BRANDON WALES

Brandon Wales was designated by President Trump as the Acting Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on November 17, 2020. In this role, he oversees CISA’s efforts to defend civilian networks, manage systemic risk to national critical functions, and work with stakeholders to raise the security baseline of the Nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure. Prior to this, Mr. Wales was CISA's first Executive Director, where he oversaw the execution of the Director and Deputy Director’s vision for CISA operations and mission support. He was responsible for leading long-term strategy development, managing CISA-wide policy initiatives, and ensuring effective operational collaboration across the Agency. Mr. Wales has held various senior positions in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) since 2005, including Senior Counselor to the Secretary for Cyber and Resilience, Director of the DHS Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis (OCIA), and Director of the Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center (HITRAC). His contributions have been recognized with an Exceptional Performance Award from the Director of National Intelligence, a DHS Secretary’s Award for Excellence, and a DHS Distinguished Service Medal, the Department’s highest civilian award. Mr. Wales received his Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and his Master’s degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.