WHAT IS THE CYBER INVESTING SUMMIT?

David G. DeWalt joined AllegisCyber as a Managing Director in 2017.  Dave is a renowned cybersecurity executive, having taken cyber industry leader FireEye public (Chairman & CEO) and served as the CEO of both McAfee and Documentum.

He is a member or leader of six boards of directors, including ForgeRock, ForeScout, Phantom Cyber and OPTIV, and serves as the Vice Chairman of Delta Airlines.  Dave consults regularly with government, industry players and corporate Board of Directors on matters related to cyber security policy, technology and strategy.

Max Keiser is the co-presenter and producer of Keiser Report, the first international financial news program to cover bitcoin as early as 2011 when the cryptocurrency was still under $3.

His background is in banking, options trading and financial technology innovation. Keiser was awarded a US patent for his virtual specialist technology patent for trading virtual securities and currencies. The patent is referenced in many subsequent inventions relating to derivatives trading. Keiser’s Hollywood Dollar was one of the first proof of concepts that a digital currency could be created without permission and then used to create an economy and network around a currency not backed by a state.

Keiser co-founded Heisenberg Capital in 2013 and became an early investor in both bitcoin and in many bitcoin related startups, including Kraken, Bitpay, Shapeshift, Unocoin, Bitpesa, Bitso, Bitfinex, Factom, Storj and Uphold. He raised $500,000 in 24 hours from the Dash treasury in July 2017 for a television sponsorship deal, which was the largest blockchain crowdfund history at that time.

Keiser is an in demand speaker at international cryptocurrency conferences, including keynoting the first ever bitcoin conference held in 2011 in Prague.

Stacy Herbert is the co-presenter of Keiser Report. Her background is in film and television development and production and international feature film sales.

Herbert is the CEO of Heisenberg Capital founded by Max Keiser and has been personally invested in bitcoin since 2011. As CEO of Heisenberg Capital, Herbert continues to look for opportunities in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency space with a focus in 2018 on second layer applications and security related startups.

Herbert is currently co-organizing a bitcoin conference for the autumn of 2018 which promises to be one of the best on a crowded annual crypto conference agenda.

Bob Ackerman is referred to as one of “Cyber’s Money Men” by major business publications for his experience and leadership in venture capital investing in Cyber Security start-up technology companies. He has  been named one of “Technology’s Top 100 Investors” by Forbes magazine.

With 20 plus years of experience as a venture capitalist, Bob is the Founder and Managing Director of Silicon Valley-based Cyber Security venture capital firm AllegisCyber, Co-Founder of Columbia, Maryland-based Cyber Start-up Studio DataTribe and the Founder and Executive Chairman of Founder’s Equity Partners, a direct secondary investment firm that also invests in cyber security companies.

Prior to his career as a venture capitalist, Bob was a serial entrepreneur as a CEO and founder of two successful technology companies, including leading UNIX technology company UniSoft, and InfoGear Technology Corporation, the visionary creator of the original iPhones.

Bob has a degree in Computer Science and is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the University of California’s Haas School of Business MBA program.

Rich Baich is Wells Fargo’s Chief Information Security Officer. The four Corporate Risk teams encompassed by Rich’s world include Enterprise Information Security Strategy and Oversight, Enterprise Access Management, Information Security Engineering and Services, and Cyber Defense and Monitoring.

Prior to joining Wells Fargo in 2012, Rich was a Principal at Deloitte & Touche where he led the Global Cyber Threat and Vulnerability Management practice. Rich’s other security leadership roles include Naval Information Warfare Officer for the National Security Agency (NSA), Senior Director for Professional Services at Network Associates (now McAfee) and after 9/11, as Special Assistant to the Deputy Director for the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Rich retired after 20+ years of military service.

In 2005, Rich authored Winning as a CISO, a leadership sourcebook for security executives. The book was awarded the “Cybersecurity Canon” in 2015. In 2015, Rich authored a chapter on “Collaboration and communication between technical and nontechnical staff, business lines and executives” in Navigating the Digital Age: The Definitive Cybersecurity Guide for Directors and Officers.

Rich received the “Information Security Executive of the Year in Georgia” award in 2004 for his security and pioneering leadership. He was appointed the Chair for the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) in 2016 and serves as an advisor for the 44th and 45th President’s Commission on Cybersecurity as well as the International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals (ICMCP).

Rich holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Management from the University of Maryland University College as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy. Rich is also a Joint Forces Staff College and Naval War College graduate. He qualified as an Information Warfare Officer and has numerous security industry certifications.

Dr. Kenneth C. Brancik is an experienced Technology leader and innovator and he continues to accomplish significant achievements throughout his career with increased responsibilities and successes in both industry and within his advanced graduate academic education. His strong track record in creating conceptual ideas and then implementing those ideas into practice for Cyber solutioning is noteworthy.

Kenneth has been the Chief Information Security Officer at Mount Sinai Health System for the past three years. Kenneth was awarded the coveted Technical Fellow title in 2012, a highly competitive program for engineers and architects employed at Northrop Grumman Information Systems (NGIS). He earned the Technical Fellow title based on decades of professional and academic accomplishments and his many successes as a practical thought leader and Cyber innovator at NGIS.

During his leadership tenure at NGIS, he was a key contributing member for setting strategy for the company in 2008 to help create the Cyber powerhouse they are today in support of creating the federal governments Cyber solutions. He was selected as the Managing Director of the companies multi-million dollar investment in the creation of the innovative and collaborative Northrop Grumman Cyber Security Research Consortium (NGCRC) with MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Purdue Universities. The universities collaborative work with NGIS produced cutting-edge technologies through their R&D efforts that were integrating into larger NGIS Cyber and Cloud security projects. His contributions at NGIS also included being a member of both the Advanced Technology and the Technology and Engineering Groups that contributed to winning contracts with the DHS, The U.S. Air Force and Navy. Kenneth was also a key contributor in the development of the NGIS Cyber Academy, where he contributed in the development of the Cyber foundational 101 and Secure Software Engineering courses.

