2025 Secure Carolinas Conference

Dan Lohrmann is an internationally recognized cybersecurity leader, technologist, keynote speaker and author.
Dan has served global organizations in the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities, receiving numerous national awards including: CSO of the Year, Public Official of the Year and Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader.

For more than a decade, Lohrmann led Michigan government’s cybersecurity and technology infrastructure teams.
Dan has advised senior leaders at the White House, National Governors Association (NGA), National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), federal, state and local government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

Starting his career at the National Security Agency (NSA), Dan has served global organizations in the public and private sectors in a variety of executive leadership capacities. Within Michigan State Government, Dan served as the State’s first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), as well as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and an agency CIO.

Dan has authored three books, with the latest book, Cyber Mayday and the Day After, becoming a best-seller on Amazon. The book focuses on leadership strategies for addressing ransomware before, during and after the cyberattack.
Dan is also a Senior Fellow at the Center for Digital Government. He writes an award-winning weekly blog for Government Technology Magazine called ‘Lohrmann on Cybersecurity,’ and co-hosts a BrightTALK podcast called CISO Insights.

Award-winning blog: https://www.govtech.com/blogs/lohrmann-on-cybersecurity

Laura Baker runs two nonprofits, CyberWyoming and the CyberWyoming Alliance, which comprise multiple programs designed to help average citizens and microbusinesses manage their security risks. Some of the business side programs include the Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses and an apprenticeship program for tech professions. Other citizen programs include a weekly publication called the Hacker’s Brief, Senior Fraud Alert Flyers, the annual cybersecurity conference, the Teens Exploring Careers Camp, and a school cyber safety video challenge.

Brooks Raiford has served as President + CEO of the North Carolina Technology Association since 2008. NC TECH is the statewide industry association for the tech sector, representing more than 600 member companies and organizations that collectively employ over 250,000 North Carolinians.

Early in his career, Brooks served as a policy aide to the Governor of North Carolina, where a key focus area was information technology and its impact on a variety of public policy areas. Subsequently, he has held leadership positions in North Carolina’s nonprofit and business sectors.

Current and previous leadership activities include serving as an appointee of the Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court to the North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice; Vice Chair (and US Policy Chair) of the Board of Directors of the Technology Councils of North America; member of the Board of Advisors for CyberUSA; member of the North Carolina Advisory Committee of the US Global Leadership Coalition; member of the UNC-Wilmington MHA Healthcare Advisory Board; member of the Corporate Advisory Board of the Independent College Fund of North Carolina; Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Guilford College; President of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and a founding member of the Dean’s Strategic Advisory Board for the College of Engineering at NC State University, where he is a former Student Body President and University Trustee.

Brooks is a past recipient of the national Tech Voice Champion Award from the Computing Technology Industry Association; he is a Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Marshall Memorial Fellowship; and has been named to the Information Technology Power List multiple years by Business North Carolina magazine.

Adam Rak is a recognized leader in cybersecurity policy, public-private collaboration, and technology-driven public affairs. With over three decades of experience spanning the federal government, major corporations, trade associations, and public office, Adam has built a career dedicated to advancing cybersecurity resilience and shaping national policy frameworks.

Currently, Rak serves as Executive Director of CyberUSA, a nationwide network of cyber communities focused on enhancing the nation’s cyber readiness through collaboration, threat intelligence sharing, and best practices. In this role, he leads strategic engagement with industry, government, and regional stakeholders to build trusted partnerships that strengthen U.S. cyber infrastructure and defense capabilities.

Prior to this role, He served as Senior Director of Government Relations at Trustwave Government Solutions, where he launched and led the company’s federal affairs strategy. Throughout his career, Adam has consistently served at the forefront of cybersecurity and technology policy — whether building global advocacy programs at Symantec, guiding digital currency clients through emerging regulatory landscapes, or helping to launch organizations like the Cyber Security Industry Alliance. His expertise spans cyber policy, public-private threat sharing, federal regulatory engagement, and strategic communications.

Beyond the cybersecurity domain, Rak has a strong record of public service, currently serving as a City Council Member and former Mayor of San Carlos, California. He is widely respected for bridging the gap between innovation and governance, and for fostering impactful partnerships that drive policy forward in a rapidly evolving digital age.

Tom Scott Short Bio
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-scott-7172386/
Thomas Scott (Tom) is the CEO and Founder of CyberSherpas, a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) cybersecurity consulting firm. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Cybersecurity Association and Foundation. As the inaugural Director of the SC Cyber Consortium, he has been a key leader in the cyber education, cyber workforce development, and cyber protection efforts in both South Carolina and across the Nation.
With over 30 years of cybersecurity experience in both Florida and South Carolina, Tom has developed a wealth of knowledge and experience in protecting critical infrastructure and cyber assets. He currently holds certifications in information security, information auditing, security leadership, critical infrastructure protection, and project management – he is also recognized a FEMA Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) Practitioner.
Tom is a member of the FBI’s InfraGard program and serves as an advisory board member for the Dutch Fork High School Cyber program. He has actively participated as a member of the MS-ISAC’s Executive Committee as well as the USC School of Law Cybersecurity Task Force. Tom currently serves the academic community through board service to the Industry Advisory Board for the USC Integrated IT program, and at Florence-Darlington Tech and Aiken Tech.

Specialist in developing & presenting hard-hitting, meaningful presentations to energize business transformations. Excellent knowledge of the Federal Government & procurement within DoD, Intelligence Community and Civilian Agencies. Fluent in Channel relations and implementation of cyber resiliency solutions to maximize business investments.

