Nathaniel Fick

Nathaniel C. Fick
Born	(1977-06-23) June 23, 1977 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Marine Corps officer, diplomat, technology executive, author
Years active	1998–present
Known for	CEO of Endgame, Inc.; Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy; author of One Bullet Away

Nathaniel C. Fick (born June 23, 1977) is a former United States Marine Corps officer, American diplomat, technology executive, and author. He led cybersecurity software firm Endgame, Inc. as CEO and subsequently held a position at Elastic NV following its acquisition of Endgame. Additionally, Fick served as an Operating Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. In 2022, he was appointed to head the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, a position he maintained until 2025.

Fick is the author of the 2005 memoir One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, which became a New York Times bestseller and was honored as one of The Washington Posts Best Books of the Year as well as one of the Military Times Best Military Books of the Decade. He was depicted by Stark Sands in HBO’s miniseries Generation Kill.

Early life and education

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Fick attended Loyola Blakefield high school located in Towson, Maryland. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1999 with dual majors in classics and government. While at Dartmouth, he captained the cycling team to victory at a U.S. National Championship and completed a senior thesis analyzing Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War with respect to its implications for American foreign policy. Following his military career, he earned both an MPA and MBA from Harvard University.

Career

In 1998, after completing his junior year at Dartmouth, Fick enrolled in the United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School and received his commission as a second lieutenant upon graduating in 1999.

Specializing as an infantry officer, he commanded a platoon within the 1st Battalion 1st Marines. His service included humanitarian training exercises alongside the Australian Army before deploying his platoon to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Upon returning in 2002, Fick completed Marine reconnaissance training and Army Airborne School. During the 2003 Iraq invasion, he led Second Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.

Fick concluded his Marine Corps service as a captain in December 2003 and utilized the GI Bill to pursue graduate studies at Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School. His military memoir One Bullet Away brought him public acclaim, becoming a New York Times bestseller and earning the Colby Award in 2006.

In 2008, Fick assumed the role of COO at the Center for a New American Security before being promoted to CEO in June 2009. From 2012 through 2020, he was a member of Dartmouth College's board of trustees.

Fick served as CEO of cybersecurity company Endgame from 2012 until its acquisition by Elastic in 2019. Afterward, he took on the position of general manager for Elastic's global information security division. In recognition of his innovative leadership, Fast Company included him among its "Most Creative People in Business" in 2018.

He has testified before the U.S. Senate on matters concerning Iraq and delivered remarks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. His service also extends to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Military & Veterans Advisory Council.

Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace & Digital Policy

On June 3, 2022, Fick was nominated as the inaugural Ambassador-at-Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the U.S. State Department, tasked with spearheading diplomatic efforts related to cybersecurity, digital affairs, and emerging technologies. His confirmation hearings were held on August 3, 2022; following favorable committee endorsement on September 14, he was confirmed by voice vote in the Senate on September 15 and sworn into office on September 21.

On February 4, 2023, Fick disclosed that his personal Twitter account had been compromised, referring to it as an occupational hazard. Details regarding those responsible or any unauthorized activities remained undisclosed.

He led U.S. delegations worldwide focused on governance frameworks for artificial intelligence following ChatGPT’s debut. In November 2023, he appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss U.S. diplomatic initiatives promoting responsible AI governance.

In February 2024, alongside Director Jen Easterly of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Fick visited Kyiv to reaffirm American support for Ukraine’s digital defense capabilities amid congressional delays in supplemental funding. They hosted a public event at the German Marshall Fund in Washington, DC to highlight Ukraine’s cyber defense challenges.

Under Fick’s leadership, his team formulated the U.S. International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on May 6, 2024. Later that week, Fick presented this strategy during a forum hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. He departed office following Donald Trump’s inauguration; prior to leaving, he cautioned in a Wired interview against complacency regarding cyberspace competition with China and Russia.

Personal life

Fick resides in Maine with his wife Margaret Angell and their two daughters.

In popular culture

Fick and his platoon were profiled extensively through a series of articles published by Rolling Stone and chronicled in embedded journalist Evan Wright’s book Generation Kill. These articles earned the National Magazine Award in 2003. The book was subsequently adapted into an HBO miniseries produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, featuring Stark Sands portraying Fick.

See also

• List of United States Marines
• Members of the Council on Foreign Relations