Kenneth has worked senior leadership roles in Cybersecurity at JPMorgan Chase and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and was the Co-Director of a Cyber Security Working Group he created. During his time at the FED he evaluated technology risk introduced within industry led software development products to assess its impact on the financial services sector who are the recipients of the technology. Dr. Brancik also functioned as a federal bank regulator for the United States Treasury Departments Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) where he functioned as a National Bank Examiner assessing the financial and technology safety & soundness of those banks. Additionally, his work experience in corporate audit at Citigroup, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Merrill Lynch & Company allowed him to provide value-added audit recommendations and information security advisory experience for complex software development projects and audit recommendations for production systems. Kenneth also functioned in an advisory capacity while employed at Verizon Business, where he functioned as a Director and Trusted Security Advisor to a number of industries and C-Level executives within various industries.

Kenneth earned his Doctoral degree in computer science at PACE University. Kenneth holds active certifications of a CISM, CISSP, CISA and ITIL and is a published author of the seminal work he researched and developed for the insider threat problem: “Insider Computer Fraud: An-In-depth Framework for Detecting and Defending against Insider IT Attacks”, an ACM article entitled: “The Optimization of Situational Awareness for Insider Threat Detection” and “Cyber-Physical Security of a Smart Grid Infrastructure” that was published in the Proceedings of the IEEE. Kenneth earned his Masters Degree at NYU in technology where his research involved the creation of a computer forensics and cyber security governance model. His prior education included the successful completion a two year certificate program in the Analysis and Design of Information Systems at Columbia University, a one year certificate program in Systems Analysis at Grumman Data Systems Institute and a bachelors degree in Finance/Business Administration/Finance.

Jeff is a recognized information security and IT risk expert with a strong track record spanning two decades implementing cost-effective controls for global Fortune 500 financial institutions including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, GE Capital and BNY Mellon. Jeff is currently the CISO for AIG Life & Retirement, where he leads an integrated cybersecurity and anti-fraud program.

Active in the information security industry, Jeff is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences and is the author of multiple articles and publications. He currently serves as the co-Chair of Evanta’s New York CISO executive summit events and in an advisory capacity for the Cyber Investing Summit, No Password and the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Regulatory Task Force (CBRTF).

He holds a B.A. and an M.S. from Pace University and has multiple industry certifications including CISSP, CISM, CRISC and PMP.

Sean is a trained professional in risk analysis with several years of experience in information and network security. Sean has proven track record utilizing a methodical manner to gather, document, and present specific customer needs or requirements. Sean has a strong familiarity with NIST, ISO 27001/27002, FFIEC, NCUA, HIPAA/HITECH standards, as well as GDPR, PCI and other industry and regulatory compliance requirements. Sean also possesses a solid understanding of OWASP, OSSTMM, and other security and auditing frameworks, and fulfils the Virtual CISO role for larger clients.

By joining Essextec, Sean has been able to couple his experience with that of other risk management professionals and provide secure risk management guidance to organizations, regardless of size or sector.

Sean created the Psychology of a Cyberattacker course and teaches as adjunct faculty at Wilmington University and holds several professional certifications regarding security  including CISSP, CEH, and Security+, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Network Security.

Sean is renowned as a top tier cybersecurity investor for over 18 years and has invested in 24 security startups during his career and led 13 to exit.

He is well respected by entrepreneurs, co-investors, board members and go-to market partners and was cited as cited as one of the top cybersecurity investors by market analyst firm CB Insights. He is listed in their “Board of Directors: Who’s Who’s in Cybersecurity”.

Prior to ForgePoint, Sean was focused on Cybersecurity investments with Intel Capital. Sean earned an MBA from Gonzaga University and is a huge Zag basketball fan.

Artemis Cyber provides solutions you can trust from partners you can trust. Artemis created a Cyber SWAT Team comprised of cyber solution partners who can address Board and C Suite concerns, conduct M&A and investor cyber due diligence relating to vulnerability and compliance re: GDPR, 23 NYCRR 500, HIPAA, PCI, NIST and other regulations with multi-million dollar penalties. Our cornerstone partner is The Arkin Group, led by Jack Devine, 32 year CIA veteran and Acting Director of CIA Operations globally, backed up by his strong bench of cybersecurity assets.  For more information see www.artemiscyber.com

Dickinson started her career on Capitol Hill working for U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  Intelligence work is in her family DNA.  Her father Edward T Dickinson Jr. was Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Head of Industrial Sabotage for the European Theater in WW II. He also served as Vice Chair of the National Security Resource Council and on the National Security Council under President Truman.

Dickinson is an experienced entrepreneur, speaker and advisor who specializes in business development strategy – covering the spectrum of launching new companies/brands to restructuring existing entities, all with a focus on multi-platform growth and profitability.  She has an extensive network of institutional investors and corporate connections.

Among her accomplishments include work with some of the most recognizable sports, entertainment and non-profit brands and organizations including:, Nike, NBA, Ronald McDonald House Charities, The Salvation Army, The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children, America’s Cup, PGA TOUR, IndyCar, Jeep, ABC, NBC, WTA, IBM, and Lionsgate.

Dickinson graduated from Smith College with and A.B. in European Studies. She earned 12 varsity letters in Tennis, Basketball and Lacrosse, and was Co-Captain of the Tennis and Basketball teams.

Alex is the Founder of Ten Eleven Ventures, the industry’s original venture capital fund that is focused solely on investing in digital security.   Inside security the firm invests globally and is stage agnostic, working as KKR’s joint investment alliance partner for stages growth and later.  Since our founding in 2015 Ten Eleven has invested in CounterTack, CyberGRX, Cylance, Darktrace, Digital Shadows, Hexadite, Ionic, Jask, Optiv, Ping Identity and Twistlock.

