Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office

CDAO

Leadership
Ms. Sharothi Pikar

Ms. Sharothi Pikar DCDAO for ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE and DEPUTY CDAO FOR ACQUISITION

Sharothi Pikar, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Component Acquisition Executive (CAE) and the Deputy CDAO, Acquisition in the Office of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO). She is the Senior Procurement Executive and is responsible for acquisition and procurement of all CDAO data, analytics, and AI-related capabilities. She serves as the milestone decision and approval authority for all CDAO research, development, and acquisition activities with an annual budget of approximately $700M.

Previous Roles:

  • 2001 - 2008, Project Leader/Program Manager (Multiple positions), Department of the Army
  • 2008 - 2009, Chief Engineer, Tactical Communications Division, Department of the Army
  • 2009 - 2010, Chief, Tactical Radio Branch, Department of the Army
  • 2010 - 2012, Senior Systems Engineer, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology
  • 2012 - 2015, Senior Civilian Fellow and Strategic Planner, Strategic Studies Group, Office of the Chief of Staff, United States Army
  • 2015 - 2016, Senior Cyber Advisor, Department of the Army
  • 2016 - 2019, Associate Director for Cyber Strategies, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
  • 2019 – 2022, Command Acquisition Executive, Director, J9 (Acquisition and Technology), United States Cyber Command
  • 2022 – Present, Component Acquisition Executive and Deputy CDAO, Acquisition, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer

Education:

  • B.S., Computer Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Brooklyn, NY
  • DoD Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP)

Awards and Decorations:

  • Department of the Army Award for Superior Civilian Service
  • Army Staff Identification Badge
  • Army Superior Unit Award
  • Certificate of Achievement and Special Act Award
  • CERDEC Employee of the Year (Junior Management)
  • Special Act and Service Award for outstanding leadership in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Professional Memberships and Associations:

  • Senior Executives Association
  • Program Management, Level III, Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act
  • Engineering, Level III, Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act