Veteran Department of Defense leader joins the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

John P. Delaney has been appointed managing director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI), effective June 25, 2020. Delaney joins the CCI leadership team, located in Arlington, Virginia, after retiring from an illustrious 30-year career with the United States Army, most recently as the chief of staff for Army Cyber Command.  

"John brings to CCI superb organizational and leadership skills, after a long and distinguished career in the Department of Defense,” said Luiz A. DaSilva, executive director of the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. “I am really delighted to be working with him and look forward to all that he will accomplish for the initiative, as we grow targeted research areas and help translate research findings into economic impact."

Reporting directly to DaSilva, Delaney will lead the operational team that supports more than researchers across dozens of CCI-affiliated institutions. The managing director is responsible for all operational duties, including personnel, financial management, operations, and communications from the CCI Hub, located in Northern Virginia. 

In addition, Delaney will represent CCI in a variety of governmental, industry, and academic events. He will serve as the executive secretariat of the CCI Leadership Council and will interact frequently with the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority and other Virginia governmental agencies.

CCI, a highly connected network that engages institutions of higher education, industry, government, and nongovernmental and economic development organizations, was established in the 2018-20 Virginia budget, which will invest approximately $20 million annually from 2020 and beyond. CCI connects regional nodes across the commonwealth, each led by an institution of higher education, which are designed to be vibrant centers of research, learning, and innovation tailored to their local ecosystem.

“While at Army Cyber Command, I saw first-hand how powerful collaboration between academia, industry, and the federal government can be to enable rapid advances in cyber-security capabilities,” said Delaney. “The CCI mission is to do the same for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I look forward to working with our great network of colleges and universities, industry and government partners, and talented researchers and students to drive innovation, develop cutting-edge cyber technologies, and position the commonwealth as a world-leader in cyber-security.” 

Most recently in his chief of staff role for the Army’s Cyber Command, Delaney oversaw programming and execution of a $1.6 billion annual budget and was a member of the Command Group for a globally employed organization responsible for planning and executing cyberspace operations and network defense and represented the group during engagements with the secretary and chief of staff of the Army, members of Congress, industry, and academia. Leading daily operations of a 500-person staff, Delaney provided direct daily oversight of human resources management, security, information technology, logistics, resource management, legislative affairs, public affairs, and safety functions. 

Previously, Delaney served as a senior fellow of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where he participated in the study, formulation, recommendation, and implementation of United States foreign and defense policy for the Middle East region and in policy forums, programs, and seminars concerning U.S. national security issues in the Middle East with various think tanks.

As a brigade commander for the Army in 2014-16, Delaney was responsible for the health, welfare, training, and professional performance of over 2,200 officers and soldiers and the execution of a $4 million annual operating budget. He supervised personnel, intelligence and security, operations, logistics, and maintenance functions for the Field Artillery School faculty, brigade staff, and students. 

Delaney has served the nation as an officer in the Army since December 1991, holding various positions over his military career.

He earned a B.S. in business administration from Elon University, a master's degree in human resource development from Webster University, and a master's in national security and resource strategy from the National Defense University.

CCI is a state-wide ecosystem of innovation and excellence at the intersection of security, autonomous systems, and data. The initiative aims to position Virginia as a global leader in secure cyberphysical systems and the digital economy for decades to come by supporting world-class research; promoting technology commercialization and entrepreneurship; and preparing future generations of innovators and research leaders. The network is composed of four CCI regional nodes, encompassing Central Virginia, Coastal Virginia, Northern Virginia, and Southwest Virginia, as well as a hub in Arlington, Virginia.