The founding of Ten Eleven brought together the breadth of experiences in finance, investing, software and security operating roles in Silicon Valley.  The cornerstone being his role as co-founder in 2002 of PGP Corporation that combined the vision for a new security company with the secure email standard OpenPGP.

Alex was the key business architect of the hybrid structure that combined an innovation led startup with the buyout of assets from Network Associates (McAfee).  He served as founding board member, CFO/VP Business Development, was a key member of the executive team as it pioneered the encryption and data protection marketplaces, concluding in 2010 as the COO when it was sold to Symantec.

After PGP Corp. he continued his involvement with security companies as an angel investor, independent director, entrepreneur-in-residence at Khosla Ventures, and security deal team consultant to private equity firm KKR.  These simultaneous stage agnostic security experiences were formative to the unique Ten Eleven investment strategy.

Alex also worked at Embark (The Princeton Review), PeopleSoft, OneID and was an investment banker with Robertson, Stephens & Co.

Alex received his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and graduated cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania’s Management & Technology program with a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the Moore School and a B.S. in Finance from the Wharton School.

Shaul Eyal is Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering the Communications, Security, and Infrastructure Software sectors and is one of Wall Street’s leading experts in those spaces. He started his equity research career covering Israeli technology related equities for the firm.

Shaul holds an M.B.A. from Fordham University and an LL.B with honors from Oxford Brookes University.

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Ms. Fields is the founder of Aplomb Strategies Inc., with almost 20 years of experience in implementing equity and derivative regulatory, clearing and market structure change.  At Aplomb she leverages her regulatory and technology background to develop risk management practices for registered entities and vendor third party technology firms.  Her unique focus assists firms design holistic governance structures to help limit the impact of increased reputational, cybersecurity and regulatory risks.

Most recently, Ms. Fields was the Head of Equities and Derivatives Market Structure for Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (DBSI). Ms. Fields was also the Compliance Registered Options Principal and Derivatives Compliance Advisor for both DBSI and Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB). In addition, Ms. Fields worked in Market Regulation for both the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).  Ms. Fields began her career in economic litigation consulting with Lexecon Inc.

Currently, Ms. Fields industry affiliations include: Securities Traders Association, LaunchTalks’ Innovative Markets Power Circle (IMPC) for financial technology vendor platforms, and Women in Listed Derivatives. In past years, Ms. Fields served as the Chairman of the Options Trading Committee for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). Ms. Fields has also held board positions with Securities Traders Association of New York, and the Option Clearing Corporation’s (OCC) Option Industry Council (OIC) as well as its separate Technology Board. Ms. Fields historically held committee positions with SIFMA, the Financial Industry Forum, the Futures Industry Association, the Securities Traders Association of Chicago, and the Inter-market Surveillance Group.

Ms. Fields received her BA degree in art history and chemistry from Barnard College, Columbia University, and her MS in Business and Technology from New York University.

Katie Gray is a Partner on the Investment Team at In-Q-Tel, the strategic venture firm that supports the missions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the broader U.S. Intelligence Community. Katie focuses on identifying investment opportunities in cybersecurity, data analytics, IoT, automation, and manufacturing.

Before joining In-Q-Tel, Katie spent more than ten years in software product management for mobile consumer electronic products, including the Handspring Treo line of smartphones, mobile phones and tablets at Palm and HP. Prior to joining Handspring, Katie was a member of the founding team and Vice President of Marketing for Bluelark, a pioneer in mobile web software. Handspring acquired Bluelark in 2001. Katie earned both a B.A. and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. Before moving into the technology industry, Katie worked in Washington DC as professional staff for the U.S. Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.

Ron Gula, a well-known cybersecurity veteran, has over the last 20 years shaped the cyber security industry in a number of key ways.  He participated in the NSA’s first major cyber initiatives; pioneered the art of network security monitoring with the Dragon intrusion detection system; and led Tenable Network Security to the successful company it is today.

Further leveraging his industry expertise, Ron co-founded Gula Tech Adventures in 2017 with his wife, Cyndi. As CEO of Gula Tech Adventures, Ron invests in the next generation of cyber security start-ups; helping entrepreneurs to build innovative companies and turnkey products.

When not inspiring the next cyber trailblazer, Ron serves on the Board of Directors for several of his portfolio companies. Ron received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University and a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

David Hirschler is Director of OEM, Sustainability and Legislative Affairs for ERI, Inc., the nation’s leading recycler of electronic waste and the world’s largest cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company. David is responsible for ERI’s various legislative responsibilities covering the gamut of extended product responsibility regulations through data protection regulations. In addition, David oversees the relationships with many of ERI’s major partners, including manufacturers, partner recyclers, and more.

Prior to his work with ERI, David served as Director of Waste Prevention at the New York City Department of Sanitation, Bureau of Waste Prevention, Reuse and Recycling. He has worked in the recycling and waste prevention field for more than 15 years.  Throughout his career, David has focused on the implementation and development of innovative programs and policies, including stringent data destruction systems, convenient electronics recycling plans, reuse systems, hazardous waste programs, producer responsibility programs and more. In addition, he has focused on the education for, and marketing of, these programs, interfacing regularly with the general public, government agencies and within individual business sectors.

David received his Master’s in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University and his Bachelors in Environmental Science from Boston University.

Tom Kellermann is a cyber-intelligence expert, author, professor, and leader in the field of cybersecurity. Tom serves as a Global Fellow for the Wilson Center. Having held a seat on the Commission on Cyber Security for the 44th President of the United States and serving as an advisor to the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA), he has worked in the highest levels of cybersecurity.

