Terry Carpenter is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA). He was appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2017. 

Prior to assuming the role of the CTO, Mr. Carpenter served as DCSA’s first Program Executive Officer from 2019 to 2022. As the PEO he was responsible for multiple portfolios of information technology (IT) systems that support both federal and defense services for DCSA operations. 

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Previously, he served as the Defense Information Services Agency (DISA) PEO for Services Development, where he was responsible for the acquisition of enterprise and warfighting IT services. He provided acquisition oversight of multiple portfolios of joint programs that deliver enterprise services and data systems for DISA business operations, DoD collaboration, global cloud computing services, and warfighting command and control services, where he earned the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Civilian Service Award. 

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He also served as the Chief of the Requirements and Analysis Office, where he was responsible to establish a new office that analyzed and maintained the requirements baseline, and developed business cases for investments in new capabilities aligned with DISA and DoD strategic guidance. He was also the Technical Director (TD) for the DISA Component Acquisition Executive. There, he led development of acquisition strategy and technical implementation, which included four major portfolios covering enterprise services, cybersecurity, command and control, and telecommunications. 

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Before he came to DISA, he served as the TD and Assistant Program Manager for Production for the Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Program where he earned the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award. As the TD, he was responsible for all engineering, development, deployment and sustainment matters for Navy ERP, an integrated business system that updates and standardizes Navy business operations, provides financial transparency and total asset visibility across the enterprise. 

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Prior to joining the government in 2009, he was the President and CEO of NextGenData, Inc., which designed, developed and operated internet telecommunications systems for customers globally. 

Mr. Carpenter has researched artificial intelligence methods to increase communication rates for Augmentative and Adaptive Communications (AAC) users, and has published research on schema-based organization of reusable text in AAC. He has conducted research in human-computer interaction and natural language interfaces at the Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories operated by the Nemours Foundation/Alfred DuPont Hospital for Children and the University of Delaware. Mr. Carpenter has also taught college courses in computer science as an adjunct instructor. 

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He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Science in Computer and Information Science from the University of Delaware.