Speakers

Stay tuned as we are continually adding additional speakers!

 

Suzette Kent

Federal Chief Information Officer at US Office of Management and Budget   

Suzette Kent was appointed by President Trump as the Federal CIO in January of 2018.   She joins the government from the private sector where she has been a global leader in large-scale business transformation for over 20 years.  Her professional experiences cover a wide spectrum, which includes technology development, mergers and acquisitions, and establishing new global industry capabilities.


Before taking the role of Federal CIO, Suzette previously served as a principal at EY, partner at Accenture, consulting president at Carreker Corporation, and Managing Director at JPMorgan. She has been a frequent speaker in global industry forums, author of leadership editorials, and holds multiple patents in finance and banking processes.


In her role as the Federal CIO, Mrs. Kent is responsible for all government-wide IT policies and spending. In addition to her daily duties, Mrs. Kent also chairs the Federal CIO Council and the Technology Modernization Fund Board. 

Nicolas Chaillan

Chief Software Officer, U.S. Air Force

Mr. Nicolas Chaillan, a highly qualified expert, is appointed as the first Air Force Chief Software Officer, under Dr. William Roper, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Arlington, Virginia. He is also the co-lead for the Department of Defense Enterprise DevSecOps Initiative with the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer. As the Air Force’s senior software czar, Mr. Chaillan is responsible for enabling Air Force programs in the transition to Agile and DevSecOps to establish force-wide DevSecOps capabilities and best practices, including continuous Authority to Operate processes and faster streamlined technology adoption.

The Chief Software Officer works with the Program Executive Officers and is responsible for analyzing current software and cloud migration plans to avoid vendor lock-ins while allowing for rapid prototyping and a streamlined process for deployment. To keep up with the pace of technology, Mr. Chaillan evaluates and authorizes new commercially available off-the-shelf software and cloud-related technologies to help with their adoption across various Air Force programs based on their mission needs.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Chaillan was the Special Advisor for Cloud Security and DevSecOps at the Department of Defense, OSD, A&S and Special Advisor for Cybersecurity and Chief Architect for Cyber.gov at the Department of Homeland Security. He designed the new robust, innovative and holistic .Gov cybersecurity architecture (Cyber.gov), that mitigates cyber threats by leveraging best practices and implementable solutions with minimal impact to workforce efficiency.

In addition to his public service, Mr. Chaillan is a technology entrepreneur, software developer, cyber expert and inventor. He has over 19 years of domestic and international experience with strong technical and subject matter expertise in cybersecurity, software development, product innovation, governance, risk management and compliance. Specifically, these fields include Cloud computing, Cybersecurity, DevSecOps, Big Data, multi-touch, mobile, IoT, Mixed Reality, virtual reality and wearables.

Mr. Chaillan is recognized as one of France’s youngest entrepreneurs after founding, WORLDAKT at 15 years of age. He has founded 12 companies, including AFTER-MOUSE.com, Cyber Revolution, Prevent Breach, anyGuest.com among others. Over the last eight years alone, he created and sold over 180 innovative software products to 45 Fortune 500 companies. Additionally, he is recognized as a pioneer of the computer language PHP.

Mr. Chaillan is a sought after adviser and speaker, including participation in multiple industry conferences and experience working in close collaboration with many Fortune 100 companies and the U.S. Government.

Daniel Coats

Director of National Intelligence (2017-2019)

The Honorable Daniel Coats was sworn in as the fifth Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on March 16,
2017 and resigned in 2019. As DNI, Mr. Coats led the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and
served as the principal intelligence advisor to the President.

After graduating from Wheaton College in 1965, Coats served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968.
Following his military service, Coats attended the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law,
where he received his Juris Doctor in 1972 and was associate editor of the Indiana Law Review. He went
on to work for a life insurance company in Fort Wayne before joining the office of then-Congressman
Dan Quayle as a district representative.

From 1981 to 1999, Coats served in the U.S. House of Representatives and then in the U.S. Senate.
During this time in Congress, he served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Select Committee
on Intelligence, where he worked on ways to strengthen our national defense and security. In keeping
with a term-limits pledge he had made, Coats retired from the Senate in 1999.
Coats was named Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany in 2001, arriving in country just three
days before the tragic events of Sept. 11. As Ambassador from 2001 until 2005, Coats played a critical
role in establishing robust relations and in the construction of a new United States Embassy in the heart
of Berlin.

Coats returned to the U.S. Senate in January 2011 to focus on reducing the national debt, promoting progrowth
economic policies to put Americans back to work, and protecting Americans from terrorist
threats. He served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, as well as the Finance,
Appropriations, and Joint Economic committees. He did not seek reelection in 2016 and retired from the
Senate in January 2017.