He has applied his expertise in the corporate world, as Chief Cybersecurity Officer for Trend Micro Inc. where Tom was responsible for analysis of emerging cybersecurity threats and relevant defensive technologies. Prior to Trend Micro, Tom served as the Vice President of Security for Core Security. Tom began his career as Senior Data Risk Management Specialist for the World Bank Treasury Security Team, where he was responsible for cyber-intelligence and security policy as he advised central banks around the world about their cyber-risk posture.

In addition to his professional work, Tom believes in sharing his knowledge to benefit others in order to combat cybercrime. Tom was a Professor at American University’s School of International Service and the Kogod School of Business, and he co-authored the book “E-safety and Soundness: Securing Finance in a New Age.” He regularly presents at global cybersecurity conferences and is a contributor on cyber analysis for major networks. Tom is a Certified Information Security Manager and is a Certified Ethical Hacker.

Rob Knake is a principal at Orkestrel where he advises investment firms and startups in the cybersecurity field and large enterprises on cybersecurity risk. Rob is also a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Senior Research Scientist at Northeastern University’s Global Resilience Institute. Rob served for five years in the Obama Administration at the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Council.

Jay Leek, CISM, CISA, CISSP, is a Managing Director for ClearSky Security, and he is also currently consulting with Blackstone around their portfolio company CISO community and other areas related to information security. Prior to joining ClearSky, Leek was the CISO for Blackstone, where he also worked with their information security investments.

Over the past 20 years, Leek built and headed up global information risk and security programs for Equifax and Nokia and also worked as a Product Manager as well as a Consultant to telecom companies, government agencies and financial institutions assisting them with strategic planning and architectural design required to meet their information risk and security objectives.

Leek currently serves as a member of the boards of directors for Demisto, CyberGRX, IntSights, ProtectWise, RedOwl, Verodin and the NY Metro ISSA Chapter and is a board observer of Cylance. He was also formerly a member of the board of directors of Optiv, Accuvant (which company merged with FishNet Security to form Optiv) and Carbon Black, formerly a Board Observer for Phantom and formerly a member of the advisory boards of Accuvant and iSIGHT Partners (acquired by FireEye).

Annie Massa is a journalist at Bloomberg News, covering the industry of electronic trading and exchanges. Her work has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets magazines. She writes about high-speed trading, dark pools and the technology underlying the complex web of the modern U.S. stock market.

Gary is a globally recognized cybersecurity expert, speaker and keynote, investor, advisor and consultant.  He is the inventor and founder of technologies and corporations sold and/or licensed to Hexis Cyber, WatchGuard, Intel/McAfee, IBM, Computer Associates and BlackBox Corporation.  He is currently the CEO of Cyber Defense Media Group (CDMG), which is the Publisher of Cyber Defense Magazine and Cyber Defense TV, is a frequent invited guest on national and international media commenting on mobile privacy, cyber security, cybercrime and cyber terrorism, also covered in Inc, Forbes and Fortune Magazines. Miliefsky is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security (http://www.DHS.gov), the National Information Security Group (http://www.NAISG.org) and the OVAL advisory board of MITRE responsible for the CVE Program (http://CVE.mitre.org). He also assisted the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), which operates within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in their development of The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace as well as the Center for the Study of Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Crime at Norwich University.   Gary is a member of ISC2.org and is a CISSP®.

Eric McAlpine has spent over 20 years in the Technology industry as a strategic advisor to Boards & CEOs, a two-time founder, and decorated engineer. He is a sought out speaker on the Cybersecurity market at major industry conferences, private events, and corporate gatherings sharing insights into M&A, capital markets, and industry trends.

Eric is a Founder & Managing Partner at Momentum Cyber a firm he co-founded in 2018 along with Dave DeWalt and Michael Tedesco. Momentum Cyber is the premier trusted strategic advisor to the Cybersecurity industry providing bespoke high-impact advice combined with tailored senior-level access from incubation to exit.

Eric is one of the top dealmakers in the Cybersecurity industry with a prolific M&A track record advising on and orchestrating deals with industry leaders such as ADT, Symantec, McAfee, Proofpoint, Mimecast, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, Amazon, CenturyLink, Google, Intel, and many more.

Prior to co-founding Momentum Cyber, Eric was Founder & Managing Partner of Momentum Partners, the precursor firm to Momentum Cyber. Earlier in his career, Eric served as a Managing Director with Blackstone where co-founded Blackstone’s Silicon Valley office and led the firm’s Cybersecurity advisory practice. In 2010, Eric was recognized by Steve Schwarzman with the CEO Star Award and featured along with a profile of one of his deals in Blackstone’s 25th anniversary Annual Report for extraordinary contributions to the firm.

Eric began his Wall Street career at Salomon Smith Barney and Citi where he served as senior member of the Enterprise Software Investment Banking team leading their sector coverage in Security. Prior to a career on Wall Street, Eric served his country as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force where he was honored as the Military Engineer of the Year in 2000 for his engineering contributions to the Joint Strike Fighter Program which included saving taxpayers $80 Million through an innovative stealth recoating design.

Eric earned an MBA with Distinction from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management where he was a 2-year Wade Fetzer Scholar. He also earned a BS Civil Engineering from Purdue University on an Air Force ROTC Scholarship as well as his MS in Engineering Management from the University of Dayton where he was a Dayton Area Graduate Studies Institute scholar – both full ride scholarships.

Eric lives in Ross, California with his family and is an avid world traveler, die hard Cubs fan, collects vintage vinyl records, and loves art, music, wine and fine food.

The President and CEO of New York City Economic Development Corporation, James Patchett has spent his career building stronger cities through investments in affordable housing, innovation, and 21st century infrastructure. In his current role overseeing job growth and economic development for the City of New York, James taps into his deep experience in real estate, finance, government, and urban planning. During his tenure, he has overseen some of the city’s most ambitious projects, including launching a citywide ferry system, developing Mayor de Blasio’s 100,000 jobs plan, and optimizing NYCEDC’s 60 million square feet of real estate.

