Cameron Stanley emerges as frontrunner to be next Pentagon CDAO
Defense technology executive and Project Maven alum Cameron Stanley is the frontrunner to serve as the next Chief Digital and AI Officer at the Pentagon, DefenseScoop has learned.
Three sources suggested he could start in that capacity sometime this month. They requested anonymity to discuss the news before leadership releases an official announcement.
Stanley would enter the role on the heels of a recent realignment for the CDAO — and at a time when the Defense Department is investing heavily in AI and transforming the way personnel access and deploy the emerging tech across warfighting and back-office functions.
The DOD’s management, governance and approach to AI has morphed into many forms over the last decade as algorithm-enabled capabilities have rapidly matured.
In 2018, under the first Trump administration, the Pentagon set up the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) under the chief information officer to develop, field and transition these types of technologies into operational use. In late 2021, defense leaders in the Biden administration directed the establishment of the Chief Digital and AI Office (CDAO) and elevated its elements to report directly to the deputy defense secretary.
The AI-accelerating hub merged and consolidated multiple technology-focused predecessor organizations, including the JAIC, Defense Digital Service, Office of the Chief Data Officer, and the Project Maven and Advana programs.
Although AI remains a top priority under the second Trump administration, in August, Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg ordered an organizational restructure that effectively demoted the CDAO and put it under the purview of DOD’s research and engineering undersecretariat. In a memo initiating the move, he said it was meant to unify the department’s AI strategy, development and implementation under the R&E directorate to accelerate capability delivery; ensure tighter integration between AI research, engineering and operational deployment; clarify long-term stewardship and resourcing for critical enterprise AI platforms; and streamline management and oversight while preserving statutory responsibilities.
Some experts have raised concerns that the reshuffle could reflect a diminution of focus on AI from Feinberg and holds potential to introduce new bureaucratic hurdles to fielding capabilities.
There’s also been an exodus of senior leaders and other technical employees from the CDAO over the past year, and the Pentagon’s plan for the office’s future remains unclear.
Still, CDAO officials are currently hustling to execute on a variety of DOD-wide activities to accelerate data analytics, automation, computer vision, machine learning and other next-generation AI capabilities for military and civilian personnel.
According to his LinkedIn profile and online bios, Stanley served in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security from late 2021 to early 2024 as the lead for Project Maven and then AI development and oversight. Before that, he served as U.S. Southern Command’s senior science and tech advisor and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s liaison to the U.K., among other roles.
Stanley is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and has recently been working as Amazon Web Services’ national security digital transformation lead, per his LinkedIn page.
As the new permanent Pentagon AI chief, Stanley would follow Douglas Matty, who led the office from April to December last year. Andrew Mapes has been serving as acting CDAO since Matty’s departure.
Stanley and a Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to DefenseScoop’s separate requests for comment on Wednesday.
