GUSTAV A. OTTO
Ottawa,ON
Summary
Skilled Senior Director with strong experience and proficiency in the following: Indefatigable Magic Generator; Global Decision Maker & Influencer; International, National & Regional Experience; Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Building (we all want the Big Tent); Executive Coach and discreet mentor; Inspirational & Ethical Leadership; relentlessly chasing inclusive, diverse and equality
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Chief, Defense Intelligence Agency Liaison
Defense Intelligence Agency
Ottawa, Canada
01.2022 - Current
- Orchestrated strategic revival efforts influencing F-35 approval by Prime Minister with key executive-level engagement.
- Advised US Ambassador and supported birth of Canadian National Security Council
- Pursued as speaker and senior advisor for existing and rising senior leaders and generals
- Drove international investment growth by coordinating significant visits for Canadian Partners in Defence to Washington DC.
DIA Senior Representative to NORAD & US NORTHERN COMMAND
Defense Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC
01.2019 - 12.2021
- Chosen from 37 senior civilians to care for 600+ civilians and 100 military across Colorado
- Oversaw five different facilities/plants, full functioning, low outage plus no-fail sensitive IT delivered/sustained over 100 account, plus worldwide supply to thousands of end-users
- Spearheaded comprehensive COVID Response establishing local to global procedures for human resources, telework and secure telework, safe personal/public transportation, and vaccine response
- Developed detection capability with organic S&T experts; prototyped, tested and fielded new devices & ensured US and partner national security, NORAD 100% success against global pandemic
Chief of Training & Talent Development
Defense Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC
07.2013 - 07.2017
- Hand-picked from over 20 senior civilians to establish comprehensive, holistic and progressive development program for entry level employees through senior executive
- Pioneered full-spectrum growth from training and education, language, professional skills and leadership development of almost 1000 personnel in 100+ countries around the globe
- Advised multiple C-Suite leaders across the National Security Enterprise, US and NATO intelligence Community, and US Interagency
Professor of Practice & Chair for Defense Intelligence Studies
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center & Army University
Leavenworth, KS
07.2013 - 07.2017
- First-ever Distinguished Chair for Defense Intelligence Studies at the Command & General Staff College (CGSC) and a senior DIA representative to the US Army Combined Arms Center, an organization consisting of up to 8000 students & faculty across 80+ training organizations
- Competitively selected among 30+ senior DIA leaders and senior executives (GG-15 and SES) to be the first DIA Chair and appointed by the Dean of Academics as the 'Distinguished Chair' based on DIA’s investment, my academic credentials and experience
- Developed new educational opportunities for over 2000 students and faculty annually
- Provided the first ever exposure to senior NSA, DNI and Diplomatic officers as guest speakers who provided first-hand experiences from inside the White House, Congress, and E-Ring of the Pentagon
- Increased key engagements, solidifying existing and facilitating new relationships with the Army Service Component Commands, U.S
- Army Africa/Europe, U.S
- Forces Japan, and U.S
- Forces Korea
- Engaged with industry, civilian academic institutions such as the Council on Foreign Relations, the Heritage Foundation, the Wilson Foundation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and RAND; Kellogg, Brown & Root, Flor, SAIC; World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations; Care International, Chemonics, Save the Children; NATO, European Union, African Union, ECOWAS; NY University, Florida International University, American University, Catholic University, George Mason University) and senior representatives from other nations including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, Germany, Greece, Nigeria, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, who seek to benchmark many of our U.S
- Military practices
Professor of Practice, DIA Chair
National Defense University
Washington, DC
07.2010 - 06.2013
- Served as the DIA Chair for the Leadership Department Strategic Leadership division, consisting of 22-26 Senior Faculty, O-6, GG-15, and Senior Executives from across International Community
- First-ever DIA Chair at one of six DoD war colleges, aggressive advocate between DIA, the Dwight D
- Eisenhower School of National Security & Resource Strategy and NDU
- Coached, mentored, and trained a 45-hour, Graduate Level, Executive/Strategic Leadership course to over 50 senior executive officers from the U.S
- And international partners
- Led international engagements in NYC, NY; Haiti; Sarajevo, Bosnia; Nicaragua; and Miami
