Robert Ashley Jr.
Wake Forest,US
Summary
Accomplished leader with a distinguished career at the Department of Defense and US Army. Spearheaded global security initiatives, and managed large teams of over 16,000 employees with a budget in the billions. Expert in leadership development, strategic planning, educational programming, diplomacy, team building, government relations, artificial intelligence, and global risk management. Oversight of multiple educational institutions and programs.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Director Defense Intelligence Agency
Department of Defense
10.2017 - 10.2020
- Director, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) with over 16 thousand employees
- Responsible for intelligence support to all branches of the United States Armed Forces as well as Congressional Oversight Committees in the Senate and House
- Complex global mission with employee’s located in over 150 countries
- Significant diplomatic responsibility working with leaders from over 150 countries
- Responsible for the development and execution of a budget in the billions of dollars as well as defending the budget to Congress during testimony
- Oversight and leadership of the National Intelligence University
- Responsible for leading the Academy for Defense Intelligence.
- Responsible for intelligence training for DIA, Military Services, and select Allied Partner Nations
Deputy Assistance Chief of Staff For Intelligence
US Army
03.2016 - 10.2017
- Senior intelligence officer in the Army and principal military adviser to the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff
- Responsible for leader development and mentoring of senior Army intelligence officers
- Responsible for strategy development, training, and vision of an Army Intelligence Corp of over 60 thousand Soldiers deployed worldwide
- Responsible for intelligence policy, plans, programming, development, and integration of intelligence technology for the Army
- Responsible for managing a complex intelligence budget in the hundreds of millions of dollars
Commanding General Fort Huachuca Arizona
US Army
03.2013 - 07.2015
- Commanding General of Fort Huachuca and Commandant of the US Army Intelligence Center and School
- Commandant of the Intelligence School providing basic training, advanced training, and leadership development; graduating approximately 10,000 students each year; also teamed closely with Cochise County College and University of Arizona on college credit opportunities for Soldiers and their families
- Responsible for all aspects of strategy development and operations of Fort Huachuca working closely with the Sierra Vista Mayor and city leadership; including support of local and regional conservation goals and plans
- Responsible for Army intelligence doctrine, organizational structures, warfighting concepts and intelligence collection systems development
- Responsible for development and execution of a multi-million-dollar operations and training budget
Assist. Chief of Staff Intel, Afghanistan (ISAF)
Department of Defense
01.2012 - 03.2013
- Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, and senior intelligence officer, for the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) Afghanistan; senior intelligence advisor to Commander ISAF
- Responsible for all aspects of intelligence supporting a force of over 300K personnel
- Overall responsible for building a team of teams executing intelligence operations in Afghanistan and the Pakistan Theater of Operations
- Lead, prioritize, and resource an intelligence strategy in support of approximately 50 nations across Afghanistan.
- Develop intelligence support strategy, technology fielding, and budget execution in the hundreds of millions of dollars across the Afghanistan Theater of Operations
- Responsible to multiple stakeholders outside of Afghanistan to include the Supreme Allied Command Europe, US Inter-Agency, US Joint Staff, and Department of Defense
- Responsible for helping mentor senior Afghanistan government officials
Assistant Chief of Staff, Intel J2 Central Command
Department Of Defence
06.2010 - 12.2011
- Lead and direct all aspects of intelligence in support of Central Commands (US CENTCOM) area of responsibility consisting of 22 countries across the Middle East
- Responsible for the training and leader development of a 1,200 person staff section and attached personnel
- Responsible for a budget of $95M in resources and specialized equipment and an intelligence budget more than $150M
- Serve as the principal intelligence coordinator with the Intelligence Community in Washington D.C.
- Serves as the focal point for intelligence relationships with 27 additional nations serving within USCENTCOM's Area of Responsibility
Education
Master of Arts - Strategic Studies And International Relations
U.S. Army War College
Carlisle, PA06.2005
Master of Arts - Strategic Intelligence
Defense Intelligence College (Now NIU)
Bolling Air Force Base, Washington DC06.1992
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC05.1984
Associate of Applied Science - Architectural Drafting And Design
Catawba Valley Technical Institute
Hickory North Carolina06.1980
Skills
- Leadership, coaching, and mentoring
- Organizational Design and Organizational Culture
- Strategic Planning and Execution
- Government and Congressional Relations
- Diplomacy and International Relations
- Technology Development and Innovation
- Planning and Budget Development
- Human Capital Development
- National Security Related Commercial Technology
- Global Security, Geopolitical Threats, and Risk Management
- Cyber security and Artificial Intelligence
Accomplishments
- 2015 Top Ten Awardee John Maxwell’s Annual Leadership Awards
- Wash100 Awardee 2018 and 2019 for Leading Agency Modernization
- 2018 Appalachian State University Outstanding Alumni
- 2020 Daughters of the American Revolution Patriot Award
- 2020 Cyber, Space & Intelligence Association / Strategic Forces Association Leadership Award
- 2020 Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star (3rd highest award bestowed by the country of Japan)
- 2021 ROTC Hall Fame Inductee
- 2022 Honorary Doctorate Degree in Strategic Intelligence by the National Intelligence University
Affiliations
- Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Organization (AFCEA) Intelligence Committee
- Board of Advisors International Spy Museum
- Board of Advisors National Intelligence University
Additional Information
Currently working as a consultant and advisor across multiple companies that include Board of Advisors Adobe Federal, Board of Advisors Peraton, SSA Board for Corps Ten International, SSA Board for Jane's Defense, Advisor for the following technology start-ups: Capella Space (synthetic aperture satellite radar company), Primer AI (natural language processing), Premise (crowd sourcing platform), and Saildrone (autonomous maritime drone). I also consult for two national security technology consulting companies: Touchstone Futures and Pallas Advisors.
I'm currently serving as one of 16 Congressionally selected bi-partisan commissioners charged with the task of examining lessons learned across the US' 20-year involvement in the Afghan War.
Currently providing subject matter expertise for ARLIS which is an applied research lab that works for the Under Secretary of Intelligence and Security and University of Southern Maryland.
Should I be selected as Chancellor I would resign from the various boards and advisor positions less the Afghan War Commission which I would like to discuss with the selection committee as the time required is minimal and I would hope to continue to serve in this important position. My service as a commissioner is of great importance to the Nation and of value for Appalachian State.
The link below is to the interview from my 2018 selection as a Distinguished Alumni.
https://www.alumni.appstate.edu/s/1727/c20/Interior.aspx?sid=1727&gid=2&pgid=2092
The link below is an example of one of many public speaking engagements from my time as Director, Defense Intelligence Agency (recommend cut and paste the link below)
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-%20t&p=LTG+Robert+Ashley+CSIS+speech#+vid=4e8f3207871a197f2be9f31178d05301&id=3&vid=4e8f3207871a197f2be9f31178d05301&action=view
Timeline
Director Defense Intelligence Agency
Department of Defense
10.2017 - 10.2020
Deputy Assistance Chief of Staff For Intelligence
US Army
03.2016 - 10.2017
Commanding General Fort Huachuca Arizona
US Army
03.2013 - 07.2015
Assist. Chief of Staff Intel, Afghanistan (ISAF)
Department of Defense
01.2012 - 03.2013
Assistant Chief of Staff, Intel J2 Central Command
Department Of Defence
06.2010 - 12.2011
Master of Arts - Strategic Studies And International Relations
U.S. Army War College
Master of Arts - Strategic Intelligence
Defense Intelligence College (Now NIU)
Bachelor of Arts - Political Science
Appalachian State University
Associate of Applied Science - Architectural Drafting And Design
Catawba Valley Technical Institute
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