A veteran IT professional with nearly 30 years of leadership experience, Rob Main joined the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in June 2023 and presently serves as CISA Region 4’s Cyber Security Coordinator for North Carolina. In that role, he offers cybersecurity assistance to critical infrastructure owners and operators and state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governments in North Carolina. Additionally, he introduces organizations to various CISA cybersecurity products and services, along with other public and private resources, and act as liaison to CISA cyber programs. Finally, he provides cyber preparedness assessments and protective resources, strategic messaging, working group support and leadership, partnership in public-private development, and incident coordination and support in times of cyber threat, disruption, and attack.    

Prior to his current role, Rob held several positions within the North Carolina state government since 1998, including as the State Chief Risk Officer for the State of North Carolina and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for three other state agencies. In those roles, Rob conducted the business of information technology as a strategic member of executive leadership teams. His operational duties included cyber risk management, budgeting, procurement, vendor contracts management, staff development, and approval/monitoring of service level agreements. His strategic activities include the development and maintenance of application and project portfolios, design and maintenance of agency strategic plans, and oversight of consolidated service delivery to the business.

Additionally, Rob is an U.S. Air Force veteran, having served more than 25 years both on active duty and with the North Carolina Air National Guard.

Rob earned his associate’s degree in Computer Science from the Community College of the Air Force in 1996, his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science/Business Administration from Troy University in 1998, his Master of Business Administration degree from East Carolina University in 2008, and his Certified Government Chief Information Officer certification from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015.

Randall Laudermilk is the VP of Product Strategy at Carson & SAINT. Randall has over 25 years of experience in professional services and product management, and brings a strategic perspective to solving real world problems we face in cyber security. Randall previously served in the U.S. Air Force and later held a position with the Joint Staff’s Special Operations Division at the Pentagon. Randy has a Masters of Science degree in Information Systems from Marymount University; is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and current member of CyberSC.

Jennifer Ray is a devoted technology leader dedicated to empowering the nonprofit sector through strategic innovation and operational transformation. With a career that bridges both nonprofit and corporate environments, Jennifer has consistently championed the adoption of technology solutions that remove barriers, streamline operations, and foster lasting impact.

As Director of Technology Engagements at Apparo, she brings a strong commitment to community-driven work, applying her expertise to evaluate nonprofit technology needs and recommend tailored, effective solutions. Her approach emphasizes collaboration and trust-building—partnering with organizations to implement tools that improve workflows, increase efficiency, and elevate team performance.

Outside of her professional role, Jennifer is an avid reader, nature enthusiast, and devoted dog lover, bringing curiosity and energy to everything she does.

Yolanda C. Reid is a seasoned technology executive and trailblazer, with over two decades of leadership driving innovation at the intersection of national security and emerging technologies. As a former Department of Defense civilian for over 20 years, I have been “doing cyber” before we had the term.

Passionate about leveraging new technologies to advance the future, Ms. Reid has led workforces employing radio frequency communications, high-speed fiber networks, SCADA systems, satellite technologies, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and advanced software development. Her dedication to innovation continued after transitioning from federal service to become Vice President of Cyber at EverWatch, where she co-developed the offensive cyber business line. She later joined Raytheon BBN, where she led research initiatives exploring cyber operations, artificial intelligence and machine learning, information exploitation, quantum computing, and synthetic biology.

Ms. Reid also worked at IBM, applying her technical and leadership expertise to help clients modernize mission-critical systems and adopt emerging technologies. Building on her deep commitment to client-centered solutions, she founded Code: Mercedes Q, a consultancy dedicated to assisting clients by solving critical concerns with a focus on people and impact over profits.

She holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s in Information Technology from the University of Maryland, University College, and is currently completing her Ph.D. in Information Technology at Capella University.

Beyond her professional achievements, Ms. Reid is a dedicated advocate for broadening participation in the cyber workforce, an enthusiastic cheer mom, and a cancer survivor who inspires others by sharing her journey of perseverance and resilience through life’s toughest challenges.

Nick leads Business Development for AWS Marketplace across the US Healthcare industry where he helps customers adopt AWS Marketplace to transform procurement and drive digital transformations for their organizations and missions. For 20 years, Nick has focused on accelerating regulated industry and government outcomes by increasing the adoption and integration of commercial technologies.

Prior to joining AWS, Nick worked for In-Q-Tel, Inc. (IQT), a not-for-profit organization that accelerates the development and delivery of venture-backed startup company technologies to U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community agencies.

Prior to IQT, Nick spent 10 years as a U.S. Army officer completing combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. While in service, Nick served as Arlington National Cemetery’s Chief Information Officer. Nick led the digital transformation of Arlington National Cemetery from 2010-2013, an effort that was publicly commended by the Secretary of the Army and several U.S. senators. Through his efforts, the award-winning iOS mobile application ANC Explorer was launched and continues to power the visit for the over 4 million annual visitors.

Outside of work, Nick serves on the Board of Advisors for the National Contract Management Association, a member of the Board of Director for the Shared Services Leadership Coalition, and an advisor to the Software in Defense Coalition. Nick previously served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery.

Nick holds a Master of Science in Finance from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and a Master and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.