Dan and Marsha Coats met in college and have three adult children. They have been active in charitable
causes, including The Foundation for American Renewal, which they formed together. DNI Coats has
served as President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and on the boards of many civic and volunteer
organizations.

Enayet Shabon

Northrop Grumman Fellow and Technical Fellow Emeritus

Enayet Shabon is Northrop Grumman Fellow focusing on solution architecture, cloud technologies and business analytics. Mr. Shabon has shown proven ability to balance cutting-edge technical prowess with customer-focused business development.  He is a well-known expert in emerging technologies and has led efforts that centers on promoting cloud, data analytics and DevOps. Mr. Shabon work experiences span broad range of business domains in the federal space, including Department of Defense (DoD), Civil and Health.

Dr. Ron Ross

Computer Scientist, NIST Fellow

Ron Ross is a Fellow at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His focus areas include cybersecurity, systems security engineering, and risk management. Dr. Ross leads the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) Implementation Project, which includes the development of security standards and guidelines for the federal government, contractors, and the United States critical infrastructure. His publications include Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 199 (security categorization), FIPS 200 (security requirements), and NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-39 (enterprise risk management), SP 800-53 (security and privacy controls), SP 800-53A (security assessment), SP 800-37 (Risk Management Framework), SP 800-30 (risk assessment), SP 800-160 Volumes 1 and 2 (systems security engineering and cyber resiliency), SP 800-171 (security requirements for nonfederal systems and organizations), and SP 800-171A (security assessments for nonfederal organizations). Dr. Ross leads the Joint Task Force, an interagency group that includes the Department of Defense, Office of the Director National Intelligence, U.S. Intelligence Community, and the Committee on National Security Systems, with responsibility for developing a Unified Information Security Framework for the federal government and its contractors.

Dr. Ross previously served as the Director of the National Information Assurance Partnership, a joint activity of NIST and the National Security Agency. He also supports the U.S. State Department in the international outreach program for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection. Dr. Ross has lectured at many universities and colleges including Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dartmouth College, Naval Postgraduate School, and George Washington University. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Ross served in many leadership and technical positions during his twenty-year career in the United States Army. While assigned to the National Security Agency, Dr. Ross received the Scientific Achievement Award for his work on a national security project and was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. Dr. Ross is a five-time recipient of the Federal 100 award for his leadership and technical contributions to cybersecurity projects affecting the federal government and is a recipient of the Presidential Rank Award. He has received the Department of Commerce Gold and Silver Medal Awards and has been inducted into the National Cyber Security Hall of Fame. Dr. Ross has been selected as an (ISC)2 Fellow and inducted into the Information Systems Security Association Hall of Fame receiving its highest honor of Distinguished Fellow.

During his military career, Dr. Ross served as a White House aide and senior technical advisor to the Department of the Army. He is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College and holds Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School specializing in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Genefa Murphy, PhD

Chief Marketing Officer, Micro Focus

Genefa Murphy is the Chief Marketing Officer for Micro Focus. In this role, she partners closely with the Micro Focus selling and support teams to ensure that Micro Focus is mobilizing around the right go-to-market (GTM) activities to help its customers and partners understand the value that the Micro Focus portfolio can bring within the domain of Digital Transformation.

Her team ensures Micro Focus is on track to not only generate the necessary pipeline to meet its targets, but it is developing postitive momentum with analysts and media, contributing thought leadership within the enterprise technology domain, solidying the critical relationships with its customers, partners and prospects and building situational fluency amongst the GTM team.

The Micro Focus marketing organization drives global and regional programs across all five Micro Focus product groups, support and services. Her team leverages agile methodologies across engineering and marketing / engablementto ensure continous improvement.

Prior to this, Genefa was the Gloabl Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Enablement leading the execution of the organizations regional marketing, sales and technical enablement plans across North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific and Japan.

Genefa has held various positions in product management, consulting, strategy and architecture and User Experience over an 11 year career in the enterprise technology space.

Genefa bas a BSc in Business IT and PhD in New Technology Adoption.

Parham Eftekhari

Executive Director, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology

Parham Eftekhari is the Executive Director of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), bringing 16 years of technology experience with a lifelong passion for leadership and community engagement in support of the Institute’s mission.   A recognized national security, cybersecurity, and digital transformation expert, Parham regularly advises government and commercial sector leaders, builds strategic alliances, and develops multidisciplinary research initiatives.  He has published over a dozen information security reports, regularly engages with the media, and has contributed to over 100 educational briefings and events at institutions including TEDx, Congress, the World Bank, RSA, IFA+, (ISC)2, C-SPAN, and ICIT.  Parham is a recipient of the 2017 (ISC)2 Government Information Security Leadership Award - Most Valuable Industry Partner and is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin Madison's School of Business.

