Prof. Arad was National Security Advisor to Israel's PM Netanyahu and Head of the Israeli NSC. During Netanyahu's first term as PM, Dr. Arad was his Foreign Policy Advisor. 

He is currently Senior Fellow at Yuval Ne'eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security at Tel-Aviv University.

Prof. Arad is also Chair of the Israel Grand-Strategy Forum. He chaired the Center for Defence Studies and the Atlantic Forum of Israel which he founded. He previously has been a Visiting Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, Executive Fellow with Calgary University and Senior Fellow with Israel's INSS.

Between 1975 and 1997, Arad served in the Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, holding a number of posts both at home and abroad, the last of which - Director of the Intelligence Division.

In 2000 Arad established and headed the EU-Israel Forum and in 2005 - the Atlantic Forum of Israel. While on the faculty of IDC's School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Arad founded the Institute for Policy and Strategy, which he directed until 2009, concurrently acting as Special Advisor to the Knesset Foreign and Defense Affairs Committee.  At IDC he also launched and presided over its Annual Herzliya Conference Series.  

Prior to his career in government, Arad was a Professional Staff Member at the Hudson Institute in New York and a Fellow at Tel Aviv University's Center for Strategic Studies. He received his B.A. from Tel Aviv University (1971) and his M.A. (1973) and Ph.D. (1975) from Princeton University. He is co-author of Grand Strategy for Israel (2017), NSC – The Struggle to Create and Transform the National Security Council (2016, in Heb.), Sharing Global Resources (for the Council of Foreign Relations, 1979), and editor of The Balance of Israel's National Security and Resilience (2001, in Heb.).

Among awards given to Dr. Arad - the Fulbright Fellowship from the US and the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor from France. 

Arad was born in Israel, served in Israel's Air Force, and is married to Dr. Ruth Arad and lives in Tel Aviv.