More than 100 cybersecurity experts urge senators to confirm Kirsten Davies as Pentagon CIO

A slew of cybersecurity experts from industry and other organizations sent a letter to lawmakers Monday urging them to move swiftly to confirm Kirsten Davies as Department of Defense chief information officer.

The letter, addressed to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and viewed by DefenseScoop, includes more than 100 signatories.

President Donald Trump nominated Davies for the role back in May, but the SASC waited until this week to hold her confirmation hearing, which is scheduled for Thursday.

The cybersecurity experts who penned the new letter expressed their “strongest support” for the nominee.

“Ms. Davies is a leader we know personally and professionally. Many of us have collaborated with her, witnessed her steady hand in high-stakes situations, and observed her ability to lead with both conviction and humility. She has built a reputation as a world-class cybersecurity executive who can earn trust, build teams, and navigate complexity,” they wrote.

“She also understands that defending large, complex organizations requires partnership across government, industry, and society. Her founding of the Institute for Cyber Civics and her continued leadership in public-private initiatives illustrate a deep commitment to collective defense and civic responsibility. As the DoD navigates IT modernization, AI integration, and an increasingly hostile cyber terrain, Ms. Davies will bring the operational realism and strategic foresight only a battle-tested CISO can offer,” they added.

Davies has served in high-level IT and cybersecurity roles at major firms in the private sector, including as chief information security officer for Unilever, senior vice president and chief information security officer at the Estee Lauder Companies, managing director and group chief security officer at Barclays Africa (now known as Absa), vice president of enterprise security strategy and transformation solution at Hewlett-Packard, global deputy CISO at Siemens, and senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“I’m grateful for the President’s nomination, and humbled at the opportunity to serve my beloved country and the incredible men and women in uniform!” she wrote in a post on LinkedIn in May after she was picked for the Pentagon CIO job.

The DOD CIO is the principal staff assistant and senior advisor to the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense for IT matters. The job portfolio includes responsibility for cybersecurity, communications and information systems.

“In a world where the United States faces a broad spectrum of cyber threats, with nation-state adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea growing increasingly capable and aggressive, this appointment sends the right message at the right time. It tells the world, and the DoD workforce, that cybersecurity is national security, and that those who have carried the burden of cyber defense in the private sector are ready to serve the country at the highest level,” the letter signatories wrote, urging the SASC to “act swiftly” in moving Davies’ confirmation process forward and to support her confirmation by the full Senate.

Katie Arrington, the Pentagon’s CISO, is currently performing the duties of Pentagon CIO.