Prior to his appointment as NYCEDC President in 2016, James served as chief of staff to Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen, where he helped oversee more than 25 city agencies and played a pivotal role in preserving thousands of affordable homes. Before moving to City Hall, James was a vice president in Goldman Sachs’ Urban Investment Group, where he spent seven years providing equity and debt to projects ranging from commercial developments to housing to charter schools.

James currently serves on the board of the Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization responsible for running and maintaining one of Brooklyn’s most beloved greenspaces.

James holds a BA in Economics from Amherst College and an MBA from Stanford University. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their two young children.

John Rafuse is a successful cyber sales agent, technology producer and businessman.  John identifies, develops, promotes and sells high-tech talent, technologies and acquisitions on behalf of and between, the world’s top brands and all levels of government. John’s commercial technology product portfolio has been used by over 100 million people, and he has personally sold over 250 years of hourly-based high-tech consulting.

John’s current high-profile work includes being the agent for the world’s most famous hacker, Kevin Mitnick, where he provides the leadership and business development to monetize, while solving rapidly growing global cyber threats.  John also helps elevate and accelerate Mr. Mitnick’s brands and services through all forms of media and business channels to solidify Kevin being recognized as the top cybersecurity keynote speaker on the planet.

John started coding in the first computer and machine languages at the age of 10 and went on to become a pioneer in visualization.  His university education included a concentration in film theory and criticism which led him pre-Y2K to create a VR company. Uniquely talented with sales, he has led multiple organizations to rapid growth as a senior executive, including through multiple M&As.  As a mentor and a member of Mensa, he enjoys creating music, solving problems and creating solutions useful to both the public and private sector.

Alison Andrews Reyes is a recent convert to venture capital, joining 1843 Capital as a partner in September 2017. She is a start-up founder & executive with 20+ years of experience in enterprise software across several sectors including business intelligence, web development, and cyber security. She most recently was COO & founder at Dezignable.com, a B2B technology-enabled service platform for commercial and residential design. Ms. Reyes co-founded Dezignable in September 2014 and was responsible for financial & technical strategy, as well as operational management of the business.

Previously, she served as President and CEO of Vigilant, Inc. from 2005 – 2013. Ms. Reyes grew Vigilant over 7 years from a self-funded start-up to a 65-person organization successfully acquired by Deloitte in May 2013. From 2002 to 2005, Alison was VP of Professional Services and Support for e-Security, Inc., a provider of security information & event management (SIEM) software. She has also served in senior executive roles at eGrail, Inc. and MicroStrategy, Inc. Ms. Reyes holds an AB from Dartmouth College in Engineering Sciences.

Jose Rodriguez is the VP of Payments of Bitso, LATAM largest cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain based financial services company. Co-founder of Top Money Report, the only investment report in Spanish that covers cryptocurrencies, startups, precious metals, currencies and stocks. He has 14 years of experience working at Mexican and US Stock Brokers on their Back, Middle and Front Office. He has participated in International Stock Arbitrage, Treasuries, FX trading, Financial Crime Investigations and Intelligence Services.

He has co-founded, collaborated and invested in various Bitcoin, Blockchain and Fintech companies since 2013 in LATAM. Organized and participated in international conferences, workshops, hackathons, published and collaborated in Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, fintech and bitcoin news sites. Collaborated with laBITconf, the Latin American Bitcoin Conference, to host
it in Mexico in 2015.

Shira Rubinoff is a recognized Cybersecurity executive and influencer, who has built two Cybersecurity product companies, and led multiple women-in-technology efforts. She currently serves as President of social-media-security firm, SecureMySocial & President of NYC tech Incubator, Prime Tech Partners, as well as on the Boards of both the Executive Women’s Forum for Information Security and Leading Women in Technology.

An expert in the Human Factors of information technology and security, Ms. Rubinoff was named one of New Jersey’s Best 50 Women in Business, was named by CSO Magazine as a Woman of Influence, and was honored by CSO and the EWF with their “One to Watch” award, and most recently was honored as an “Outstanding Woman in Infosec” by the CyberHub Summit. She has also been calculated by analysts to be one of the top 2 female Cybersecurity & IoT influencers globally on social media.

Before SecureMySocial, Ms. Rubinoff founded and served for a decade as President of online authentication vendor, Green Armor Solutions. Within a year of releasing products, she grew the company to be a profitable concern. She more than doubled average deal size annually for three years consecutively, successfully executed OEM deals with major technology companies, and led Green Armor’s diversification across multiple industries.

Ms. Rubinoff has also provided guidance to various firms in areas related to organizational dynamics, and has practiced as a psychologist. She has published and lectured on topics related to psychology, Cybersecurity and information security, and holds several patents/patents-pending in areas related to the application of psychology to improve information technology and Cybersecurity.

Hartej is the Co-Founder and President for Hosho and a frequent speaker at Blockchain and Fintech events. He is an advisor to Pink Sky Capital (Crypto Hedge Fund), Krypto.io, and BlitzPredict.io.

He was formerly Co-Founder and CEO of Zuldi. Hartej graduated with a degree in Finance from Penn State University. Hartej is also a clothing designer, Indian classical musician, and art curator.

Ken Schneider leads Symantec Ventures where he is Vice President and Fellow with an overall focus on driving innovation. He was previously Chief Technology Officer of the Enterprise Security Group where he was responsible for technology architecture, integration, business development, and business operations.

Prior to joining Symantec, Schneider served as CTO and VP of Operations for Brightmail, the leading anti-spam software company that was successfully acquired by Symantec.

