Daniel Holtzman is departing the DoW Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office to take on a new role as Chief Information Security Officer at Draper, closing out a senior leadership chapter inside one of the Department’s most critical digital and AI organizations.
“Time to start a new adventure. Looking forward to joining the Draper Labs team as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO),” Holtzman shared.
Holtzman has been serving as Deputy Executive Director within CDAO, while also holding responsibilities as an Authorizing Official across a wide range of high-impact environments, including cloud, DevSecOps, enterprise IT services, and mission-critical command and control systems. His role placed him at the center of securing and enabling some of DoD’s most complex and sensitive digital capabilities.
His departure follows a career defined by deep technical authority in cyber and systems security. As the Air Force’s first Highly Qualified Expert for Cyber, he led efforts spanning security engineering, cyber resiliency, supply chain risk management, and mission assurance for advanced weapon systems and enterprise platforms. He also served as Director of Cyberspace Innovation, helping shape how the service approached modern cyber operations and risk-based security execution.
Earlier in his career, Holtzman spent nearly 15 years at MITRE focused on systems security engineering and cyber integration, along with multiple CIO roles in industry supporting defense-focused organizations.
Now returning to Draper, where he began his career as a software engineer, Holtzman steps into the CISO role with decades of experience across DoD, FFRDC, and industry, bringing a track record of securing complex, real-time, and high-consequence systems environments.