Nishanth Sirikonda is a Workday Solutions Architect with over 10 years of experience designing and implementing scalable, secure, and user-focused HCM solutions. He specializes in Workday HCM, Payroll, Time Tracking, Absence, Compensation, and complex integrations, driving efficiency and aligning systems with business goals. Known for his leadership in enterprise transformations, Nishanth has led global deployments, M&A integrations, and compliance initiatives across public and private sectors. His expertise spans architecture, testing, reporting, and governance. Passionate about process improvement and innovation, he collaborates closely with stakeholders to deliver impactful, future-ready solutions that streamline operations and elevate workforce experiences.

Lisa Carter is the founder of SpartanTec, Inc, a top technology provider of IT Services across North Carolina and South Carolina. In Cyber Security for more than 20 years, Lisa is quick to point out that for everything that touches an organization’s network, “Security is Key”. In fact, Lisa has always known that she wanted to work in IT security. Armed with a Bachelor in Marketing, and experience selling managed firewalls, she recognized a need in the marketplace and SpartanTec was born.

With more than 23 years under her belt, she now proudly leads a dynamic engineering department and sales team and ensures all SpartanTec clients are handled with the highest quality and professionalism.

A Loris, South Carolina resident, Lisa enjoys reading and hanging out with her husband Chris and their 2 daughters, Kinsey and Lauren.

Seasoned Compliance and SecOps Manager with a proven track record of ensuring regulatory adherence and mitigating risks. Markel has worked with hundreds of clients from small businesses up to large Fortune 100 companies in refining their security processes to aid in the defense against threats far and wide.

Sah’vante is a senior Mathematics student at Fayetteville State University. She currently holds the ISC2- Certified in cyber security certification. She is the director of an elementary after school program and she considers herself a creative thinker.

After 40 years in the Federal IT and Cybersecurity workforce, Barry has finally had time to reflect on what would have made him better prepared to face the challenges in his career. His newly discovered energy is to share his experiences and perspective, and to encourage college and high school students to enter the Cybersecurity family.
His career was primarily with large contractors in the US Government sector. The last 15 years took him on an exciting bottom to top journey planning, implementing, maintaining, and managing (as ISSO/ISSM) complex cybersecurity systems for two large facilities. These efforts included creation of policy and procedures, selecting, building and configuring technology infrastructure, production operations, and compliance monitoring prior to turnover to the Government customer.
He is an Adjunct Professor of Cybersecurity at the University of South Carolina Aiken and South Carolina State University. He is responsible for development and execution of a classroom-based and hands-on workforce development internship, mentoring highly qualified students from across the US to join the Federal or Contractor talent pool. Barry holds a CISSP, is an ISC2 Authorized Instructor, and independent contractor and lecturer. He speaks at 2-3 conferences a year and loves meeting his colleagues.
He also volunteers in many STEM and Cybersecurity areas in the state of South Carolina including FIRST Robotics, Cyber Camps, and membership on the guidance committees for CyberSC.US and University Cyber STEM events.
bhudsoncissp.com

Sarah Peters is a web developer at Georgetown University, building and maintaining web solutions for the Office of Advancement. She began her development career at Crema, a digital product agency in Kansas City, where she worked as an Application Developer. A graduate of Prime Digital Academy, Sarah brings a unique perspective to software development, drawing from her previous career as a professional violinist.

Before transitioning to tech, Sarah performed with orchestras such as the Kansas City Symphony and New World Symphony; she currently plays with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Chamber Orchestra (when time permits!). She has been featured as a chamber musician on Kansas Public Radio Live and has appeared at festivals including the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Tanglewood Music Center, and the Lakes Area Music Festival. She received her Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory in Boston.

Her experience in both the arts and technology informs her approach to problem-solving, collaboration, and continuous learning. Sarah currently lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, a member of “The President’s Own” U.S. Marine Band, and their two children.

Results oriented software quality engineer with 10 years of experience of successfully building, testing, deploying Mobile/Web apps, strategically providing technological solutions in diverse lines of businesses. Have experience in test release processes with action-oriented automation test setups – using programming languages like Java, Python along with automation tools , exercising end-to-end smoke, integration and regression functional tests. Currently working in enhancing process optimizations and Gen AI testing using MS Copilot and internal LLMs.

For most of his 30-year career in the Information Technology field, Clint had to know a little about a lot. His niche was coming into a company with no IT staff and building the department up. Once established, he would move on to the next opportunity to do it again. As he stated, “The joy is not standing on the mountaintop. It’s the climb up.” After building up the IT department at Sunland Logistics Solutions, as he had done so many times before for other companies, he was offered a new challenge: build and lead the company’s cybersecurity division. The opportunity to focus on one aspect of IT… the most important aspect… and master it, was just too good to pass up. After four years as the Head of Cybersecurity, Compliance, and Risk Management (and twelve years total at Sunland), Clint’s career path was dramatically altered. Clint left Sunland and took over as CEO of Spicer-Industries, the company that began as the brainchild of his late father.

Gene Gotimer is a DevSecOps Engineer who loves playing with new tools, focusing on agile processes, securing development practices, and automating everything. Gene feels strongly that repeatability, quality, and security are all strongly intertwined; each depends on the other two, making agile and DevSecOps crucial to software development.

Michael Silva is a technology leader with 17+ years of experience. Presently, Michael is a strategic executive at Astrix Security, the pioneers of non-human identity security. Using the combined expertise of technical and customer facing roles, Michael has developed the ability to relate to customers, understand their pain points, and help define a strategy that will map to successful execution of business requirements.

