The CIA has named Dustin Gard-Weiss as executive director (EXDIR) – a new title that is replacing the intelligence agency’s former role of chief operating officer.
The agency did not elaborate on specific duties that go along with the new position, but published reports indicate that the EXDIR and chief operating officer roles have had a broad day-to-day management focus at the agency along with budget, resource, and strategy planning functions.
Gard-Weiss is coming to the CIA from the Defense Department (DoD), where he most recently was performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for intelligence and security.
According to the CIA, that role included serving as principal advisor on intelligence, counterintelligence, law enforcement, and security matters to the secretary of defense and senior DoD leadership, and oversight of the Military Intelligence Program and Defense Intelligence and Security Enterprises.
Before that, Gard-Weiss held senior roles at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA said.
“I am delighted to work alongside Director Ratcliffe and Deputy Director Michael Ellis to help build a more resilient and efficient CIA,” Gard-Weiss said in a CIA announcement of the appointment. “It is the honor of my career to enable the CIA workforce to accomplish their exceptional mission.”
“Dustin is an outstanding leader with a wealth of experience in the Intelligence Community, and we are deeply fortunate to count him as a member of CIA’s senior leadership team,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said.