Joseph Nugent is a retired senior civil servant having served most recently as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in An Garda Síochána.  Mr. Nugent has held senior management positions in a range of public bodies and prior to his appointment as CAO, Mr. Nugent was Chief Executive of the Local Government Management Agency with previous assignments as Director of the Passport Service, Head of ICT in the Department of Foreign Affairs and other roles in the Office of the Attorney General, the Citizens Information Board, and the Department of Finance.

Significant public service reform highlights include the development of the digital statute book and what is now the citizensinformation.ie portal; the current passport design and development of the passport card; and the development of the global telecommunications network for the Department of Foreign Affairs, among other initiatives.  

Mr. Nugent was born in Dublin and holds a MSc in Managing Organisational Performance from Cranfield University.