Before joining Astrix, Michael has been part of multiple networking, DevOps and security teams as well as managed service provider work for Fortune 100 companies. Most recently he was the Technical Director for a CNAPP (Cloud Native Application Protection Platform) called Lightspin, that was acquired by Cisco. At Lightspin, Michael designed the technical go-to-market strategy, developed strategic partnerships, and helped grow the business from its inception into the U.S. market.

Aside from professional experience, Michael holds many professional and specialty certifications from AWS, GCP, SANS, and Nutanix, and is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps.

I’m a Fractional CTO Consultant as well as an advocate and professional instructor for DMARC, Anti-Phishing, PostgreSQL, Ruby on Rails, Elixir, SAFe and Gitlab with over 20 years industry experience.

I’m also the organizer of Carolina Code Conference as of 2023.

Michael Roytman is the CTO of Empirical Security. Previously, he was the Chief Data Scientist of Kenna Security, and a Distinguished Engineer at Cisco. He served on boards for the Society of Information Risk Analysts, Cryptomove, and Social Capital. He was the co-founder and executive chair of Dharma Platform (acquired, BAO Systems), for which he landed on the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He currently serves on Forbes Technology Council.

Natarajan Ravikumar is a seasoned Technology Executive with over a decade of experience spanning project management, program delivery, IT architecture, and strategic execution across Fortune 500 environments. Based in Charlotte, NC, he brings a multifaceted background in Enterprise Systems Architecture, with a focus on Cybersecurity, Cloud Integration, and AI/ML Implementation. He has proven expertise in managing large-scale technology initiatives across diverse sectors, including manufacturing, retail, and industrial software.
His career includes notable tenures at Honeywell International, IonIdea Inc., and Ashley Furniture Industries, where he led cross-functional teams in delivering impactful solutions such as cloud migrations, IoT platform enablement, enterprise security, data analytics, and M&A IT integrations.
Ravikumar is highly accomplished in Agile, SAFe 5.0, and Lean Portfolio Management practices, and has been instrumental in achieving CMM Level 5 and Level 2 certifications. He possesses a strong command of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), process optimization through Six Sigma and ITIL frameworks, and portfolio governance. A natural leader and mentor, he has built and coached teams in Cloud Architecture, AI/ML, and Cybersecurity, consistently aligning technical delivery with business strategy and measurable ROI.
Academically, he holds three master’s degrees from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Data Science & Business Analytics, Computer Science, and Business Administration (MBA), along with a Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Anna University, India. He is a PMP, Scrum Master, ITILv3, AWS Cloud Architect, and Six Sigma Yellow Belt certified, and has earned multiple Bravo and Impact Awards for outstanding project execution and innovation. His technical toolkit includes Java, Python, Power BI, Tableau, ServiceNow, cloud platforms, cybersecurity architecture, and AI/ML models, with a strategic focus on driving performance, scalability, and digital transformation.

Jermaine Green, CISA, CISSP, and a 2025 Cisco Champion, is a seasoned Cybersecurity CIP Auditor at SERC Reliability Corporation. In his role, Jermaine ensures that power companies across the Southeastern United States maintain reliable and secure operations in compliance with critical infrastructure protection standards. With a robust background in network engineering, wireless technologies, and firewall management, he brings a wealth of expertise to safeguarding the region’s power grid. His technical acumen and commitment to operational excellence make him a vital contributor to the cybersecurity and reliability of critical infrastructure.

Roni Bliss is a seasoned sales leader with over 15 years of experience driving growth and innovation in identity and access management. As Regional Sales Manager at HID Global, Roni specializes in delivering cutting-edge solutions across the Key Identity and Internet of Things (PKI/IOT) portfolio, helping organizations secure their digital and physical environments with scalable, future-ready technologies.
Throughout her career, Roni has built a reputation for bridging complex technical solutions with real-world business needs. Her expertise spans public key infrastructure (PKI), credentialing, secure authentication, and IoT-enabled access systems. She works closely with enterprise clients, government agencies, and healthcare institutions to modernize identity frameworks and prepare for emerging challenges—including quantum-safe cryptography and zero trust architectures.
Roni’s passion for digital trust and her consultative approach make her a sought-after speaker and advisor in the cybersecurity space. She brings a unique blend of strategic insight and hands-on experience to every engagement, empowering organizations to navigate the evolving threat landscape with confidence.
When she’s not helping clients transform their security posture, Roni enjoys mentoring young professionals and staying ahead of the curve in identity innovation.

Naga Yeswanth Reddy Guntaka is a highly experienced IT and Cybersecurity professional with over 15 years of expertise in Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity Governance and Administration (IGA). Based in North Carolina, he serves as an IAM Architect, Solution Architect, and Senior Principal Consultant, specializing in SailPoint Identity Security Cloud, Oracle Identity Manager (OIM), Saviynt, Okta, and related security technologies.

He has led end-to-end IAM initiatives across the full software lifecycle—installation, design, development, implementation, and support—delivering enterprise security solutions that strengthen access control, lifecycle management, single sign-on (SSO), segregation of duties (SoD), compliance, and risk management. His work has streamlined provisioning, reduced help desk requests, improved audit readiness, and minimized security risks for clients in manufacturing, retail, telecom, banking, finance, healthcare, insurance, and education.

