The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) is preparing for a leadership transition as Dr. Craig Martell, the office’s current chief, plans to step down from his post early next month, the department announced today.
Martell will hand over the reins to Dr. Radha Plumb, who currently serves as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. She will start her duties as CDAO on April 8.
DoD stood up the CDAO in 2021, and the office became fully operational in 2022. The official heading the office is responsible for the acceleration of the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield.
Martell, who was previously the head of machine learning at Lyft, was appointed the CDAO’s first chief in April 2022.
During his tenure, Martell led the CDAO in making noteworthy progress during its earliest years such as developing the DoD’s AI adoption strategy and producing the department’s first minimum viable capability for Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
“Craig and the entire CDAO team had a monumental task of bringing together the diverse talents and cultures of four organizations to advance data, AI, and analytics for our national security, and deliver tangible results in a short time,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today in a written statement.
“Dr. Martell and the CDAO team have delivered on those goals and his work will have a lasting impact on how the Department approaches every data and AI driven task,” Austin said.
In her current role, Plumb has worked to tackle pressing acquisition matters for DoD including building out and maintaining a robust national security industrial base and supply chain.
“There is no doubt that Dr. Plumb’s technical expertise and strategic acumen will enhance the CDAO’s innovative efforts, and help accelerate the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI to generate decision advantage from the boardroom to the battlefield,” said Austin.
