Joint Chiefs Intelligence Director Frank Whitworth Nominated as NGA Director

President Joe Biden has nominated U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, the current director of intelligence at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as the director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. If confirmed, he will replace Vice Adm. Robert Sharp, who has been serving as NGA director since 2019.

Whitworth is a veteran officer who served multiple intelligence leadership roles across the Department of Defense. He was the commander of Joint Intelligence Center Central, director of intelligence at U.S. Africa Command and director of intelligence for Joint Special Operations Command. He also served as the commanding officer for the Navy’s element of U.S. Central Command and the Kennedy Irregular Warfare Center, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Under Sharp’s leadership, the NGA has emphasized using commercial satellite services and technologies. Sharp, a two-time Wash100 winner, also urged companies to focus on artificial intelligence, automation and augmentation solutions to support the agency. The organization also launched a technology accelerator in St. Louis, Missouri, to help companies work with the agency to solve problems.

The NGA is responsible for analyzing satellite imagery for the Intelligence Community and the national security community. It takes raw satellite imagery collected or acquired by the National Reconnaissance Office and other partner companies and processes them into intelligence products.