At CDW Technologies LLC, Yeswanth spearheaded SailPoint IdentityNow implementations for clients such as Assured Partners, Delta Faucet, Carnival Cruise Line, PACCAR, TRANE Technologies, Shutterstock, and Tractor Supply Company. His responsibilities included integrating authoritative sources like Workday, configuring connectors, designing lifecycle rules, developing workflows, implementing non-employee risk management, and building custom API-based solutions. He also applied AI-driven role mining and RBAC models in SailPoint to enhance governance and security.

Previously at Agility Technologies LLC, he delivered Oracle Identity Governance (OIG) solutions for Truist Bank (formerly BB&T), focusing on provisioning, reconciliation, certification campaigns, compliance, and workflow automation. He also contributed to CMS.GOV’s EIDM project, implementing OIM/OAM solutions for identity proofing and secure healthcare provider access. Earlier, at Wipro Technologies (British Telecom) and Venus Technologies (Motability, Tesco), he gained hands-on expertise with OIM/OAM implementations, ADF-based development, and integration with Active Directory, Exchange, PeopleSoft, and HR systems.

Yeswanth holds an M.Sc. in Mobile Communications from London Metropolitan University, UK, and a B.Tech in Electronics and Communications from JNTU, India. His technical skills span SailPoint, Oracle IAM, Okta, Saviynt, CyberArk, PowerShell, Python, REST APIs, and cloud platforms including AWS, Azure, and GCP.

Ajitha Rathinam Buvanachandran is a seasoned Principal Machine Learning Engineer with over 13 years of experience driving high-impact AI and ML solutions across enterprise environments. She has a proven track record of building scalable AI platforms and orchestrating complex GenAI systems that transform organizational capabilities with production-ready technologies.

At Fidelity Investments, Ajitha has spearheaded mission-critical initiatives including an enterprise-wide GenAI orchestration service and a large-scale Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system. These platforms streamlined operations, improved customer interactions, and enabled real-time insights by replacing third-party dependencies with secure, proprietary solutions. Her expertise in designing high-throughput, low-latency architectures has enabled processing of millions of data points daily, empowering data-driven decision-making across business units.

Ajitha also pioneered a social listening intelligence platform that ingests data from Reddit, Twitter, and LinkedIn. By deploying sentiment and intent models on robust ingestion pipelines, she delivered actionable insights to executives, significantly strengthening strategic visibility.

Her core strengths include MLOps, cloud-native technologies, and end-to-end ML lifecycle management. She has led the development of SageMaker-based platforms with 99%+ uptime, mentored teams in ML operationalization, and built reusable feature frameworks supporting both batch and real-time inference at scale.

Earlier in her career, Ajitha held consulting roles at Fujitsu, SAP India, Mphasis, and Cognizant, specializing in SAP MII implementations for clients in pharmaceuticals, energy, and manufacturing. She delivered intelligent manufacturing dashboards, ERP–shop floor integrations, and real-time analytics solutions.

With deep expertise in AWS (SageMaker, Lambda, CloudFormation), Kubernetes, Docker, Python, SQL, and Snowflake, Ajitha excels in architecting metadata-driven systems, graph-based orchestration, and compliant ML infrastructures. A Bachelor of Engineering graduate from Anna University, she is widely recognized as a leader who bridges strategic business goals with advanced AI systems while fostering innovation, mentorship, and excellence across teams.

Major General M. Todd Hunt assumed his duties as the adjutant general of the North Carolina National Guard Dec. 1, 2019. As adjutant general, Hunt commands nearly 12,000 citizen soldiers and airmen of the North Carolina Army and Air National Guard, and is the governor’s principal advisor on military affairs.

General Hunt received his commission in 1987 through the Reserve Officer Training Program at East Carolina University. His previous assignments include two mobilizations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as detachment commander, then executive officer of the 1st Battalion, 130th Aviation Regiment. Most recently, General Hunt has served as the Land Component Commander of the North Carolina National Guard since September 2017 and the Deputy Commanding General of the Army National Guard-US Army Aviation Center of Excellence in Fort Rucker, Alabama.

General Hunt received a Bachelor of Science in geology from East Carolina University in 1987, Masters of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

Assignments:
Sep 17 – Present Commander, Land Component Command, Joint Force Headquarters, Raleigh, North Carolina; dual-hatted, Sep 18 – Present, Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard-United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence, Fort Rucker, Alabama, Fort Rucker, Alabama
Sep 16 – Sep 17 Director, Joint Staff – (NC), Raleigh, North Carolina
Sep 13 – Feb 16 Vice Chief of Joint Staff, Joint Force Headquarters, Raleigh, North Carolina
Jul 12 – Aug 13 J3, Joint Force Headquarters, Raleigh, North Carolina
May 10 – Jun 12 Commander, 449th Theater Aviation Brigade, Morrisville, North Carolina
Sep 08 – Apr 10 Commander, 2nd BN, 130th Aviation Regiment, Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Mar 07 – Aug 08 Commander, 1st BN 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
Dec 04 – Feb 07 Branch Chief, Joint Force Headquarters, Raleigh, North Carolina
Jul 04 – Nov 04 Executive Officer, 1st BN 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
Jan 03 – Jun 04 Executive Officer, 1st BN 130th Aviation Regiment, OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Afghanistan
Sep 01 – Dec 02 Executive Officer, 1st BN 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
Sep 99 – Aug 01 S-3, 1st BN 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
May 99 – Aug 99 Platoon Leader, Co E (-) 130th Aviation Battalion, Salisbury, North Carolina
Mar 99 – Apr 99 Detachment Commander, Co E (-) 130th Aviation BN, Salisbury, North Carolina
Aug 98 – Mar 99 Detachment Commander, Co E (-) 130th Aviation Battalion, Kuwait
Apr 98 – Aug 98 Platoon Leader, Co E (-) 130th Aviation Battalion, Salisbury, North Carolina
Feb 96 – Mar 98 Commander, Co B (-) 1st BN, 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
Nov 94 – Jan 96 Assistant S3, 1st BN, 130th Aviation Regiment, Morrisville, North Carolina
Jul 91 – Oct 94 Platoon Leader, Co B (-) 1st BN, 130th Aviation Regt, Morrisville, North Carolina
Oct 87 – Jun 91 Liaison Officer, 449th Aviation Group, Kinston, North Carolina
Awards and Decorations:
Bronze Star Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal
Army Commendation Medal (with 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)
Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters)
National Defense Service Medal (with 1 Bronze Service Star)
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Armed Forces Reserve Medal (with Silver Hourglass, M Device, and Numeral 2)
Army Service Ribbon
Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon (with Numeral 2)
NCNG Commendation Medal (with Bronze Hornet Nest)
NCNG State Duty Medal (with Numeral 6)
NCNG Service Award (with Gold Hornet Nest)
NCNG Meritorious Unit Citation
Master Army Aviator badge
Parachutist Badge
Air Assault Badge

