CIA Director Mike Hayden announced several changes this afternoon to the Agency’s senior leadership team.

Associate Deputy Director Michael Morell will become Director for Intelligence on May 5, succeeding John Kringen. Before becoming Associate Deputy Director in July 2006, Morell held a variety of positions in the Directorate of Intelligence (DI), which provides policymakers with all-source analysis on security opportunities and challenges facing our country overseas. In addition to working as an analyst and manager in the DI, he headed the unit that produces the President’s Daily Brief, and served as a presidential briefer. Morell also did a tour of duty overseas and was Deputy Director for Intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center.

Hayden noted that Morell is superbly qualified to lead the DI and praised him for his work as the Agency’s first Associate Deputy Director. “Michael has sharpened the Agency’s day-to-day administration with his passion, energy, and critical thinking. Perhaps more than anyone, he has made real the ideas of Strategic Intent, our blueprint for CIA’s future.”

“This is like going home for me,” Morell said of his new assignment. He said he looks forward to building on Kringen’s record of strengthening analytic tradecraft and setting the highest standards for rigor, scholarship, and relevance to American foreign policy.

Kringen will move to a senior Intelligence Community post outside the Washington area—a new challenge he sought after successfully leading the DI for three years. Hayden described Kringen as “a seasoned professional” who “embodies credibility.”

Scott White, a veteran officer who currently serves as Director for Support, will succeed Morell as Associate Deputy Director. The ADD/CIA assists in overall leadership of the Agency, focusing especially on internal management. Over his 28-year career, White has served in leadership and staff positions with the Directorate of Intelligence, the Office of Congressional Affairs, and the National Intelligence Council. From 2002 to 2004, he was Associate Deputy Director for Intelligence. He also has held three senior posts at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, most recently Director of Source Operations & Management.

“As Director for Support, Scott led the cadre of officers that keeps our Agency running. He knows our capabilities, our customers, and our partners,” Hayden said. “The breadth of his experience, and his focus and creativity, make Scott a natural for this vital position.”

White said his top priority will be to continue implementation of CIA’s Strategic Intent. “This is a critical time for our Agency,” he said. “We must maintain our unprecedented operational tempo and better integrate our capabilities, while at the same time making strong investments in our people and infrastructure. I look forward to working on these priorities so that CIA will be even better equipped to protect the American people.”

A career support officer who is currently under cover will succeed White as Director for Support.  This individual has extensive experience, in the United States and overseas, delivering to our officers the services that modern intelligence activities demand—from secure facilities and  communications to finance, logistics, and medical care. The Directorate he will lead provides agile, integrated mission support to the Agency across the globe.

“Beyond their demonstrated skill and commitment, these senior officers have another quality that must always define leadership at this Agency: a care and concern for the men and women of CIA,” Hayden said. “They have earned the trust that their posts convey.”