Atul Kunwar Research by SuperAGI

Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) – U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

Dr. Radha Iyengar Plumb assumed the role of the Department of Defense Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) on April 9, 2024, serving as a Principal Staff Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. The office (CDAO) became operational in June 2022 and is tasked with the integration, acceleration, and optimization of data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities across the entire DoD enterprise to generate decision advantage and improve operational effectiveness.

Current Role and Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategic Direction: Dr. Plumb leads the DoD’s efforts to accelerate adoption of digital and AI solutions across all military and defense sectors, focusing on ensuring data, analytics, and AI capabilities are accessible and scalable Department-wide.

She drives initiatives including the launch of an AI rapid capability cell (RCC) which spearheads rapid fielding and deployment of cutting-edge AI-enabled tools, including frontier AI models.

Under her leadership, CDAO collaborates closely with industry partners via programs such as Open DAGIR, which establishes a multi-vendor ecosystem to scale AI and analytics capabilities.

She announced the allocation of $40 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding to support innovation from non-traditional and small businesses, signaling strong emphasis on diverse supplier engagement and rapid technology development.

Dr. Plumb frequently represents the DoD in forums and industry days to promote collaboration, innovation, and strategic alignment on AI capabilities (e.g., Advana Industry Day, Global Information Dominance Experiments (GIDE) Industry Forums).

Professional Background

Prior to her appointment as CDAO, Dr. Plumb served as the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (DUSD(A&S)), overseeing acquisition policies, contract administration, logistics, materiel readiness, operational energy, and the defense industrial base.

She was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, managing executive staff and aligning governance processes with leadership priorities.

Previously held senior roles in the private sector, including:

Director of Research and Insights for Trust & Safety at Google

Global Head of Policy Analysis at Facebook

Early in her career, Dr. Plumb was a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, authoring significant reports impacting DoD policy, including topics such as open service of transgender military personnel and security screening evaluations.

Other federal roles include Deputy Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Energy and Director of Personnel and Readiness at the National Security Council, where she contributed to executive initiatives on sexual assault prevention in the military and energy sector security.

Academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, with research focusing on empirical evaluations of violence reduction policies, including criminal violence, sexual assault, terrorism, and intimate partner violence.

She was formerly an assistant professor at the London School of Economics and a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Scholar at Harvard.

Key Initiatives and Activities

AI Rapid Capability Cell: Leading efforts to accelerate deployment of frontier AI tools in defense operations, improving the speed and quality of AI-powered solutions.

Open DAGIR (Data, Analytics, and AI Governance, Integration, and Resources): A strategy to establish enduring access to best-of-breed commercial AI technologies through an open, multi-vendor government ecosystem.

Industry Engagement: Frequent host and speaker at industry forums (e.g., GIDE forums) to gather insights and foster partnerships that promote faster innovation cycles and adoption of AI technologies.

Responsible AI in Defense Forum: Initiated and supported multi-day forums to focus on ethical and responsible AI development tailored for defense applications.

Strategic Funding Support: Oversight of substantial funding allocations (e.g., $40 million SBIR awards) to stimulate innovation from emerging and non-traditional technology providers.

Public Statements and Thought Leadership

Dr. Plumb emphasizes an “all-hands-on-deck approach” for accelerating AI development and deployment within the department, signaling openness to wide collaboration across government and industry.

She frequently highlights the need to leverage best industry technology, especially through partnerships that facilitate quicker innovation and adoption.

Her communications underline the mission of the CDAO to transition DoD into a digital and AI-enabled enterprise, reinforcing data-driven decision-making capability.

Organizational Context

The CDAO reports directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, positioning Dr. Plumb at the highest level of strategic influence within the DoD digital transformation ecosystem.

Her office coordinates closely with other innovation entities such as the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to ensure alignment on technology access and acquisition strategies.

In summary, Dr. Radha Iyengar Plumb combines extensive expertise in economics, policy, acquisition, and technology leadership with a demonstrated focus on scaling AI and digital capabilities within the U.S. Department of Defense. Her leadership role is critical in steering the department’s AI and data analytics strategy, fostering public-private partnerships, and accelerating the deployment of innovative solutions backed by significant funding and organizational support.