Neil Wiley, recently retired Principal Executive for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
The US’s Intelligence Community continues to undergo rapid change. It has grown to 18 organizations with a reported 2020 budget of $85 billion. The threats and adversaries it studies expand and evolve, with cybersecurity increasingly important and terrorists – both groups and individuals – joining state actors as intelligence targets.
Equally, the technology available to analysts is advancing rapidly. Developments in sensors, networks, artificial intelligence/machine learning and “big data” are changing how (and how much) information is gathered, analyzed and disseminated. These in turn require new methods and organizations. Importantly, many of the technologies and data sources are being developed and owned by private companies and made available to all parties.
This broad availability changes the balance of intelligence power and may challenge the very mission of intelligence. As the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in 2020, “If commercialization of the intelligence playing field means the information and tools once exclusively the domain of government are made widely available, what will be the IC’s purpose and missions?”
Our September speaker, Neil Wiley, is particularly well positioned to discuss the evolving nature and mission of the intelligence community. He brings over 35 years of experience in the national security arena both as a naval officer and as a civilian intelligence professional. Until May 2021, he was the Principal Executive in the office of the Director of National Intelligence, where he managed all programs and policies for the direction, integration and effective operation of the Intelligence Community. He earlier served as Chairman, National Intelligence Council. responsible for leading analysis across the Intelligence Community to inform immediate and long-term national policy deliberations. He has held multiple leadership positions with the Defense Intelligence Agency including the Director for Analysis where he led its all-source analytic effort. Neil served at the United States European Command's Joint Analysis Center.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Wiley attended the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he studied Biological Sciences and Ancient History and Classical Languages. We are pleased to welcome him as we launch our 70th Anniversary year.
Save The Date: Thursday, October 14th: Gen. John Allen, President – The Brookings Institution, “American Leadership in the 21st Century”