
William J. Burns, the CIA Director made the announcement. Nand Mulchandani has more than 25 years of experience in Silicon Valley as well as the US Department of Defense (DoD).
The CIA Director specified that “ I have prioritized focusing on technology and the new CTO position is a very important part of that effort”. The CIA said in a media statement that Mr. Mulchandani brings substantial private sector, startup, and government expertise to the Agency.
Nand Mulchandani has studied at the Bluebells School International, New Delhi between 1979 and 1987and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Cornell University. He has 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.
The new CTO at CIA has 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). Most recently, he served as the CTO and Acting Director of DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC).
Nand Mulchandani said on being appointed CTO of CIA, “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.”
