CDAO’s future uncertain as slew of top leaders and tech staffers depart

There’s been an exodus of senior leaders and other technical employees from the Pentagon’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office in recent months as the organization’s future remains in limbo, according to multiple current and former government officials who spoke to DefenseScoop on the condition of anonymity this week. 

“At a time when [Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth] wants to prioritize the use of AI to modernize the Defense Department, it’s more important than ever to have a highly effective and motivated CDAO team,” a source said Wednesday.

The CDAO achieved full operational capability in 2022 — under the Biden administration — after merging four technology-focused organizations at the Pentagon: the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), Defense Digital Service (DDS), Office of the Chief Data Officer, and the Advana program.

Commercial tech executive Craig Martell initially led the office from its inception until his resignation in early 2024. Defense acquisition expert Radha Plumb served as the second permanent CDAO from April of that year to January 2025. 

Last month, Douglas Matty became the first official to steer the CDAO on a permanent basis under the new Trump administration.

He’s taking the helm as the office is involved in a variety of DOD-wide initiatives that seek to accelerate data analytics, automation, computer vision, machine learning and next-generation AI capabilities for military and civilian personnel — all of which align with the Trump team’s priorities.

Matty’s tenure begins at a time when questions about the defense AI hub’s next chapter continue to swirl. Several officials suggested that government leaders are exploring plans to consolidate CDAO with other DOD organizations, including the Defense Innovation Unit. Simultaneously, the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team is promoting disruptive initiatives to cut what they consider wasteful spending and drastically reduce the size of the U.S. federal workforce.

Officials who DefenseScoop connected with in separate conversations this week said that over the last few months — both before and after Matty came onboard — a noticeable number of key employees have exited or announced plans to leave their positions in the near term. 

Social media posts and public reports have also reflected those recent departures of experienced CDAO officials in high-stakes positions, including former deputy for mission analytics, Garrett Berntsen; former acting deputy for acquisitions and assurance, Bonnie Evangelista; former deputy for advanced C2 acceleration, Jock Padgett; former Global Information Dominance Experiments lead, Matt Strohmeyer; as well as Defense Digital Service director Jennifer Hay and her team.

Replacements for those positions, as well as the office’s algorithmic warfare chief and Advana platform lead have not been named publicly, and leadership roles listed on the CDAO’s official website continue to dwindle.

“The organization is clearly in crisis, with a continued stream of leaders and technical staff departing either through the Trump administration’s workforce reduction efforts, or simply by choice,” one official told DefenseScoop.

They and other sources also said that, over the last week or so, DOGE officials have called current and former staff asking for direct feedback on CDAO leadership, culture and organizational challenges.

A spokesperson for the office did not provide comments by press time on the alleged exodus, or disclose the number of CDAO officials who have opted into the Trump administration’s various accelerated departure options for DOD civilian employees.

“CDAO fully supports the department’s efforts to identify efficiencies while improving our ability to deliver lethality for our warfighters. While we don’t comment on individuals leveraging existing and recently initiated human resource initiatives, many of the personnel actions are aligned to continuous improvements that align human capital to organizational functions. Additionally, these transitions illustrate the high quality of individuals that have added value in government service and continue to have opportunities in the private sector,” a defense official said Wednesday. 

“CDAO continues to execute its mission and process Deferred Resignation Program requests. The department approved approximately 22,000 employees to participate in the OPM DRP (Round 1). The DOD offered its own DRP (Round 2) from April 7 through April 14, 2025, and the department is still collecting and evaluating that data,” they also told DefenseScoop.

Matty is set to testify Thursday on Capitol Hill at a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on the Pentagon’s current IT and AI posture.