Everyone already knows the vital role that cybersecurity plays in protecting the government and private sector functions that make up the essential fabric of American life – but few know enough about the dedicated women and men who are protecting us all on the front lines of technology.
That’s why MeriTalk is delighted to honor the 45 technology security stalwarts that make up the 2024 class of Cyber Defenders!
Nominated by their peers in government and industry, this year’s Cyber Defenders award winners feature some names you might already know, and many more that you need to know better going forward as the security challenges only become more difficult, and the stakes in network protection only grow higher.
We’ll be celebrating this year Cyber Defenders class at Tech Tonic on July 18 at Morton’s The Steakhouse in Washington, D.C. and at the Innovation Intersection: Cyber and AI Honors event on October 3 at Planet Word in Washington, D.C., and look forward to meeting you there.
“These leaders are pioneering the latest innovations transforming government cybersecurity,” said Caroline Boyd, principal, government programs at MeriTalk. “We’re thrilled to celebrate their work spearheading cyber modernization and the impacts they have on our nation’s cybersecurity.”
From the government ranks, here are the 22 award winners for 2024:
- Leonard Bailey, Special Counsel for National Security, Department of Justice
- John (Jack) Bienko, Innovation Officer, Small Business Administration
- James (Aaron) Bishop, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of the Air Force
- Paul Blahusch, Director of Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Department of Labor
- Scott Boaman, Chief Information Security Officer, Naval Reactors
- Lance Cary, Security Operations Lead, Department of Energy
- Amir Dastouri, Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Mike Duffy, Associate Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Robert (Tyler) Gaylik, Lead Information Technology Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Shannon Hughes, Program Manager, Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management (C-SCRM), Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Energy
- Megan Kane, Risk Management Branch Chief, Department of Homeland Security
- Jonathan Mangual, Senior Policy Analyst, Department of Homeland Security
- Deloise Moore, Cybersecurity Program Capabilities Manager, U.S. Coast Guard
- Vu Nguyen, Chief Information Security Officer, Department of Justice
- Alvin (Tony) Plater, Chief Information Security Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Department of the Navy
- Chad Poland, Product Manager, Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) Project, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
- Anjana Rajan, Assistant National Cyber Director, Supply Chain and Tech Security, Office of the National Cyber Director
- Terence Rountree, Director, Information Technology Security Division, Federal, Acquisition Service, Information Technology Category, General Services Administration
- Daphna Shai, Assistant Director, Security Operations, Department of Justice
- Thomas Smith, Service Center Director, Office of Supply Chain Risk Management, Federal Acquisition Service, Information Technology Category, General Services Administration
- Jason Tant, Assistant Directory, Cybersecurity Operations, Securities and Exchanges Commission
- Larry Tun, Assistant Director, Security Operations, Department of Justice
And from industry, the 23 new award winners are:
- Gary Barlet, Public Sector Chief Technology Officer, Illumio
- Mischa Beckett, Director of Cyber Threat Intelligence, DELTA, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Nat Bongiovanni, Chief Technology Officer, NTT DATA Federal Services
- Rick Bruno, Executive Director and Cyber Portfolio Manager, ManTech
- Gregory Clifton, Sales General Manager of Defense and National Security, Intel
- Kyle Dewar, Director, Technical Account Management, Tanium
- George Dilger II, Federal Regulatory Compliance Engineer, Dell Technologies
- Carolyn Duby, Federal Chief Technology Officer and Cybersecurity GTM Lead, Cloudera
- Alice Fakir, Partner, Federal Cybersecurity Services Partner, IBM
- Neal Ferrano, Specialist Leader, Cyber and Strategic Risk, Deloitte
- Candice Frost, Director, Integrated Department of Defense Account, Nightwing
- Gregory Garrett, Vice President, Cybersecurity, Cyber Security Expert
- Philip George, Executive Technical Strategist, Merlin Cyber
- Steve Hoffman, President, Fortinet Federal
- Joyce Hunter, Executive Director for Collaboration and Education, Mission-Critical
- Wayne LeRiche, Federal Civilian Field Chief Technology Officer and Solutions Architect, Palo Alto Networks
- David Link, Chief Executive Officer, ScienceLogic
- Gaurav Pal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, stackArmor
- Egon Rinderer, Chief Technology Officer, Shift5
- Bill Rucker, President, Trustwave Government Solutions
- Tom Stamos, Regional Vice President, Federal Sales, Zscaler
- Laura Taylor, Chief Information Security Officer of World Trade Center Health System and FISMA/FedRAMP Advisor, General Dynamics Information Technology
- Sumedh Thakar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Qualys
For more information on the awards and winners, visit https://www.meritalk.com/award/cyber-defenders-2024/.
