When Lt. Gen. Michelle Bredenkamp takes the stage for the closing remarks at GEOINT on Wednesday, it will be her first role as director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) — a role she assumed with little fanfare during the government shutdown in November. The attendance will also serve as an opportunity for the industry to learn about the agency leader’s new priorities.
“I have personally seen how [geospatial intelligence]Delivered by NGA professionals, it provides clarity, understanding and increased decision benefit to commanders and policymakers,” Bredenkamp said during a director-change ceremony at NGA headquarters Nov. 5. “GEOINT is indispensable today and will remain an essential key intelligence function.”
Bredenkamp is the ninth director to lead the NGA since its founding in 2003. He replaces US Navy Vice Admiral Frank Whitworth, who had served as NGA director since June 2022. This job will place him alongside senior military and intelligence leadership, coordinating the government’s development and use of geospatial intelligence.
Bredenkamp most recently served as Advisor for Military Affairs in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to Tulsi Gabbard, where she oversaw intelligence integration across the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. He began his 30-year career in the Army in frontline roles in tactical units before taking on leadership roles in the intelligence sector. Bredenkamp also served as director of intelligence for U.S. Forces Korea, served on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, and served as head of the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command.
With wars and conflicts ongoing around the world, Bredenkamp has had to step into the field in a new role.
“For NGA’s new director, the world doesn’t stop,” said Jerry Laurienti, NGA account manager at Leidos. “So, what is General Bredenkamp focusing on [from day one] The mission is in a turbulent world, with multiple war locations and war support that cannot stop and must develop rapidly.
SkyFi co-founder and CEO Luke Fischer praised the appointment, citing Bredenkamp’s depth of military experience. He said, “The GEOINT community has directors with policy depth, technical depth, managerial depth. Operational depth at this level is rare, and it changes what an agency optimizes for.”
Suzanne Heck, executive vice president and general manager of Vantour’s U.S. government business, echoed this sentiment, “NGA is a combat support agency and Lieutenant General Bredenkamp has held many senior command positions directly responsible for ensuring that the war fighters have the actionable intelligence they need to be mission effective… Her field assignments give her a tremendous amount of operational experience in all the different ‘INTs.'” She knows the U.S. needs its “What works and what is needed to maintain intelligence superiority.”
It remains to be seen whether Bredenkamp can effectively communicate the needs of NGA’s clients to NGA’s partners, said Brian Monheiser, vice president of strategic programs at visual data integration firm Larx. He said, “You can make a hammer that finds a nail, but we all know that won’t work.” “What do we need? [NGA and the new director] There’s an understanding of where they are and what they’re doing, and whether the things we’re building are a good fit for that or not.
Laurienti said the industry is particularly interested in Bredenkamp’s approach to artificial intelligence. “The NGA…is leading the charge to embrace the intelligence community, but [AI is] The technical aspect of the intelligence move is something we have never seen before. “Many industry participants are looking forward to seeing what key steps NGA will take to grow and stay ahead.”
To that end, Fischer hopes Bredenkamp will be a director who will be “willing to break some institutional habits” by integrating commercial providers directly into the operational GEOINT workflow. “Lieutenant General Bredenkamp inherits an agency with enormous talent and serious institutional weight,” he said. “The question is whether she uses that weight to preserve what the NGA has always done well, or to accelerate the enterprise toward the speed and scale that the next conflict will demand. Her background suggests the latter.”
