SHAROTHI PIKAR

Ms. Sharothi Pikar, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Acquisition Executive and the Director of Acquisition and Technology Directorate of U.S. Cyber Command, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Her duties include providing guidance on all CYBERCOM acquisition programs and procurements. She is directly responsible for and oversees the CYBERCOM research, development, and acquisition activities with an annual budget of $5 billion. Ms. Pikar serves as the principal adviser to the USCYBERCOM commander and provides guidance on development and integration of critical cyber capabilities as part of the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture portfolio totaling $2 billion. As the inaugural CAE, Ms. Pikar is also responsible for the development and execution of all CYBERCOM acquisition system policies and procedures.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Pikar served as the Acting Assistant Director for Cyber Portfolio and the Associate Director for Cyber Strategies in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. In this capacity, she provided technical direction, research and engineering program coordination, planning, management, and oversight including setting cyber science and technology and advanced research and engineering goals and priorities, policy formulation, program development and strategic direction for the entire USD(R&E) cyber portfolio. She authored and developed the Cyber Road to Dominance Strategic Plan to enable USD(R&E) better assess and effectively manage the cyber research and engineering portfolio in its entirety, minimize duplication of efforts, and maximize the Department’s ability to provide cyber warfighters with superior technical and strategic advantage. During her tenure, Ms. Pikar served as the inaugural DoD Co–Chair of the Special Cyber Operations Research and Engineering Subcommittee, under the National Science and Technology Council, Cyber S&T Community of Interest Working Group, and the Cyber Capabilities Team in support of the Cyber Investment Management Board.

Previously, Ms. Pikar served as a Senior Civilian Fellow and Strategic Planner in the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, where she authored several key recommendations relevant to the U.S. Army’s emerging and future strategic and operational environments. Ms. Pikar is responsible for creation of the Army Civilian Fellowship positions and played a key role in the Department’s early adoption of predictive people analytics. Prior to that, she served as a Senior Systems Engineer in the Army’s Chief Systems Engineer’s Office under the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, where she established and led the Army’s platform integration cell to address size, weight, and power–cooling challenges for all major ground combat and combat support platforms. Ms. Pikar served in several other key Acquisition and S&T positions, to include Tactical Radio Branch Chief, Chief Engineer for the Tactical Networks Division, and Project Leader and Program Manager for several Army’s Stryker Brigade Combat Unit communications systems.

EDUCATION
2001 Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, N.Y.
2009 Department of Defense Executive Leadership Development Program

CAREER CHRONOLOGY:
1. 2001–2008, Project Leader and Program Manager, Department of the Army, Fort Monmouth, N.J.
2. 2008–2009, Chief Engineer, Tactical Communications Division, Department of the Army, Fort Monmouth, N.J.
3. 2009–2010, Chief, Tactical Radio Branch, Department of the Army, Fort Monmouth, N.J.
4. 2010–2012, Senior Systems Engineer, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, Arlington, Va.
5. 2012–2015, Senior Civilian Fellow and Strategic Planner, Strategic Studies Group, Office of the Chief of Staff, United States Army, Arlington, Va.
6. 2015–2016, Senior Cyber Advisor, Department of the Army, Arlington, Va.
7. 2016–2019, Associate Director for Cyber Strategies, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Alexandria, Va.
8. 2019–present, Command Acquisition Executive, United States Cyber Command, Fort George G. Meade, Md.

AWARDS AND HONORS
Department of the Army Superior Civilian Service
Army Staff Identification Badge
Army Superior Unit Award
Certificate of Achievement and Special Act Award
Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, Employee of the Year (Junior Management)
Special Act and Service Award for outstanding leadership in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

(Current as of June 2021)