Japan’s Sakana AI has appointed retired US Navy Admiral Michael Rogers, former Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), and Tom Moran, a former senior Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official, as senior advisers. The appointments reflect the growing role of AI in national security, particularly in defense and cybersecurity.
The appointments come as Sakana AI expands a team supporting Japan’s defense and intelligence work through technology. The company is recruiting for roles including software engineer, applied research engineer, cybersecurity engineer, project manager and technical editor.
マイケル・ロジャース米退役海軍大将、トム・モラン元CIA支局長がSakana AIのシニアアドバイザーに就任
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Sakana AIは、元米国家安全保障局（NSA）長官兼米サイバー軍司令官のマイケル・ロジャース退役海軍大将と、元米中央情報局（CIA）幹部のトム・モラン氏が、ともに シニアアドバイザーに就任したことを発表しました。
ロジャース氏は、米海軍で37年にわたり、軍事作戦、インテリジェンス、サイバーセキュリティの最前線を歩み、2014年から2018年までNSA長官と米サイバー軍司令官を兼務しました。モラン氏は、CIAで27年間、オペレーション・オフィサーとして世界各地の現場で最前線に立ち、支局長を6度務めました。
U.S. Admiral Michael Rogers and former CIA Chief of Station Tom Moran join Sakana AI as Senior Advisors
https://t.co/szhkkmJTcx
Sakana AI today announces that Admiral Michael Rogers, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command, and Tom Moran, a former senior officer of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have both joined as Senior Advisors. They will advise the company on two fronts: strengthening defense capabilities and strengthening cybersecurity.
Admiral Rogers spent 37 years in the U.S. Navy on the front lines of military operations, intelligence, and cybersecurity, and from 2014 to 2018 served simultaneously as NSA Director and Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. Mr. Moran spent 27 years at the CIA, serving in the field around the world, including six tours as Chief of Station.
— Sakana AI (@SakanaAILabs) November 11, 2026
A cryptology specialist, Rogers spent 37 years in the US Navy, holding several senior intelligence positions, including Director for Intelligence (J2) at US Indo-Pacific Command. From 2014 to 2018, he simultaneously served as Director of the NSA and Commander of US Cyber Command.
During this period, he led the largest intelligence agency in the United States and the unified command responsible for defending US military networks and conducting cyber operations worldwide, Sakana AI said.
After retiring as a four-star admiral in 2018, Rogers joined Brunswick Group as a senior adviser in 2019, advising on cybersecurity, geopolitics and crisis management.
“AI is fundamentally changing the assumptions of national security, on both offense and defense in cyberspace. Throughout my career, I have seen how much risk emerges when institutions fail to keep pace with advances in technology,” Rogers said.
He added that Sakana AI combines world-class research with a distinctive approach originating in Japan and said he looked forward to contributing his experience to strengthening cybersecurity and defense.
Moran brings close to 30 years of experience at the CIA, where he served as an operations officer and undertook assignments around the world.
During his career, he served six times as Chief of Station across East Asia, Western Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He also held senior leadership positions at CIA headquarters in Washington, DC.
A member of the Senior Intelligence Service, the CIA’s senior executive cadre, Moran received the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal in 2023.
Since 2024, he has served as Director of the Intelligence Project at the Institute for Security and Governance at the University of California, Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
“What matters most in intelligence work is reaching the right judgment from an enormous amount of information in a limited amount of time. AI has the potential to dramatically strengthen that ability. At the same time, reliability and responsible use are essential,” Moran said.
He added that he was honoured to join Sakana AI’s efforts to support Japan’s defense and intelligence.
The appointments follow German computer scientist Jürgen Schmidhuber, widely known as the ‘Father of Modern AI’, joining Sakana AI as Chief Scientific Advisor in September 2026.
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