Gov. Wes Moore has nominated a high-ranking adviser to former President Joe Biden as the new secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce.
Harry Coker Jr., who served as U.S. national cyber director from 2023 to 2025, will become acting secretary on Feb. 5, according to a late Friday afternoon press release. Coker will replace Kevin Anderson, who had held the role since Moore’s election in 2023 and will move to a new role as senior adviser to the governor for economic development. The Moore administration did not give a reason for the switch but the choice is in line with Maryland’s status as a hub for cybersecurity and defense contractors.
“At the heart of our economic growth agenda is a commitment to investing in industries of the future — from cyber to quantum. Harry Coker understands that mission and brings a wealth of experience working on the leading edge of the very sectors Maryland stands to win,” Moore said in a statement.
Before becoming national cyber director, Coker had a long career in the U.S. Navy. He worked for 20 years as a naval officer before retiring in 2000 to join the Central Intelligence Agency. He spent 17 years at the CIA, at one point serving as deputy director of the CIA’s Office of Public Affairs. From 2017 to 2019, he was the third highest-ranking person at the National Security Agency, an arm of the Department of Defense that’s in charge of collecting and processing data.
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