David Wray

CTO, Micro Focus Government Solutions

David Wray is a Public Sector Chief Technology Officer for Micro Focus Government Solutions, Channel and Alliances,  he serves as a key trusted technical advisor for DoD, Intel, Civilian and public sector customers.  In this role, David oversees all aspects of Micro Focus Software offerings – from strategy through applications/operations. David has over 30 years of strategic and operational management consulting experience with the federal government and global corporate companies. 

Recognized as a specialist that understands how to adopt new technologies, reduce complex business processes and increase productivity, David has held CIO advisory roles within many Federal agencies as well as commercial organizations.  Specifically, David is recognized problem solver that has helped with IT strategic planning, rationalization, enterprise architecture, cloud transformation, IT Governance, and implementing performance management technology and processes to assure that stakeholders receive quantifiable performance results on major programs/projects.

Mallory Weggemann

2012 Paralympic Gold Medalist

2012 Paralympian Mallory Weggemann’s life changed on January 21, 2008. Weggemann received an epidural injection to help treat back pain; however, complications with the procedure left the college freshman paralyzed from the belly button down.

Weggemann has been a competitive swimmer since the age of seven. After her injury at the age of 18,she chose to return to the pool. In April 2008, her older sister found an article in the local newspaper highlighting the Paralympic Swimming Trials for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games. The meet was being held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center in Minneapolis. Still coping with her new disability, Weggemann found one thing unchanged—her love for swimming.

While attending the meet as a spectator, she met several of the U.S. national team coaches. The following Monday, Weggemann returned to the pool and has been swimming ever since. She touts her Paralympic trials experience as life changing: “I have always loved the sport, but when this happened I thought my days of swimming were over and when I realized I could still do it, well I will never forget that moment.”

Weggemann broke her first set of world records in Edmonton, Alberta, in July 2009. At the 2009 Short Course IPC Swimming World Championships in Rio de Janeiro, she broke six more world records and took home five gold medals. In August 2010 at the Long Course IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Weggemann proved herself again in the pool by taking home eight gold medals and one silver. She finished the meet with nine world records. In July 2011, Weggemann was recognized for her outstanding performance at the 2010 World Championships by ESPN when she was awarded the ESPN ESPY for Best Female Athlete with a Disability.

In August 2012, just days after being reclassified at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Weggemann showcased her amazing abilities by winning gold and setting a Paralympic record in the 50m freestyle. She also anchored the bronze-medal-winning 4x100m medley relay team, bringing USA back from fifth place to almost capturing gold. It has been deemed one of the most memorable moments of the London Games, and it inspired many across the world.

Just under four months after becoming paralyzed, Weggemann was back in the pool, with her eyes on gold at the 2012 Paralympic Games. Having achieved that goal, she decided it was time to chase her ultimate dream—to walk again. For years, this was something that was deemed impossible, but a new possibility arose and in order to achieve her goal, Weggemann reached out to the public to ask for their support through a crowd-funding Indiegogo campaign.

On November 16, 2013, Weggemann’s dream came true and she was able to “walk” again for the first time in nearly six years with her loved ones by her side. In order to accomplish this dream, she worked very closely with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, to learn how to use her customized leg braces with the assistance of forearm crutches. Although Weggemann’s wheelchair will never be replaced by her customized leg braces and forearm crutches, they have allowed her to have short moments of upright mobility and the freedom of standing again. And on December 30, 2016, she walked arm-in-arm with her father down the aisle on her wedding day, fulfilling a long-time personal dream of hers.

Following competing in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro as a two-time Paralympian for Team USA, Weggemann is actively building upon her career outside of the pool through motivational speaking and other public appearances around the world, as well as advocating for disability rights. She was also featured in The Current, a documentary produced by Make A Hero, a non-profit organization focused on inspiring individuals with disabilities to enjoy the freedom of adaptive sports.

Weggemann proudly serves on the Delta Airlines Advisory Board on Disabilities and regularly brings her empowering message to members of staff at all levels of seniority in partnership with Deloitte.

Steve Steuart

Client Principal and Legacy Modernization Expert, Astadia

Steve Steuart is Astadia’s Client Principal and Legacy Modernization expert, responsible for helping clients identify, eliminate, rejuvenate or modernize their mission critical applications to the cloud. Steve is Astadia’s legacy modernization lead expert and offers over 30 years of mainframe expertise. He led the company’s first mainframe migration in 1993, and ever since then, he brings a wealth of expertise and real live experiences around legacy migrations. His passion for client success in due to the fact that he has led many clients over 90 mainframe migrations. Along with is passion for mainframe modernization, Steve also carries over 25 years of experience in software and technology consulting to Fortune 500 companies. He has pioneered the development and evolution of several automated migration tool sets. Not only does he focus on his clients nationwide, but he also manages clients and business operations throughout Latin America and EMEA. His passion lies solely in getting his clients the business results they crave.