Executive Mosaic has announced that William Burns, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), has received a 2021 Wash100 Award for driving national security strategies and defense, developing technology solutions and promoting workforce initiatives.
“I learned that good intelligence, delivered with honesty and integrity, is America’s first line of defense. I learned that intelligence professionals have to tell policymakers what they need to hear, even if they don’t want to hear it,” Burns said. “And I learned that politics must stop where intelligence work begins.”
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This marks Burns’ first Wash100 Award. In Feb. 2021, the Senate Intelligence Committee unanimously approved William Burns’ nomination to be the next CIA director. President Biden nominated Burns for the position in Jan. 2021.
Burns pledged that he’d sharpen the CIA’s focus on China, describing “an adversarial, predatory Chinese leadership” as the country’s “biggest geopolitical test.”
“For CIA, that will mean intensified focus and urgency — continually strengthening its already impressive cadre of China specialists, expanding its language skills, aligning personnel and resource allocation for the long haul,” Burns told the Intelligence Committee.
In regards to Russia, he highlighted ways that Russia could pose a threat to the nation, including cyberattacks such as the SolarWinds breach. “Putin’s Russia continues to demonstrate that declining powers can be just as disruptive as rising ones and can make use of asymmetrical tools, especially cyber tools, to do that,” Burns said. “We can’t afford to underestimate them.”
Executive Mosaic congratulates William Burns and the Central Intelligence Agency on his 2021 Wash100 Award. Burns’ efforts to safeguard the nation, advance technology solutions and drive workforce initiatives will continue to influence the federal and industry sectors moving forward.
