The Honorable Susan M. “Sue” Gordon is a renowned leader in national security, intelligence, and technology, with a career spanning over three decades at the highest levels of government. As the former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (2017–2019), she advised the President on intelligence matters and provided operational leadership of the agencies and organizations of the Intelligence Community (IC). Today, as President of GordonVentures, LLC, she advises global leaders and organizations on risk, strategy, and innovation, with a focus on national security, space, cyber, AI, and quantum technologies.
Ms. Gordon serves as an independent director on the boards of CACI International, BlackSky, SecurityScorecard, and BCore; is Vice Chairman of the MITRE Corporation; and advises several leading technology companies. She is a university fellow, the President of the Pallas Foundation, an advisor to the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, and contributes to national security as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ms. Gordon joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 1980 and served for 29 years, rising to senior executive positions in each of the Agency’s four directorates: operations, analysis, science and technology, and support. Her career was defined by transformative leadership and groundbreaking initiatives, including the creation of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital arm. She drove intelligence integration across the IC and as Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (2015–2017), where she modernized operations, championed agile decision-making, and expanded geospatial intelligence into the commercial domain. Her numerous awards for creative executive leadership include the Distinguished Intelligence and Distinguished Career Intelligence medals, Presidential Rank awards, and the Oliver Baker, Lundahl-Finnie, and William Webster leadership awards.
A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, Ms. Gordon is celebrated for mentoring future leaders and advancing public-private partnerships to meet global challenges.
A Duke University graduate and three-time captain of the Women’s Basketball team, Ms. Gordon embodies resilience and leadership. She cherishes the memory of her late husband Jim Gordon, also a Duke graduate, is a devoted mother to two grown children, and a loving grandmother to four grandchildren.