Effective Dates of Promotion:
Second Lieutenant 30 September 1987
First Lieutenant 29 September 1990
Captain 1 November 1994
Major 5 February 2000
Lieutenant Colonel 10 March 2005
Colonel 28 May 2010
Brigadier General 1 October 2016
Major General December 2019

Sunny Kesireddy is a distinguished Data Engineering Leader with 10+ years of experience designing scalable, cloud-native platforms in financial services and healthcare. He is Director of Data Engineering at BMO Financial Group, driving enterprise modernization under the “Digital First” strategy, with a focus on Risk and Finance ecosystems.

Renowned for leading complex cloud migrations, Sunny has delivered real-time analytics platforms on AWS using Redshift Data Share, Glue, and Airflow. He oversaw the migration of 200+ schemas from on-premises to cloud, enabling near real-time access to critical risk and regulatory data. He also created reusable ETL components that cut pipeline onboarding time and led the adoption of GitHub Copilot, boosting engineering velocity and code quality. His leadership embeds automation, observability, and compliance at every layer of BMO’s data platform.

Previously at Bank of America, Sunny architected analytics solutions for 1,000+ users across Fraud, Risk, and Finance. He built secure frameworks leveraging Spark, Hive, Kafka, and HDFS, ensuring full encryption, audit traceability, and compliance for 30+ critical datasets. In healthcare, his work on CMS’s Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program influenced reimbursement for 500+ hospitals, earning recognition from CMS auditors for integrity and impact on national policy.

Sunny brings expertise in AWS (S3, Redshift, Glue, Lambda, Athena, CloudFormation), Spark, Python, SQL, Kafka, Databricks, and DevOps practices. He holds an AWS Solutions Architect – Associate credential and advanced training in product management and Snowflake. With a Master’s in Computer Technology from Eastern Illinois University and a Bachelor’s in Biotechnology from JNTU, India, Sunny excels at translating technical complexity into business value, making him a proven driver of innovation, compliance, and enterprise data excellence.

Shivani is an entrepreneur in cybersecurity who is passionate about helping organizations protect themselves from cyber threats. With over 18 years of diverse professional experience, including the past 8+ years dedicated to cybersecurity, she has transformed her passion for digital safety into impactful solutions. Since launching Kleap in 2020, Shivani has built a self-sustaining business while pioneering tools that help organizations detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats with confidence. A visionary leader, she thrives on creating practical, innovative approaches to strengthen cyber resilience in an ever-evolving threat landscape.

Jim Benvie transforms historical wisdom and critical thinking techniques into powerful leadership tools for today’s business professionals. With 40+ years managing multi-million dollar projects across multiple continents, “The History PM” delivers thought-provoking presentations on pivotal historical events, structured skepticism for excellence, and the evolving nature of leadership.

A recognized industry leader whose exceptional expertise earned him an L1 visa—reserved for professionals with specialized skill. Throughout his career, he was specifically recruited for key leadership positions, including the Martin Decker Totco Service Manager (Europe) role, based on his outstanding reputation.
Jim served on the PMI Houston board for 6 years, maintained his PMP certification for over 20 years, and earned the Distinguished Toastmaster Award.

Jim’s presentations have earned enthusiastic praise from audiences at conferences nationwide:
– “Should be on the History Channel”
– “This was my favorite presentation of the day!”
– “You made me a history lover today!”

As a speaker with TyauvinOn Solutions and dedicated PMI Houston volunteer for over two decades, Jim challenges conventional thinking by connecting historical insights with contemporary challenges. His philosophy of “Some assembly required” encourages leaders to think deeply rather than seeking simplistic solutions.

Invite Jim to deliver a presentation that will inspire your audience while providing actionable insights drawn from history’s greatest leadership and decision-making lessons.

Sam Kline joined Carson & SAINT in 1999 as the chief development engineer, providing the security expertise and software development talent to drive the transformation of SAINT from an open-source tool into a full-featured commercial scanning suite. He became CTO in 2009 and is currently responsible for establishing the company’s technical vision and leading all aspects of technology development. He provides engineering and architecture oversight for the SAINT Security Suite and design and deployment of new vulnerability assessment and penetration testing capabilities in SAINT products. Before joining Carson & SAINT, Sam was a key force behind the proactive defense of the Pentagon’s information systems in his role as supervisor of network vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Sam has a B.S., magna cum laude in Electrical and Civil Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Computer Science and Applications from Virginia Tech. He is a recognized expert in the information security industry, having spoken at a variety of conferences and universities.

