David Gompert

David Charles Gompert officially joined the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on November 10, 2009 as the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence following his November 9 confirmation by the U.S. Senate. President Barack Obama nominated him for the position on August 6, 2009. The appointment made Gompert the ODNI's second-highest-ranking official after Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper. The Principal Deputy DNI, who may act on the Director's behalf, assists the DNI in efforts to promote greater collaboration and information sharing among the 16 agencies that make up the Intelligence Community. Gompert most recently worked as a senior fellow at the RAND Corp., a leading research organization that explores topics such as national security, terrorism, economic development and science and technology. Before that, he was a distinguished research professor at the National Defense University's Center for Technology and National Security Policy. From 2003 to 2004, Gompert was the senior adviser for national security and defense to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.