- Selected as the Best Professor Strategic Leadership Instructor of over 20 faculty members in the Department
- Selected as one of four top faculty of the year over 100 other faculty members for 2011 and 2013; taught, coached and mentored approximately 80 civilian executives
- Hand-picked from across NDU and DoD to lead the Chairman of Joint Chiefs and Secretary of Defense’s Strategy Formulation in support of 2012-20 National Security Strategy
- Published a nationally acclaimed paper, read by the Joint Chiefs and Office of the Secretary of Defense and their staffs
- Briefed several different senior executive officers on Capitol Hill
CI Czar Intelligence Officer
Defense Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC
07.2009 - 06.2010
- Served as the CI Czar for DoD AFPK in support of GEN McChrystal and LTG Flynn to be the Director of all HUMINT, CI and Security for the US, NATO and Coalition during the surges in Helmand and Kandahar Provinces (OPERATION Mostorak), which was one of the most successful military operations since 9/11 and the largest/most successful in Afghanistan
- Coordinated all issues related to, or having a nexus with CI, Force Protection, Security, and Counterterrorism (CT) across the U.S
- Government for all activities affecting the AFPK Region
- Developed plans and operations for U.S., Allied, and host nation, and Law Enforcement services
- Coordinated issues like green-on-green, or threats posed by legacy threats in the region, to arranging for foreign release or disclosure of sensitive materials that ensured the success and safety of partners
- Coordinated National, Defense and Coalition CI activities, issues and policies across Afghanistan
- Established and coordinated first Intelligence Community CI conference on Afghanistan with over 200 attendees.16 Intelligence Agencies, representatives of Secretary of Defense, and all four military branches created an extensive and collaborative center for information exchange
- Guided over 300 leaders from U.S., Allied, Host Nation, and Contract environments on the responsibility for sensitive Human Intelligence Collection, full-spectrum CI activities, physical and information security, and other discreet operations in support of commander initiatives
- Synchronized and orchestrated offensive and defensive activities from guards, special forces, infantry, interpreters, and HUMINT collectors in supporting the force protection of all U.S./Allied troops in Afghanistan, positively impacting over 60K U.S
- And coalition troops daily
Senior Intelligence Officer
Defense Intelligence Agency
Washington, DC
07.2004 - 08.2008
- Chief of an 80-person CI Hard Targets Division; led and managed over seven of DoD’s CI Hard Target Programs (CASTLE Programs), over 3K personnel, in leveraging DoD and the Intelligence Community activities to influence foreign policy and foreign activities via hundreds of tailored CI support to full-spectrum intelligence and kinetic operations worldwide
- Developed the first classified infomercial within the Intelligence Community
- Designed a storyboard and scripted the narration
- Negotiated with a production team, including Emmy winners on USG staff, and commercial actors and producers, then shot, edited and posted the infomercial, resulting in a 400% increase in collaboration and a 5-600% increase in the number of RFIs
- Won the prestigious DIA Team of the Year award in 2007 and the DoD CI Excellence Award in 2007 and 2008 for our focus on collaboration and willingness to stop intelligence threats posed by state and non-state actors
- Activities thwarted ongoing hostile actions by foreign intelligence to the praise of senior members of the administration, DoD, FBI, CIA, and the military services
- Managed a worldwide distribution of team members located at the White House, Pentagon, two locations in Northern Virginia, Washington DC, South and Central America, Iraq, Afghanistan, parts of East Africa, Europe, Japan and Korea
Director, Intelligence Operations
Space Warfare Center
Colorado Springs, CO
11.2003 - 07.2004
- Directed a 20-person intelligence unit supporting the Space Warfare Center (SWC), which sought to uncover and tap into existing potential of emerging innovations; to integrate operations and cutting-edge technology and activities; to collaborate across cyberspace, airspace and warfighting functions of the Air and Space domains
- To push a full-spectrum warfare capability of the U.S
- Through rapid innovation, design thinking, testing and prototyping, and experimentation
- Chapter Chair, DoD space threat assessments, supported Space Battlelab, directed intelligence inputs to USAF Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) and R&D of space systems
- Increased efficiencies by 45% by re-aligning personnel to their skills and temperaments, organizing new cells to create organizational efficiencies, moving serial activates into parallel activities, increasing awareness across the organization, synchronized smaller and medium work units to ensure better cross-pollination and increased communication with increased delivery times
