President Donald Trump has nominated cybersecurity executive Kirsten Davies to serve as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the Department of Defense (DoD), according to a notice in the Congressional Record. If confirmed by the Senate, Davies would succeed Katie Arrington, who has been performing the duties of the Pentagon CIO since early March. (Meritalk)
Davies brings to the role an extensive track record in senior corporate cybersecurity positions. She is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Cyber, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the safety, security, privacy, and digital integrity of citizens’ experiences with technology, AI, and digital data. Before founding the Institute for Cyber, she served as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Unilever from 2021 to 2024 and at The Estée Lauder Companies from 2018 to 2021. Her career also includes roles as Managing Director and Group Chief Security Officer at Barclays Africa (now ABSA), Vice President and Deputy CISO at Hewlett-Packard, and Global Deputy CISO at Siemens. (Meritalk, Meritalk)
The Pentagon’s CIO position has been vacant since June 2024, with the department relying on acting leadership. If confirmed, Davies would be tasked with overseeing and modernizing the DoD’s information infrastructure, which includes battlefield communications, cloud computing, AI development, satellite coordination, and cyber defense. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has emphasized the need for faster software procurement to keep up with technological advancements, underscoring the importance of the CIO role in the department’s modernization efforts. (CyberMaterial – Security Through Data, The Realist Juggernaut)
Davies’ appointment reflects a strategic move to bring private-sector expertise into the DoD’s technology leadership, aiming to enhance the department’s agility and responsiveness in an increasingly digital and interconnected defense landscape.
The Pentagon Hq on Wikimedia by David B. Gleason
