On Monday, 25 January 2016, MGEN Luis Emilio Andrey Medina handed over his Chief of Staff responsibilities to RADM Thomas Daum. The event was held at NATO HQ in Brussels in the presence of the Chairman of the Military Committee, his Deputy, the Spanish Ambassador, the German Ambassador and the Spanish and German Military representatives. Furthermore, GEN Huhn and GEN Sanz from ACO, GEN Leinhos from the C3 Staff and the Chairman of our Supervisory Board, Mr Harp also attended the ceremony.
"The Chief of Staff is the second highest ranking leader in the Agency. Normally you would not hold a ceremony for a staff officer. But the CoS is also the senior military authority for our military personnel, which currently numbers 1170. His responsibilities include the daily management of NATO's largest organisation, NATO Communications and Information Agency, as well as resource decisions, and responsible for the care of both civilian and military personnel. This includes those that are deployed and providing 24/7 support to NATO operations," highlighted the Agency General Manager in his opening remarks.
MGEN Luis Emilio Andrey Medina
MGEN Andrey joined the Agency on 21 January 2013. He also acted as Location Principal for Batiment-Z (Brussels, BEL).
"As a soldier you sometimes get difficult orders. In your case Luis, the order as Chief of Staff was – change everything, but keep the plane flying at 30 000 feet," said the GM in his farewell note to outgoing Chief of Staff, "There have been many challenges, but you can look back with pride at what has been achieved."
RADM Thomas Daum, Ph.D.
RADM Thomas Daum has been appointed Chief of Staff as of 25 January 2016. He is also the Deputy General Manager, the Chief Operating Officer and the Location Principal for Batiment-Z.
"As Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, you must now fine-tune the engine for optimum performance. There are still major challenges ahead – implementing our new geographic footprint is certainly one. And as you know – we are working hard to ensure the IT in the new HQ is ready. Your main challenge is threefold: Continue to deliver capabilities and services; Ensure maximum efficiency, speed and cost-avoidance in our internal transactions; Cement a new Agency culture," said the GM in his welcome to the new CoS. "I would like again to thank your Nation for assigning such an outstanding leader to this very important position in the Agency."