William K. Lietzau has officially stepped down from his role as director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
The DCSA held a transfer of authority ceremony at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Thursday to bid him farewell and welcome its new acting director, Daniel J. Lecce.
Lietzau, a 2023 Wash100 winner, played a role in the transition of the semi-autonomous National Background Investigations Bureau from under the Office of Personnel Management to the Department of Defense, creating what is now known as DCSA.
Under his three-year leadership, DCSA became the federal government’s go-to for personnel vetting, security training and counterintelligence support.
Before serving the agency, Lietzau occupied multiple roles across the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.
As the agency’s acting director, Lecce will oversee about 12,000 professionals across the United States and its territories. Lecce has been the deputy director of DCSA since January 2022.
He is a retired U.S. Marine Corps major general who served as staff judge advocate and senior legal adviser to the commandant of the military branch.