Randall Laudermilk is the VP of Product Strategy at Carson & SAINT. Randall has over 25 years of experience in professional services and product management, and brings a strategic perspective to solving real world problems we face in cyber security. Randall previously served in the U.S. Air Force and later held a position with the Joint Staff’s Special Operations Division at the Pentagon. Randy has a Masters of Science degree in Information Systems from Marymount University; is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and current member of CyberSC.

Mike is a hands-on builder with an entrepreneurial mindset and a strong preference for open source technologies. His opinions are unfiltered, well reasoned, and often challenge how modern infrastructure is built.

He is the founder of Defiant Networks, where he is creating a trustless overlay layer for the Internet with privacy and security built in. His work focuses on distributed, fault-tolerant designs that remove single points of failure such as DNS and other centralized control mechanisms. The aim is an Internet where participants own their communication environment instead of targets to be profiled or exploited. He’s also a dedicated privacy advocate and loves designing systems where privacy is a fundamental feature.

He created the Hachi (ハチ) programming language, which is a memory-safe systems language inspired by simplicity, flexibility, and performance. He maintains Hachi and its core modules and uses it to explore and prototype new networking and security approaches.

Mike also leads the C6 Project, a research initiative focused on Cyberphysical System Integrations and Interoperability Communications Security. C6 explores how safety, availability, integrity, and confidentiality should work across modern critical infrastructure by defining and securing physical, logical, broadcast, and cross-domain conduits. The project aims to prevent cascading failures across networked critical infrastructure.

In the cellular research world, Mike is known for his work on rogue cell site simulators. He authored the Cell Selection Integrity Verification (CSIV) specification, a baseband-level defensive method that protects industrial and vehicular systems from fake cells. His critical infrastructure research has led to ICS alerts in seven countries and eight published CVEs.

He considers himself a systems architect FIRST, who just so happens to wear a cybersecurity skin-suit rather than the other way around. He approaches problems as a builder first and a breaker second, keeping his work grounded in practical engineering.

Across everything he does, Mike blends technical depth with clarity and creativity. Whether he is designing privacy-focused protocols, experimenting with new networking concepts, or giving talks that mix humor with deep research, his goal remains the same: strengthen critical infrastructure, protect individual privacy & make complex security ideas accessible to those who rely on them.

Ken Smith is the Director of Sales Engineering – Enterprise (Great Lakes) at Arctic Wolf, with 15 years of experience spanning offensive security, sales engineering, and education. A former SIGINT operator with 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Ken went on to serve as a red team consultant and team lead in multiple roles. He also spent a decade developing and delivering university coursework in network and application security. Ken has presented at Thotcon, Hack Space Con, and other regional conferences, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for BSidesCLE.

He has held cyber security, data scientist, and leadership roles at JP Morgan Chase, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bloomberg, and Goldman Sachs. Brennan holds a masters’ degree in Business Analytics from New York University and participates in the data science community with his non-profit pro-bono work at DataKind.

Eric Hart is a globally recognized cybersecurity leader with over 35 years of experience driving innovation, security, and resilience across technology, insurance, healthcare, and financial services industries. As a seasoned expert in cloud security, threat modeling and secure software development, Eric has spearheaded transformative initiatives, including directing global application security programs and implementing enterprise-wide security automation. His leadership has fortified digital ecosystems, ensuring robust protection and operational resilience in high-stakes environments.

A dynamic and sought-after speaker, Eric has captivated audiences at corporate conferences, local security events, and industry summits, sharing insights on cloud security, threat modeling, and building robust security programs. As the genesis founder of the Triangle Chapter of the Cloud Security Alliance in Raleigh, North Carolina, he has cultivated a vibrant community dedicated to advancing security awareness, professional growth, and networking. His leadership extends to his nonprofit, 4Philip.org, established in memory of his son, Philip, to fund research into Addison’s disease and improve diagnostic protocols, including a groundbreaking update to North Carolina’s EMT triage for adrenal shock.

Holding a SANS GIAC GSEC certification and a degree in Music Theory and Composition, Eric brings a unique blend of technical precision and creative problem-solving to his work. His career, which began programming on IBM 8086 PCs in 1989, spans the full technology stack, from hardware to cloud architectures. Offstage, Eric is an amateur blues guitarist, a dedicated mentor to his daughter in music, and a lifelong learner passionate about staying at the forefront of cybersecurity trends.

Eric’s talks inspire audiences to embrace resilience, innovate fearlessly, and build secure, connected communities—drawing from his decades of expertise, personal journey, and commitment to making a lasting impact.

Srinivasa Ambati is a results-driven IT leader with over 18 years of progressive experience in designing, developing, and administering software applications across diverse analytical platforms and multi-cloud environments. With deep expertise in SAS, SAS Viya, AWS, Hadoop, Big Data, Python, and cutting-edge AI-based tools, he has successfully led large-scale architecture implementations, system upgrades, and migration strategies for enterprise-level organizations. Srinivasa possesses a strong command of cloud technologies spanning AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, along with extensive proficiency in data warehousing, ETL processes, RDBMS, and business intelligence solutions.

