Brandon Wales, the executive director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) who briefly led the organization at the beginning of the Biden administration, will leave the agency by next month, CISA said this week.
CISA Director Jen Easterly confirmed Wales’ departure in a statement posted on the agency’s website July 23. She praised Wales for having “guided CISA through some of the most serious threats facing our nation,” such as the SolarWinds compromise of 2020 and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack of 2021. Both incidents occurred while Wales was acting director.
Bridget Bean, who has been assistant director of CISA’s Integrated Operations Division since 2021, will take over as executive director in August, Easterly said. According to her bio, Bean “leads the agency’s efforts around coordinating, collaborating and executing CISA’s operational activities to ensure seamless support and expedited responses to critical needs.” Her previous experience in government includes five years at FEMA and 21 years at the Small Business Administration. She also served as president of consulting firm Via Stella for 11 months before joining CISA.
“With more than three decades of federal government service, Bridget brings extraordinary leadership and experience to the role, which will involve a dedicated focus on operationalizing a fully unified and cohesive team,” Easterly said. “We thank Brandon for all he has done for CISA and the nation and thank Bridget for stepping into this critical role.”
The news of Wales’ departure came a week after CISA announced the formal appointments of acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity Jeff Greene and acting assistant director for stakeholder engagement Trent Frazier to fill their positions permanently. Greene’s role is leading “CISA’s mission to protect and strengthen federal civilian agencies and … critical infrastructure against cyber threats,” while Frazier’s involves “overseeing the agency’s national and international partnerships and stakeholder outreach programs.”
Wales has been with CISA since December 2019, having previously served in DHS as senior counselor for cyber and resilience, director of the Office of Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, and director of the Homeland Infrastructure Threat and Risk Analysis Center.
Wales stepped up to lead CISA in December 2020 after Chris Krebs, who had led the agency since its founding in 2018, was fired by then-President Donald Trump for asserting — along with other federal security agencies — that the presidential election, which Trump lost, was not the subject of fraud. (See After Contradicting Trump, Krebs Out at CISA.) Trump passed over Krebs’ deputy Matthew Travis, who resigned the same day, to name Wales to head the agency; unlike his superiors, Wales was a career civil servant and could not be removed without cause.
According to Wales’ bio, his nine-month tenure as CISA chief included “completing the stand-up and reorganization of the agency following the … CISA Act of 2018” that formally established CISA as an independent agency. During his time at the top, he also led CISA’s response to the SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline attacks, the former of which has been attributed to Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Wales handed the reins over to Easterly, a former Morgan Stanley executive and cyber policy lead for President Joe Biden’s transition team, upon her confirmation by the Senate in July 2021. (See Senate Confirms Easterly as CISA Chief.) Following Easterly’s arrival, Wales reverted to his previous position, where he headed the U.S. federal government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“It has been an honor to serve with Brandon Wales over the past three years,” Easterly said. “With more than 20 years of federal service, including more than 19 at [DHS], he was here before we were CISA and expertly helped shape the agency into what we are today.”
