February 19, 2019

John Brown Named Assistant Director of the Counterintelligence Division

FBI Director Christopher Wray has named John Brown as assistant director of the Counterintelligence Division at FBI Headquarters. Mr. Brown most recently served as the special agent in charge of the San Diego Field Office.

Mr. Brown entered on duty as a special agent with the FBI in 1999 and was first assigned to the Chicago Field Office, where he investigated counterintelligence matters.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Brown has held multiple notable leadership positions. In 2004, he deployed to Iraq as a member of an FBI team working counterterrorism operations with the Department of Defense.

The next year, Mr. Brown was assigned to FBI Headquarters as a supervisory special agent in the Counterterrorism Division and was later promoted to unit chief, where he provided oversight for international terrorism investigations and led the creation of the FBI’s first unit dedicated to investigating terrorists’ use of the Internet.

In 2008, Mr. Brown moved to the Chicago Field Office, where he supervised a counterterrorism squad.

In 2010 and 2011, Mr. Brown served on active duty with the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division and deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Mr. Brown returned from active duty in 2011 and resumed his position supervising a counterterrorism squad in Chicago.

Mr. Brown was promoted to section chief in the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters in 2012, where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of all FBI cyber investigations.

In 2014, he returned to the Chicago Field Office to lead an innovative social media cyber squad and was later named assistant special agent in charge of the Chicago Field Office’s cyber and counterintelligence operations.

In 2016, he was promoted again and assumed the role of special agent in charge of cyber and counterintelligence in the Los Angeles Field Office.

Prior to entering the FBI, Mr. Brown served in the United States Army as an air defense and military intelligence officer.