David Cattler has been named the next director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency.
The Department of Defense announced his selection to lead the DCSA on Friday, noting that the appointment takes effect on March 24.
The incoming director confirmed the new role in a LinkedIn post, saying he is “proud to join the Gatekeepers at our nation’s premier security agency.”
As the new DCSA chief, Cattler will oversee the implementation of centralized national security enterprise capabilities for personnel security, industrial security, counterintelligence and security training.
DOD said Cattler is the “ideal candidate” to run DCSA, which the agency described as a strategic U.S. asset that ensures a trusted federal and industrial workforce to advance the United States’ strategic edge.
The new appointee brings to the post extensive experience in intelligence collection management and analytics, gained while advising civilian agencies, defense organizations and the U.S. president.
Cattler served as the assistant secretary general for intelligence and security at NATO and was an intelligence enterprise mission manager in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
He takes over from Daniel Lecce, who was the acting director and will continue in his role as DCSA deputy director.
