David V. Gioe Keynote Speaker

Expert on Intelligence, Defense, Strategy, and International Affairs
Professor of Intelligence & International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London
Former Central Intelligence Agency operations officer

David V. Gioe's Biography

David V. Gioe is a British Academy Global Professor of Intelligence and International Security in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and has taught US and military history at the US Military Academy at West Point.

He is Director of Studies for the Cambridge Security Initiative and is co-convener of its International Security and Intelligence program. He brings 24 years of experience as a practitioner and scholar of intelligence and national security affairs, including broad experience around the US intelligence community at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

As a CIA operations officer, David served multiple overseas tours in the Middle East and in Europe, handling a wide variety of portfolios from counterintelligence to covert action.

David is a US Navy veteran with assignments in the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Office of Naval Intelligence. He was the Chief of Human Intelligence and Counterintelligence in East Africa, for which he was decorated with the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

David earned a BA from Wheaton College, an MA from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Cambridge. He also holds a graduate certificate in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.

David is a Senior Research Associate at RAND and an elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. David’s research is at the intersection of intelligence and international affairs, with particular emphasis on how intelligence relates to matters of international security, defense, and strategy. David’s peer-reviewed scholarship and commentary has appeared in numerous outlets.

Intelligence, Defense, Strategy, and International Affairs

American History, Politics, and Foreign Relations

Military history, Anglo-American "Special Relationship"

Geopolitics (with particular focus on Europe and Russia)

Special Operations, Resistance, Information Warfare

Leadership, team building, and personal resilience

He brings rare frontline credibility from 24 years across the CIA, FBI and US defense intelligence, giving leaders an insider’s view of how intelligence shapes national security, strategy and statecraft.
He translates the realities of intelligence operations, from counterintelligence to covert action, into clear strategic lessons for governments, militaries and organisations operating in high-risk environments.
He combines academic authority from King’s College London and Cambridge with practitioner experience to help audiences understand how intelligence informs decision-making under pressure and uncertainty.
He draws on deep expertise in intelligence history and international security to place current geopolitical threats within longer strategic and institutional patterns, sharpening leaders’ ability to anticipate risk rather than react to crisis.
He delivers authoritative, compelling briefings grounded in peer-reviewed research and operational experience, equipping audiences to think more clearly about power, security and global competition.