Before Brightmail, Schneider founded South Beach Software, a software and consulting company that developed products for the professional video market. He has also held engineering positions at Integrated Systems and at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Schneider received a master of science in mechanical engineering from University of California Berkeley and a bachelor of science in engineering from Swarthmore College.

Mr. Richard Seewald is founder and managing partner of Evolution Equity Partners a venture capital investor focused on cyber-security and enterprise software companies. The firm is based in New York City and Zurich, Switzerland and its partners have been involved as founders and
senior operating executives in leading cyber-security software companies around the world.

Prior to founding Evolution, Mr. Seewald was responsible for running the direct investment practice at Alpha Associates, a multi-billion dollar investment platform where he was also a member of the firm’s investment committee.

Over the past 20 years Mr. Seewald has made investments in cyber-security leaders including AVG Technologies (AVG: NYSE), Cognitive Security (CSCO: NASDAQ), OpenDNS (CSCO: NASDAQ), Carbon Black, Onapsis, Security Scorecard, DF Labs, Fortscale among others.

He was awarded a Kauffman Fellowship in 2009 and holds an M.B.A from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business where he is a member of the schools advisory board.

Howard Smith is a managing director at First Analysis specializing in research and investment in software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses and other business models based on information technology, particularly cybersecurity, Internet of Things and Internet infrastructure. He also built the firm’s historical research franchises in call centers and computer telephony. His work has been cited for excellence by the Wall Street Journal and other publications. He’s provided strategic advice to numerous technology companies in capital raising and buy- and sell-side M&A transactions, and as a board member. Prior to joining First Analysis in 1994, he was a senior tax consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co.

He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a certified public accountant.  First Analysis serves emerging growth companies, established industry leaders, and institutional investors through its venture capital investments and through First Analysis Securities Corp., a registered broker/dealer with FINRA and member SIPC that provides investment banking services and institutional equity research.

Myrna Soto is a Partner at ForgePoint Capital (Formerly known as Trident Capital Cybersecurity) She is a member of the ForgePoint Capital Investment Team.  Her responsibilities include identifying investment opportunities, advising portfolio companies, participating in due diligence activities of pending investments, leading investments, fund raising and serving as a Board Member on said investments.   She is also responsible for organizing and continuing to develop the ForgePoint Advisory arm of advisors that includes, the CISO, CIO, CTO communities as well as refine the firm’s investment strategy. ForgePoint Capital is a $300 million fund exclusively investing in cybersecurity companies. Myrna is a seasoned cybersecurity practitioner with more than 25 years of experience as a senior executive and public company director. She has led multiple cybersecurity transformation programs in major communications, media, hospitality, financial services and critical infrastructure organizations.

Prior to joining ForgePoint Capital Myrna served as Corporate SVP & GCISO (Global Chief Information Security Officer) for Comcast Corp.  In her role, Myrna was responsible for all security & technology risk management for the Enterprise. She is responsible for aligning security initiatives with enterprise programs and business objectives to ensure information assets and technologies were adequately protected across the entire corporation. She worked closely with the all the technology, product and security teams across the organization, including Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, Comcast Spectacor, and Comcast Platform Services. Her focus was to develop and maintain the highest standards of Cyber Security, network/infrastructure security, product security, data security strategies, operational efficacy of security programs, policies, and technology risk management that protect the interests of Comcast’s customers, employees, critical technology assets, company brands and other critical stakeholders.  Her scope of responsibility included over 54 business lines within the Comcast Portfolio. Myrna Served in her Role as Corp SVP & Global Chief Information Security Officer for 9 years.

Myrna joined Comcast in September of 2009 after earning more than 20 plus years of focused Information Technology /Security experience and accolades within a variety of industries, including: financial services, hospitality, Insurance/Risk Management and gaming/entertainment.

Prior to joining Comcast, Myrna served as CISO & Vice President of Information Technology Governance for MGM Resorts International (formerly known as MGM MIRAGE).  In that role, she was responsible for Information Security (Data/Network), IT Audit & Compliance, Business Analysis, PMO and the development of a Six Sigma practice.  She previously held senior leadership positions with American Express, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Kemper Insurance.

Myrna holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University, a Master of Science degree in Industrial Psychology, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Nova Southeastern University. Myrna also holds a Masters Certification in Project Management from George Washington University. She also is the recipient of the 2015 CSO Compass Award and was named Information Security Executive of the Year in 2013 by ISE.  CNET also named her one of the top 20 Most Influential Technology Latinos in 2014.  She was recognized by SC Magazine as the Top 10 Power Players for Women in Security in 2015, Top Women to Watch by Diversity Journal Magazine in 2017 named to the Top 100 CISOs list by Hottopics, in 2017 and named to the Top 50 Women in Internet Security in the same year.   She was recognized by Multi Channels News as a member of the 2017  “Wonder Woman” honoree class.  Most recently (March 2018) she was named to Fortune Magazine’s List of 50 Most Powerful Latinas in Business for the second year in a row.

She is an Executive Management Committee Board Member (Vice Chairperson) of HITEC (Hispanic IT Executive Council) a Member of the Board of Directors for CMS Energy & Consumers Energy [NYSE:CMS] and a Member of the Board of Directors for Spirit Airlines [NASDAQ: SAVE].  She serves on the Compensation Committee, Security, Safety and Operations Committee for Spirit Airlines, As well as the Audit Committee and Governance/Public Policy Committee for CMS/Consumers Energy.

Michael Steed is the Founder and Managing Partner, and serves as Chairman of the Paladin Cyber Fund and Paladin III Investment Committees.  Mr. Steed provides management oversight of the firm’s operations and investments, and is responsible for the strategic direction of Paladin’s current and future activities.

Paladin’s Cyber Fund is focused on investments in companies with cyber enablement, monitoring and management, and security technologies, products and services which target the protection of critical infrastructure by achieving digital/cyber resilience and security.

