Michael Orlando is currently a senior global security and intelligence leader at a Fortune 500 company and provides strategic risk and security guidance.
From 2020 to 2023, he served as the Acting Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and was the FBI’s senior executive detailed to the Director of National Intelligence. In this role, he led the U.S. government's counterintelligence efforts and oversaw national-level programs for insider threat, supply chain risk management, and security. He also advised and led counterintelligence and security consulting engagements with Fortune-ranked companies.
Prior to his assignment at NCSC, Mr. Orlando was a senior FBI executive working on counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations. He rose to the position of Deputy Assistant Director of the Counterterrorism Division and also served as the acting head of counterterrorism, where he successfully managed several interagency crisis responses, including the attack at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Mr. Orlando began his FBI career in 2003 as a Special Agent, conducting counterintelligence operations in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., the Western Pacific, and East Asia. He led several high-profile cases, including the successful espionage investigation of a Department of Defense contractor for passing national defense secrets to China, as well as the disruption of Russian clandestine agent.
He has received the FBI Director’s Award for Outstanding Counterintelligence Investigation and three Director of National Intelligence awards for Counterintelligence Operations.
A native of New York, Mr. Orlando holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from the State University of New York at Cortland. In 2017, he earned a master’s degree in leadership from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Prior to joining the FBI, he served as a U.S. Army officer and worked for the Central Intelligence Agency.
Presentation Topics
Principled Leadership: Where Social Science Meets Counterintelligence
In the high-stakes world of counterintelligence, principled leadership grounded in social science is not just an asset—it’s a necessity for navigating human behavior, fostering trust, and making ethically sound decisions under pressure. Drawing on over 30 years of leadership experience and a Master's degree in Leadership, Mr. Orlando explores the practical application of social science research to real-world leadership challenges. His insights span frontline operations, middle management, and executive-level decision-making, including lessons learned from leading high-stakes arrest operations in national security environments.
Counterintelligence in the 21st Century: From Cold War Espionage to a Next-Generation, AI-Driven Landscape
Mr. Orlando, a seasoned counterintelligence professional with over two decades of experience, has led operations ranging from dismantling spy networks and managing double agents to executing advanced technical surveillance missions. He outlines the evolution of counterintelligence since the end of the Cold War, highlighting a significant shift from traditional “spy vs. spy” dynamics to more covert and complex threats—such as non-official cover operatives and state-sponsored cyber espionage. Today’s counterintelligence landscape is undergoing another transformation, driven by the emergence of next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.
Crisis management demands more than protocols—it requires the intangible skills honed through real-world experience under pressure.
Mr. Orlando, drawing on his experience in counterterrorism crisis operations, emphasizes that successful crisis response relies on key intangible skills such as calmness, resilience, decisive decision-making, clear communication, and adaptability. While consulting firms often offer structured SOPs and detailed playbooks, these tools can prove insufficient in the face of real-world chaos and unpredictability. Mr. Orlando discusses how it is the integration of rehearsed contingency plans with these essential soft skills that enables leaders to manage crises with clarity and control.
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