Kathleen Hicks, a former Department of Defense official and an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2021, was confirmed to DOD’s No. 2 civilian post through a Senate voice vote, The Hill reported Monday.
She previously served as a deputy undersecretary at the Pentagon under the Obama administration and recently led President Joe Biden’s defense transition team.
Hicks, who became the first female deputy defense secretary nominee to receive Senate approval, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on her nomination that she would support nuclear modernization programs, weapons acquisition budgeting and national security efforts.
She also seeks to promote the “defend forward” cybersecurity approach and establish the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s role in driving AI implementation across the department.
Prior to her nomination, she oversaw an international security program at Center for Strategic and International Studies. Hicks is a member of the U.S. Naval Institute’s board of directors and The Aerospace Corp.’s board of trustees.