Prior to forming Paladin Capital, Mr. Steed served as Senior Vice President of Investments of a major financial services company based in Washington, DC, and served as President of its SEC registered investment advisory firm.

From 1981 to 1985, Mr. Steed served as Special Counsel to the Chairman and as the National Director of the Democratic Party of the United States of America (DNC). Previously, Mr. Steed engaged in the practice of law, both as a prosecutor in the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office and in private practice.

Mr. Steed serves on the Board of Trustees of Loyola Marymount University. He is also a member of the Board of Visitors for Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and is a founding board member of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and is a member of the Board of National Alliance to End Homelessness and The National Park Trust.  Recently he was appointed chairman of Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and his JD from Loyola Law School.

Joseph Steinberg has led businesses and divisions within the information-security industry for over two decades, has been calculated to be one of the top 3 cybersecurity influencers worldwide, and has written the official study guide from which many CISOs study for their certification exams. He is also one of only 28 people worldwide to hold the suite of advanced information security certifications, CISSP, ISSAP, ISSMP, and CSSLP, indicating that he possesses a rare, robust knowledge of information security that is both broad and deep; his information-security-related inventions are cited in over 100 US patent filings. Steinberg is also one of the best read columnists in the cybersecurity field, and a respected authority on other emerging technologies – having amassed millions of readers as a regular columnist for Forbes and Inc. magazines. He co-founded the cybersecurity firms, SecureMySocial and Green Armor Solutions, presently serves as an expert witness and consultant on matters related to information security and emerging technologies, and advises cybersecurity and emerging technology firms.

Dr. Muddu Sudhakar is a successful entrepreneur, executive and angel investor in Silicon Valley. Muddu is Investor and Board member of Aisera, hot silicon valley Cloud, AI and Machine learning Startup.  Muddu was SVP & GM of IT Operations Management (ITOM) at ServiceNow from 2016-2017. Prior to that, Muddu was VP & GM of Big Data, Machine Learning/AI, Security and IoT at Splunk (www.splunk.com) from 2014-2016.  At Splunk, Muddu worked on applications of AI/Machine learning, Big data platform, Thin & Thick AI AI/ML Apps, Open source technologies, IoT Analytics solutions and Cyber Security products. Before that, Muddu was CEO of Caspida (www.caspida.com), a leader in next-generation Cyber Security & Threat detection using machine learning. Muddu and the Caspida team were instrumental in creating a new cybersecurity market category called “User Behavioral Analytics (UBA)”.  Earlier, Muddu was co-founder and CEO of Cetas (www.cetas.net) which was acquired by VMware in 2012.  Muddu then served as VP & GM at VMware (www.vmware.com) and Pivotal (www.pivotal.io ) for Big Data Analytics, Machine learning and Cloud Services from 2012 to 2014.  From 2003 to 2010, Muddu was CEO & Founder of Kazeon (www.kazeon.com), which was acquired by EMC (www.emc.com). Muddu led Kazeon to be a leader in Information Security, eDiscovery, and Enterprise Search markets within the Enterprise Informatoin Management sector.  At EMC (www.emc.com) Muddu was Chief Strategy Advisor, VP & GM for Cloud Information Services. Before Kazeon in 2003, Muddu was Co-founder & President of Sanera Systems, a next-generation SAN technology company. Sanera was started in 1999 and was acquired by McData (Brocade) in 2003.  From 1996 to 2000, Muddu was lead architect and designer of CPU and server technology at Silicon Graphics, Inc.

Dr. Muddu Sudhakar holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science from University of California, Los Angeles and a B.Tech. in Electronics & Communications Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.  He is widely published in industry journals and conference proceedings and has more than 40 patents in Cyber Security, Big data analytics, Machine learning, Analytics, Cloud Services, SaaS Apps, Enterprise Search, Information Management, Distributed systems, Storage technologies, SAN/NAS, Server technologies, Virtualization, Search, Information security, Networking technology and VLSI chip design.

Ken Talanian is a Director at Evercore ISI (an independent investment banking firm based in NYC) responsible for equity coverage of the IT Security and Design Software sectors.

Prior to his role at Evercore ISI, Ken spent the five years in  J.P. Morgan’s equity research division covering the Software sector. Ken previously worked at J.P. Morgan Asset Management following the semiconductor, IT hardware, industrial cyclicals, and consumer staples sectors.

Ken graduated from Georgetown University with a double major of Finance and Management.

Gur Talpaz is a Director within the Equity Research group at Stifel, an investment banking and asset management firm headquartered in St. Louis. Based in New York, Mr. Talpaz focuses on the cybersecurity industry, with primary coverage of nearly all public names within the group. Within his coverage, Mr. Talpaz focuses heavily on emerging themes within the sector and has written extensively on topics ranging from the changing endpoint market to the growing importance of identity within security as well as emerging trends such as IoT and ICS security. Mr. Talpaz has been quoted and referenced in a multitude of publications, including CNBC, the Financial Times, Barron’s, and Forbes. Mr. Talpaz graduated with honors from the University of Chicago.

Bruce is a managing director at Blumberg Capital with more than 25 years experience as a venture capital investor, entrepreneur, technology investment banker and corporate attorney.

Prior to joining Blumberg Capital, Bruce co-founded and held several senior management positions within technology companies including Charles River Computers. Bruce also structured and managed early-stage technology transactions at Hambrecht & Quist, Mayer Brown & Platt and Bankers Trust Company.

A native of New York, Bruce earned his B.A. in finance and communications, cum laude, from Yeshiva University, and his MBA and J.D. from Fordham University.

Bruce serves as a member or observer on the board of directors of Arcadia Data, BioCatch, Braze, Coverhound, Mariana, Nexla, Revionics, SAM Seamless Network, Sealights, Solomoto and WorkJam. He also serves on the board and the investment monitoring committee of the Jewish Community Foundation of Northern California.

