Marcus C. Thomas Named Assistant Director of the Operational Technology Division

Washington, D.C. -- FBI Director Robert S. Mueller has named Marcus C. Thomas, a twenty-year veteran of the FBI, as the Assistant Director of the Operational Technology Division (OTD). Mr. Thomas will oversee the mission of OTD which is to provide the vision, leadership, and direction to ensure the operational availability of the state-of-the-art technologies, support and expertise necessary to enable and enhance the FBI's investigative efforts. OTD also provides forensic services to the law enforcement and intelligence communities worldwide related to the collection, processing, and exploitation of computer, audio and visual media.

Mr. Thomas entered on duty as a Special Agent with the FBI on April 21, 1986 and served in the FBI's Washington Field Office where he worked domestic terrorism, criminal investigations, and foreign counterintelligence matters.

In 1991, Mr. Thomas was selected as a Supervisory Special Agent and assigned to the Technical Services Division, which is known today as OTD. Over the past 16 years he has managed various programs, within OTD, related to technical collection operations, equipment development, and intelligence community partnerships.

Mr. Thomas was promoted to Chief of the Cyber Technology Section in 2000 where he managed pioneering endeavors to develop technical tools to support high-tech investigations of Internet crimes. His efforts, in this position, were also instrumental in establishing fourteen joint Regional Computer Forensics Laboratories (RCFLs). RCFLs combine the talents and experience of many federal, state, and local agencies to conduct impartial digital forensics examinations and provide expert testimony as required.

In 2002, Mr. Thomas became Deputy Assistant Director (DAD) of OTD. As DAD he led the development and implementation of a number of key partnerships between the law enforcement community and high-tech industries. In August, 2006 he was named Acting Assistant Director of OTD.

A native of the state of Tennessee Mr. Thomas is a 1985 graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. Prior to joining the FBI as a Special Agent, he worked as a designer within the nuclear power industry. Mr. Thomas resides in Stafford, Virginia with his wife and two children.