Bridget Bean, the executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, is retiring, the agency confirmed with Nextgov/FCW Tuesday evening.
Bean had been serving as the acting director of the government’s cybersecurity agency as of early May when she testified before Congress, although currently, the agency lists its deputy director, Madhu Gottumukkala, as its acting director. Gottumukkala joined CISA in late April.
“I am honored to represent CISA’s work supporting our mission to understand, manage and reduce risk to our nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure,” Bean told lawmakers in early May. “The risks we face are complex, geographically dispersed and affect a diverse array of our stakeholders and, ultimately, the American people.”
Bean has worked at CISA for nearly three years as its executive director and its chief integration officer. She previously also worked at the Small Business Administrator for two decades and FEMA for five years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Her retirement is the latest in a series of turnovers at some of the highest levels of the agency.
CISA has made moves over the last several months to reduce its workforce and realign agency priorities. Trump slated the cyber agency for a nearly $500 million reduction in the coming year in the recent White House budget request, although House appropriators didn’t go nearly that far in a recent funding bill.
“Her leadership has been instrumental in strengthening the Agency’s operational effectiveness, implementing organizational efficiencies, and advancing key priorities aligned with President [Donald] Trump’s initiatives,” CISA spokesperson Marci McCarthy told Nextgov/FCW in a statement. “We are grateful for her commitment, integrity, and impact — and we wish her the very best in her well-earned retirement.”
It is not immediately clear who the cyber agency’s new executive director will be or when Bean’s last day is. Trump’s nominee for the head of the agency, Sean Plankey, is scheduled to be voted out of committee tomorrow, although Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has said that he intends to put a hold on his nomination until CISA releases a 2022 report on telecom industry security vulnerabilities.
Nextgov/FCW Cybersecurity Reporter David DiMolfetta contributed to this report.
