By Mary-Louise Hoffman

Executive Mosaic has introduced Nand Mulchandani, chief technology officer of the CIA, as the latest federal official to join the annual Wash100 list of leaders who shape the narrative around government contracting and execute strategic vision for their organization.

Mulchandani was named the agency’s first CTO in April 2022 to help advance its innovation priorities and was known as an accomplished cybersecurity entrepreneur in Silicon Valley.

At the time of his appointment, Mulchandani vowed to partner with the CIA’s technologists and domain experts to craft “a comprehensive technology strategy that delivers exciting capabilities working closely with industry and partners.”

Mulchandani co-authored the “Software-Defined Warfare: Architecting the DOD’s Transition to the Digital Age” report with Jack Shanahan, a two-time Wash100 awardee who formerly served as director of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.

Their joint paper, published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in September, pointed to software as a critical technology that US warfighters can use to stay competitive.

“One of the challenges the DOD and other US federal agencies face is that they were built from the ground up as industrial-age, hardware-centric organizations,” Mulchandani and Shanahan wrote.

“Making the transition to digital-age, software-centric, more risk-tolerant organizations is exceedingly difficult. But it is also the only path to future success. The template exists; implementation is now the hard part.”

Before he joined the CIA, Mulchandani was CTO and acting director at JAIC where he played a key role in the development of the center’s strategy and operating plan.

He is a former fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs and the founder of technology companies Oblix, Determina and ScaleXtreme.

CIA CTO Nand Mulchandani Joins Distinguished Leaders in 2023 Wash100 for Digital Tech Strategy & Partnership Vision – top government contractors – best government contracting event

Nand Mulchandani will deliver a keynote address to the Potomac Officers Club’s IC Technology in the Digital Era Forum, an in-person event scheduled for April 6 at 2941 Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. Register here.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Nand Mulchandani and the CIA team for their selection to receive the 2023 Wash100 Award.