Brett Leatherman

Brett Leatherman is the Assistant Director of the FBI’s Cyber Division, where he leads the agency’s strategy and work to impose cost on criminal and nation-state actors, consistent with the FBI's role as the lead U.S. Government cyber threat response agency.

Prior to this, Mr. Leatherman held several key leadership roles within the FBI’s Cyber Division, most recently as Deputy Assistant Director for Cyber Operations. In this capacity, he led FBI teams responsible for executing high-impact domestic and global operations against cyber adversaries, driving the FBI’s efforts to disrupt malicious actors and prioritize victim engagement. In that role, he also served as the Executive Director of the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force. Prior to this, as Section Chief of National Security Cyber Operations, Mr. Leatherman partnered with the U.S. Intelligence Community, foreign allies, and private sector leaders to spearhead a whole-of-government approach to tackling state-sponsored cyber threats.

Prior to his assignment to Cyber Division, Mr. Leatherman served in the FBI’s Dallas Division. Mr. Leatherman served as the Senior Supervisory Resident Agent of the Frisco Resident Agency, managing criminal investigations across North Texas. In 2021, Mr. Leatherman was named Assistant Special Agent in Charge for National Security, where he managed teams responsible for preventing and investigating counterterrorism, counterintelligence, weapons of mass destruction, and cyber threats throughout North Texas.

Previously, Mr. Leatherman also served in the FBI’s Cyber Division as a Supervisory Special Agent in a cyber national security threat team and was later selected as Assistant Section Chief managing operational engagement work for the enterprise.

Mr. Leatherman entered on duty as an FBI Special Agent in 2003. He first served in the Cleveland and Detroit Field Offices, while also serving as an FBI pilot and hostage negotiator. Mr. Leatherman graduated from Cornerstone University with a degree in Computer Information Systems and received a master’s degree in Cybersecurity Risk Management from Georgetown University. Mr. Leatherman holds several widely recognized cyber certifications and speaks internationally on emerging national security and cyber threats.