The Senate on Tuesday voted 61-35 to confirm Bradley Hansell, a national security expert, to be the next under secretary of defense for intelligence and security, or USD I&S.
Hansell replaces Dustin Gard-Weiss, who has been acting under secretary for intelligence and security at the Department of Defense since January.
Improving Irregular Warfare, Offensive Cyber Capabilities
In his opening statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April, Hansell highlighted the need for effective management of the defense intelligence and security enterprise. He said the enterprise should have the right technology and organizational structure in place to help personnel boost their impact in today’s operational environment.
“Enhancing our Irregular Warfare capabilities will allow us to provide risk-informed options to better compete short of armed conflict and re-establish deterrence. I believe offensive cyber capabilities and an increased focus on Defense HUMINT are areas for opportunity,” he told the Senate panel.
“Finally, offensive counterintelligence efforts are essential in imposing a cost on our adversaries,” he added.
Who Is Bradley Hansell?
Hansell most recently served as an operating partner at Windage Partners, a private equity firm in the aerospace, defense and government services market.
Before Windage, he was a venture partner at investment firm Outlander VC.
He previously served as an associate director and principal at Boston Consulting Group, where he helped lead the aerospace and defense and public sector practices.
During his time at BCG, Hansell was nominated in 2020 to be deputy under secretary for intelligence and secretary at DOD. He stayed at BCG after the full Senate failed to hold a floor vote on his nomination before the presidential election.
The retired U.S. Army special forces officer was a National Security Council senior director at the White House focused on addressing transnational threats.
He started his career in the U.S. Navy as a warfare surface officer in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East maritime theaters.
The Villanova University graduate earned his MBA degree from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where he was a Pat Tillman military scholar.
