David Spirk

Dave is a Senior Counselor at Palantir, where he focuses on assisting across the US Government, Allied/Partner, and Commercial business. He is the AI Commissioner for the Global Tech Security Commission and also serves as an Operating Partner at DCVC and as a Senior Advisor to the Founder/CEO of CalypsoAI. Dave is a Board Member at Fortem Technologies, Shift5, and the not-for-profit Special Operations Warrior Golf Foundation. He remains the co-founder and CEO of HoopWERX.

Previously, he served as the Department of Defense’s (DOD) first-Chief Data Officer (CDO). In this role, he stood up DOD’s Chief Data Office and instilled a strong focus on warfighter needs, data governance, and a data ready workforce to inspire a data-driven culture across the department. He developed the DOD’s first Data Strategy, Data Decrees, and Joint All Domain Command and Control Data (JADC2) Implementation Plan. Dave crafted and oversaw the establishment, resourcing, and empowerment of CDOs across the department.

Immediately prior, Dave was the United States Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) first-CDO and the Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the United States’ Special Forces. In this role as a direct report to the USSOCOM Commander, he was responsible for the creation of a data-driven decision-making culture while leading the integration of data-driven technologies across all US Special Operations Forces (SOF).

Dave served as the Associate Director for Technology Investment at the Secretary of the Air Force’s (SAF) Concept Development and Management Office. His primary task was to stand up and lead the DOD’s first training quality data production refinery for the Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Team (aka, Project Maven), which was the DoD’s pathfinding AI effort.

Dave was previously the Deputy Director of Intelligence at USSOCOM and the United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). At USSOCOM his primary portfolio was on building partner nation and US interagency support for Operation Gallant Phoenix, which was the SOF effort to stem foreign terrorist fighter flows to Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. At USCENTCOM, Dave led the Intelligence Directorate’s Divisions for Operations, Plans, Intelligence Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, and Foreign Disclosure/Special Security Office. While at USCENTCOM he served in Afghanistan for a year as the Senior Intelligence Advisor to the Commander of the International Security and Assistance Force during 2010/2011.

At the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), Dave was the Deputy Associate Director of National Intelligence for Afghanistan and Pakistan (ADNI Af/Pak). In this role, he was responsible for ensuring strategic alignment of the Intelligence Community’s (IC) Af/Pak and counter-terrorism missions. Dave regularly represented the senior-IC position on Af/Pak matters at the White House and with congressional leaders.

Dave is a former-Marine who served across echelons at various east coast United States Marine Corps (USMC) elements setting the stage for numerous deployments throughout the US Africa Command (USAFRICOM), US Central Command (USCENTCOM) US European Command (USEUCOM), US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), and US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM).