Tamir Pardo began his career in the Israel Defence Forces in the Paratroopers Brigade. After graduating from an officers’ course, he served as a communications officer in the elite special force’s unit Sayeret Matkal, participating in Operation Entebbe. He was also part of the team that established the Shaldag Unit (air force special operations) and served as the unit’s first communications officer.

After completing his military service, Pardo joined the Mossad in 1980. In 2005, he was lent to the IDF, where he served as a senior advisor for operations to the Israeli General Staff. In 2011, Pardo was appointed as the 11^th Director of the Mossad – the national intelligence agency of Israel and one of the leading entities within the Israeli intelligence community. The Mossad received five Israel Security Awards for daring and ground-breaking operations during these five years.

Following his retirement from the Mossad in 2016, he co-founded and is currently President of XM Cyber. This company developed technology and assists other businesses in improving their cyber defences.

Pardo holds a B.A. in political science from Tel Aviv University and is a Lamont Lecturer at Harvard University.