Currently serving as Engineer Lead at Elevance/Anthem Inc., he spearheads the creation of scalable and secure data solutions that power analytics, business intelligence, and advanced AI applications. His responsibilities encompass establishing enterprise-wide data governance frameworks, designing fault-tolerant architectures, and optimizing high-performance data processing pipelines. Over his career, Srinivasa has demonstrated exceptional ability in cross-functional collaboration, working closely with business stakeholders, data scientists, and engineers to translate complex business requirements into efficient, sustainable technical solutions.

His earlier roles at Cognizant, IBM, and Synova Innovative Technologies further strengthened his skills in system administration, architecture modernization, and high-availability infrastructure design. Srinivasa is known for delivering innovative solutions—ranging from LSF-based SAS GRID architectures to advanced cloud-based analytics platforms—and ensuring systems meet stringent security and compliance standards such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA.

An AWS Certified Solutions Architect, PMP-certified project manager, and SAS Base Certified professional, Srinivasa combines strong technical acumen with leadership excellence, ensuring that data-driven systems not only meet current needs but are also future-ready. His career reflects a commitment to continuous learning, innovation, and operational excellence in the rapidly evolving data and analytics landscape.

Georgeo Pulikkathara is the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Information
Security Officer (CISO) at iMerit Technology, a global AI data solutions company.
George has over 34 years of experience in information technology and information
security leadership within the banking, healthcare, technology, and defense
industries. George has direct incident response experience with ransomware and
nation-state cyber-attacks.

Previously, George was the CISO for Dovenmuehle Mortgage and DataStax, a DBaaS
cloud startup. George is a versatile CISO with security leadership experience at
prominent organizations, including Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, BMO, RBC
Capital Markets, AIG, Avanade, Dovenmuehle, and the US Army.

George has proudly served 25 years in the US Army Reserve, starting from the rank of
Private (E-1) and working his way up to Colonel (O-6), Cyber Operations Officer in the
US Army Reserve, with an active DoD Top Secret security clearance. George has been
deployed twice, leading Soldiers into combat zones within Eastern Afghanistan and
Mosul, Iraq. George was awarded the Bronze Star Medal twice for his actions in a
combat zone. George currently serves in the US Army Reserve as a Colonel, cyber operations officer, protecting national
critical infrastructure.

George is pursuing his doctoral studies in Cybersecurity, earning a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at National University, with an anticipated graduation date of August 2028. George is a doctoral student at National University, currently listed on the Dean’s list, and in the Honor Society. George holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and a BBA in Banking and Finance from the University of Houston. His security certifications include CISSP, CISM, CISA, CDPSE, Azure Fundamentals, ITIL, PMP, and ISO 27001 Lead Implementer.

Nick Miller is a former CIO and current leading voice on emerging technologies, cloud software marketplaces, and how to leverage technology to drive digital transformation. He is also an avid coffee drinker. Today, Nick leads the AWS Marketplace business for US Federal Government, Healthcare, and Non-Profits customers. Prior to AWS, Nick spent six years at In-Q-Tel, Inc., a strategic venture investment firm supporting national security. Nick joined In-Q-Tel after 10 years of service in the US Army. There, Nick served as an Army Signal officer deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan where he led Soldiers providing communications in the harshest environment. In 2010, Nick led Arlington National Cemetery’s digital transformation as its first CIO moving the organization from typewriters and 3×5 index cards to a digital customer experience in 2 years. He led the launch of ANC Explorer, the DoD’s first iOS mobile app in the iTunes store. Nick frequently speaks at top vendor industry events including, AWS, Snowflake, Neo4j, and many more. Outside of work, Nick serves as a member of the Advisory Committee on Arlington National Cemetery and the Software in Defense Coalition. Nick holds masters degrees in finance and electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and Lehigh University.

Gabriela is a connector, facilitator, and accelerator, helping customers invent new products and services to win and delight their customers. She has been an Amazonian since 2019, a certified Effective Facilitator, certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, and an AWS Cloud Practitioner. Gabriela’s super powers are leveraging thought leadership and expertise to guide teams on their innovation journey and generating new ideas to break complicated barriers using the same techniques Amazon uses to bring products and visions to life.

Isaac Owusu-Hemeng is a Senior Customer Solutions Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) with over 15 years of experience leading digital transformation, cloud innovation, and security initiatives for enterprise organizations. At AWS and prior roles, including Global Hosting Infrastructure Leader at Matthews International and Director of Consulting at CGI. Isaac has guided companies through complex technology transitions while maintaining strong security frameworks.

He holds an MBA in Operations Management (Baruch College), dual degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics (Concordia University Texas), and advanced certifications in cloud, security, and project management, including AWS Security Specialty, Solutions Architect Professional, PMP, and Prosci® Change Practitioner.

Known for his strategic approach to technology solutions, Isaac excels at building high-performing IT infrastructure that drives organizational growth while maintaining security and operational excellence. His expertise in cloud security, digital transformation, and strategic planning makes him a valuable voice in today’s technology landscape.

Mark Wiener is a nationally recognized keynote speaker and CEO of BizCom Global, with over 30 years of experience helping organizations navigate cyber, compliance, and operational risk. He specializes in turning complex technical threats into clear business decisions that reduce liability and build resilience. He connects IT planning directly to business goals. His practical, risk-informed approach empowers leaders—across legal, financial, healthcare, and professional services—to take control of their technology and grow with confidence. Mark has published a book When Plan B Fails.