Don Holstead is returning to familiar ground at the FBI, taking the helm as Assistant Director of the Bureau’s Counterterrorism Division. He announced the news on LinkedIn.
Holstead brings over two decades of frontline and leadership experience with the FBI, making him uniquely qualified for one of the agency’s most critical national security roles. His appointment comes after serving as Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), where he worked at the strategic center of U.S. counterterrorism efforts across government.
Throughout his FBI career, Holstead tackled high-stakes national security threats including those posed by ISIS, al-Qa’ida, and Iran-backed actors. He was instrumental in developing data-driven approaches to evaluating threat risk and played a key role in fostering collaboration with state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement, a cornerstone of the FBI’s post-9/11 mission.
His tenure included leading the FBI’s Special Threats Section, established to focus on state-sponsored and complex threat networks. He also served as Section Chief of the Target Discovery Section within the Counterterrorism Intelligence Branch, and previously led national security programs, including cyber, counterintelligence, and WMD operations, in the FBI’s Denver Field Office as Assistant Special Agent in Charge.
Holstead’s service goes beyond domestic law enforcement. Before his civilian federal career, he spent over a decade in Special Operations in the U.S. Army, including assignments with the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), and holds a Master’s in Business Organizational Leadership from George Washington University.