- Revived Collection Management and achieved 30% increase in response time by eliminating duplication
- Worked across hundreds of hours of specialized collection by air/spaceborne platforms
- Managed All-Source intelligence, focusing primarily on SIGINT, IMINT, MASINT, ELINT, and COMINT to three experimental air and space collection platforms, managing a budget over $24M
Chief, Intelligence Operations Detachment - Asia
Defense Intelligence Agency
Yokota Air Base, Japan
03.2001 - 10.2003
- Supervised 13-personnel conducting intelligence collection on worldwide requirements, increased the detachment’s operations by over 200%
- Served as the Asia-Pacific area Subject Matter Expert and Liaison for Dept of Defense in region
- Served as the Acting Chief of the HUMINT Support Element in support of US Forces throughout Asia, post-9/11, and subsequent OPERATION Enduring Freedom and OPERATION Iraqi Freedom
- Managed an annual budget of over $100K and served as Special Project officer for the transition of the detachment to a new location costing over $1M
- Oversaw the construction of an $8M facility and initiated a phased move-in Project Management Plan for the staff and systems
Education
PhD - Interdisciplinary Ethical & Creative Leadership
The Union Institute & University
OH01.2017
PhD - Theoretical Framework for Strategic Leadership
The Union Institute & University
Cincinnati, OH01.2017
Doctoral Certificate - Education Leadership
The Union Institute & University
OH01.2017
Doctoral Certificate - Design Thinking
The Union Institute & University
OH01.2017
MS - National Security Strategy
National Defense University
Washington, D.C.01.2009
BA - International Relations
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH01.1993
Skills
- TOP SECRET/SCI CI Poly
- MS National Security Strategy
- PhD Strategic Leadership
- Skilled Senior Director with strong experience and proficiency in the following: Indefatigable Magic Generator; Global Decision Maker & Influencer; International, National & Regional Experience; Multi-Stakeholder Partnership Building; Executive Coach and discreet mentor; Inspirational & Ethical Leadership; relentlessly chasing inclusive, diverse and equality
Certification
Certified Counselor/Coach, Executive Assessment and Development Program (EADP), 2010
Community Service
- Student Governance Council for PhD Representing Cohort + ECL and SGC Parliamentarian
- Member of International Leadership Association (ILA)
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Fundraising
Training
- Global Institute for Leader Development (GILD) by Linkage, 2010
- Defense Leadership & Management Program (DLAMP, now DSLDP), Troy State, 2008
- Defense Counterintelligence Agents Course (DCAC), 2007
- Defense Community Intelligence Pay System (DCIPS) Supervisor Training, DIA, 2007
- Defense Counterintelligence Agent Course (DCAC), DIA, 2006
- Leadership & Teambuilding Course, DIA, 2006
- Asymmetric Threats Course, DIA, 2005
- Air Force Space Command, Air Force, 2004
- Intelligence Fundamentals Training Unit (IFTU) - Space, 2004
- Operational HUMINT Orientation Course (OHOC), 2004
- Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) SV-80 & 83; SV-90 & 93, 2003
- Field Training Course (FTC), part II, 2002
- Defense Strategic Debriefing Course (DSDC), 2000
- Handgun Concealed Carry and Close Quarters Combat Training (ITI), 1999
- Air Intelligence Operations Officer Certification Training, US Air Force, 1999
- Squadron Officer School (In-residence), 1999
- Joint Counterintelligence Staff Officers Course (JCISO), 1998
- Denial & Deception Course, 1998
- Defensive Driving & Weapon Safety Training (ITI), 1998
- Advanced and Basic Intelligence Officers Course, 1995
Timeline
Chief, Defense Intelligence Agency Liaison
Defense Intelligence Agency
01.2022 - Current
DIA Senior Representative to NORAD & US NORTHERN COMMAND
Defense Intelligence Agency
01.2019 - 12.2021
Chief of Training & Talent Development
Defense Intelligence Agency
07.2013 - 07.2017
Professor of Practice & Chair for Defense Intelligence Studies
U.S. Army Combined Arms Center & Army University
07.2013 - 07.2017
Professor of Practice, DIA Chair
National Defense University
07.2010 - 06.2013
CI Czar Intelligence Officer
Defense Intelligence Agency
07.2009 - 06.2010
Senior Intelligence Officer
Defense Intelligence Agency
07.2004 - 08.2008
Director, Intelligence Operations
Space Warfare Center
11.2003 - 07.2004
Chief, Intelligence Operations Detachment - Asia
Defense Intelligence Agency
03.2001 - 10.2003
PhD - Interdisciplinary Ethical & Creative Leadership
The Union Institute & University
PhD - Theoretical Framework for Strategic Leadership
The Union Institute & University
Doctoral Certificate - Education Leadership
The Union Institute & University
Doctoral Certificate - Design Thinking
The Union Institute & University
MS - National Security Strategy
National Defense University
BA - International Relations
University of Cincinnati
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