Alena develops early stage ideas into successful products and services. She is skilled in business development and planning, identifying and creating meaningful business partnerships. Her track record includes several successful startups in finance and technology.

A polyglot who speaks seven languages, Alena graduated in Diplomacy from University College of International and Public Relations Prague where she studied international economy and monetary system. Alena has also earned a Master’s Degree in Marketing Communication and a Master’s in German from Comenius University Bratislava, Slovakia.

Alena has over 15 years experience in business leadership and development, including as Head of Business Development for Komercni Pojistovna, a Société Générale insurance company and INSIA, one of Czech Republic’s largest financial advisory networks that she has brought from 120m. to 2b. annual revenue in 3.5 years. Alena also launched oPojisteni.cz, the #1 online media for insurance professionals in Czech Republic.

In 2013, she left the traditional financial industry to join the crypto revolution and founded SatoshiLabs, one of the most regarded companies in the Bitcoin space. SatoshiLabs has introduced several innovations that significantly changed the ecosystem: the first bitcoin map at CoinMap.org, the first bitcoin mining pool SlushPool.com, and TREZOR the original hardware wallet.

Today, Alena is advisor to numerous startups and established companies helping them to embrace cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology.

Jeremy Welch is the Founder and CEO of Casa, the best personal key system on the planet.

As global wealth transfers into cryptographic keys (Bitcoin and beyond), managing and safeguarding keys becomes an important but challenging task. With their multi-signature key software and 24/7 support, Casa gives cryptocurrency owners full control while minimizing risk of loss from theft, accidents, disasters and more.

Previously Jeremy worked in product and engineering at Google, Invite Media (acq by Google), Appia (acq by Mandalay Digital) and two other startups.

He studied Political Philosophy at Duke University, where he was a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar.

Dov Yoran has a career-long focus in information security.  He leads Strategy and Business Development for the Cisco Security Business Group. This team focuses technology integrations & ecosystems, OEM, licensing, and strategic partner relationships across the security portfolio.

Dov came to Cisco as part of the ThreatGRID acquisition in June of 2014. He was co-founder and CEO of ThreatGRID, the first unified malware analysis and threat intelligence solution that helps organizations defend against advanced cyber attacks. Prior to that, he was a co-founder and partner at MetroSITE Group, an advisory services firm to both emerging security companies and large enterprises. Previously, he held several leadership roles at Solutionary (now NTT), Symantec, Riptech (acquired by Symantec) and Accenture.

Dov is a Founding Member of the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), serves on the Boards of the NY Metro ISSA and CSA chapters and frequently speaks at industry conferences. He has a Masters in Science (MS) in Engineering Management with a concentration in Information Security Management from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science (BS), cum laude, in Chemistry from Tufts University.

Nadav is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Team8. Previously, Nadav was the Commander of the IDF’s Technology & Intelligence Unit 8200 (Israel’s NSA), as well as founder of the IDF Cyber Command. Nadav brings 25 years of extensive experience in cyber leadership. Nadav holds an LL.B from the Interdisciplinary Centre and an MBA from Tel-Aviv University and Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Bob Ackerman is referred to as one of “Cyber’s Money Men” by major business publications for his experience and leadership in venture capital investing in Cyber Security start-up technology companies. He has  been named one of “Technology’s Top 100 Investors” by Forbes magazine.

With 20 plus years of experience as a venture capitalist, Bob is the Founder and Managing Director of Silicon Valley-based Cyber Security venture capital firm AllegisCyber, Co-Founder of Columbia, Maryland-based Cyber Start-up Studio DataTribe and the Founder and Executive Chairman of Founder’s Equity Partners, a direct secondary investment firm that also invests in cyber security companies.

Prior to his career as a venture capitalist, Bob was a serial entrepreneur as a CEO and founder of two successful technology companies, including leading UNIX technology company UniSoft, and InfoGear Technology Corporation, the visionary creator of the original iPhones.

Bob has a degree in Computer Science and is a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the University of California’s Haas School of Business MBA program.

Jeff is a recognized information security and IT risk expert with a strong track record spanning two decades implementing cost-effective controls for global Fortune 500 financial institutions including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, GE Capital and BNY Mellon. Jeff is currently the CISO for AIG Life & Retirement, where he leads an integrated cybersecurity and anti-fraud program.

Active in the information security industry, Jeff is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences and is the author of multiple articles and publications. He currently serves as the co-Chair of Evanta’s New York CISO executive summit events and in an advisory capacity for the Cyber Investing Summit, No Password and the Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Regulatory Task Force (CBRTF).

He holds a B.A. and an M.S. from Pace University and has multiple industry certifications including CISSP, CISM, CRISC and PMP.

John Rafuse is a successful cyber sales agent, technology producer and businessman.  John identifies, develops, promotes and sells high-tech talent, technologies and acquisitions on behalf of and between, the world’s top brands and all levels of government. John’s commercial technology product portfolio has been used by over 100 million people, and he has personally sold over 250 years of hourly-based high-tech consulting.

John’s current high-profile work includes being the agent for the world’s most famous hacker, Kevin Mitnick, where he provides the leadership and business development to monetize, while solving rapidly growing global cyber threats.  John also helps elevate and accelerate Mr. Mitnick’s brands and services through all forms of media and business channels to solidify Kevin being recognized as the top cybersecurity keynote speaker on the planet.

John started coding in the first computer and machine languages at the age of 10 and went on to become a pioneer in visualization.  His university education included a concentration in film theory and criticism which led him pre-Y2K to create a VR company. Uniquely talented with sales, he has led multiple organizations to rapid growth as a senior executive, including through multiple M&As.  As a mentor and a member of Mensa, he enjoys creating music, solving problems and creating solutions useful to both the public and private sector.