Summer Myatt
Geopolitical tensions are on the rise, and the Great Power Competition era is here. According to a report by U.S. intelligence agencies, the increasingly strained global landscape can be attributed to “accelerating strategic competition among major powers, more intense and unpredictable transnational challenges, and multiple regional conflicts with far-reaching implications.”
In response to these factors, the U.S. Intelligence Community is shifting its strategies, prioritizing new technologies and working to identify emerging threats, especially with the looming presidential election in November.
How is the GovCon industry collaborating with the IC to bolster the nation’s defenses in preparation for the Great Power Competition? Learn more at the 2024 Intel Summit hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Sep. 19. Join the Intel Summit to be a part of the conversation with IC decision makers, industry leaders and intelligence experts.
IC’s Greatest Global Threats
In the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2024 annual threat assessment, the Intelligence Community highlighted threats including state actors, transnational issues and other factors shaping the global intelligence domain today.
“An ambitious but anxious China, a confrontational Russia, some regional powers, such as Iran, and more capable non-state actors are challenging longstanding rules of the international system as well as U.S. primacy within it,” the report states. “Simultaneously, new technologies, fragilities in the public health sector, and environmental changes are more frequent, often have global impact and are harder to forecast.”
Among other notable threats are weapons of mass destruction, disruptive technologies and cyber.
How Intel Agencies Are Responding
In Executive Mosaic’s video interview with CIA Deputy Director for Digital Innovation Juliane Gallina, she named the United States’ top global competitors and noted how the CIA and the broader IC are changing their strategic priorities.
“I think it’s really a clear shift away from counter-terror and a pivot toward what we call hard targets,” Gallina told Executive Mosaic video reporter Summer Myatt. “So really principal among those — the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, and Russia close behind. DPRK, known as North Korea, and Iran. Those are sort of the traditional four hard target adversaries.”
Gallina said the IC has really had to look at how the intelligence tradecraft must shift to align with evolving priorities. For instance, in the past, the CIA focused on adversarial uses of technology for things like weapons systems. But today, U.S. adversaries are looking at technology as a way to achieve or maintain strategic economic domination, and that has changed how the CIA advises policymakers.
Upcoming Panel Discussion: Government and Industry Collaboration in Transition to Great Power Competition
At the 2024 Intel Summit, expert panelists will come together to discuss how government and industry can collaborate to achieve intentional change as the Great Power Competition looms closer.
The discussion will include the following topics:
- Government priorities for intentional development of capability or change in programs or process
- Where does the government see the greatest need for investment?
- How do industry and government collaborate to accelerate this development and facilitate faster and closer partnership?
- Options for more agile procurement, greater fluidity of talent between government and Industry, and more commonality of process across Intelligence Community members
Meet the panelists who will be participating in the discussion:
David Marlowe
Panel moderator David Marlowe joined Amentum as a vice president and client executive in October 2023. Prior to his time at Amentum, Marlowe spent more than three decades at the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as deputy director operations and oversaw global clandestine intelligence collection activity. Marlowe previously served as the assistant director of CIA for the Near East region, and he managed all CIA activity related to the Middle East and North Africa.
Matthew Ross
Matthew Ross is the executive director of global integration for the Defense Intelligence Agency. In this role, Ross oversees the development and implementation of strategy, planning, resources and operations at DIA. He organizes resourcing and mission functions across DIA, the Department of Defense and U.S. national intelligence efforts.
Before his time at DIA, Ross was the chief of capability development at the DOD, where he focused on identifying, curating and fielding new capabilities using cutting-edge technology to support intelligence and operations. From 2019 to 2021, Ross served as deputy head of division for NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command.
Earlier in his career, Ross held roles including deputy director of intelligence for NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command, liaison officer for the Department of State, executive assistant and staff officer for the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and lead associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.
Special Agent Sarah Masiello
Sarah Masiello is the Air Force Office of Special Investigations liaison officer to the secretary of the Air Force, assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics. In this capacity, special agent Masiello is responsible for protecting procurement integrity, technology, programs, industrial base and supply chain risk management efforts between AFOSI and SAF/AQ.
Prior to her current position, Masiello served as the series 1811 recruiter for AFOSI headquarters and was responsible for all civilian agent recruiting efforts.
Dr. Jessica Appler
Dr. Jessica Appler is the director of maintaining technology advantage for the DOD. As such, she leads a team that works to enable the DOD to maintain technology advantage and leadership across the department’s critical technology modernization priorities.
Before her time at the DOD, Dr. Appler spent six years at the Department of Health and Human Services, where most recently, she served as a science advisor in the Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR. Previously, Dr. Appler was a member of the Deputy Undersecretary of the Army for test and evaluation CBRN defense division.
Join the Conversation
Hear from these and other IC leaders about their top priorities, challenges, opportunities and threats at the 2024 Intel Summit on Sep. 19. Don’t miss your chance to meet, learn from and network with IC decision makers face to face. Register for the Intel Summit today to save your spot.
