SecureWorld Atlanta 2026

Ahanu is a cyber risk analyst with Cyber Risk Opportunities who brings years of hands-on information security experience to the enterprise AI challenge. They lead cyber risk management initiatives for organizations of all sizes, translating complex security concepts into actionable strategies that business leaders can implement.

Since the emergence of generative AI, Ahanu has been at the forefront of enterprise AI security helping organizations safely integrate LLMs into their operations without sacrificing productivity or innovation. Their specialty lies in building secure AI workflows that actually work in practice, bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and real-world business needs.

Ahanu’s approach centers on a core belief: effective security enables innovation rather than blocking it.

Richard E. Steele, Jr., widely known as “Ricky,” is the Chief Development Officer at TekStream Solutions. TekStream provides IT staff augmentation and consulting services and was recently named one of Atlanta’s “Best Places to Work.” Steele has spent 20 years in the staffing industry successfully increasing revenue, elevating the company’s brand awareness, and expanding the customer base to include numerous Fortune 500 clients and start-ups. Steele’s prior work experience includes serving as a Client Partner at Korn Ferry, Director of Emerging Growth Technology Practice at PwC, and President of Cox Innovative Media. Steele is a ten-time entrepreneur and was honored as the “Georgia Small Businessperson of the Year” by the Small Business Administration in 1986.

Steele is a published author of three books, the most recent being "The Heart of Networking" (Third Edition). The principles from his book revolve around networking through “Servant Leadership and living the Golden Rule.” He has received numerous accolades for his authentic and heartfelt style as he has shared his in-depth knowledge in speaking engagements for companies, not-for-profits, faith-based organizations, and universities.

Steele has had a passion for serving the needs of his community and was recently honored by being inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel Board of Sponsors, which recognizes individuals drawn from civic life, business, philanthropy, and organizational leadership who support the Chapel’s mission and the values Dr. King embodied. Steele was also awarded a “Lifetime Achievement” award by the “Aurora Day Camp,” which provides services for children with cancer, and the “Ann Cramer Volunteer of the Year” award from TechBridge for his service to the organization since its inception 25 years ago.

Steele was Co-Founder and the first Chairman for both Atlanta’s Table and Hospitality Helping Hands. He currently serves on The Carter Center Board of Councilors. He has also served on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Atlanta and The Ron Clark Academy. Mr. Steele is an Alumnus of Leadership Atlanta, Leadership Georgia, and Outstanding Atlanta. Steele's latest not-for-profit effort is Technology Cares/Technology Shares where over the past nine years, 1.4 million individual meals have been distributed to hungry Atlanta neighbors through The Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Steele is a native of Atlanta, and has been married to his wife, Beth, for 46 years. He is a proud father of three children and is a committed “Papa” to six cherished grandchildren.

Mikal is a 30-year information security, risk management, and IT professional with a strong background in development, architecture, and management. He has considerable expertise in designing, building, and managing information security and risk management programs in highly-regulated private and public sector organizations.

Michael Marsilio is the Information Security and Compliance Officer for Paradies Lagardère, where he is responsible for information security, risk management, privacy, and compliance. Michael plays a strategic role in protecting Paradies Lagardère computing environment and data, he also helps drive global security initiatives. He has more than 30 years of experience in building and managing security and compliance programs for both public and private companies and has a substantial track record in PCI, PII, PHI, IT General Controls and developing cybersecurity policy for financial, retail, and legal organizations.

He is based at Paradies Lagardère Corporate Headquarters, in Atlanta, GA.

Tamika Bass is an Information Security professional with more than 17 years’ experience in information security, including information security governance and risk management. Tamika is passionate about improving communication and understanding of information security in the industry. Tamika is an active speaker, college professor and enjoys spending her time educating technical staff on the importance of communicating effectively in the Information Technology space. Tamika holds the following certifications: CISA,CRISC, HCISPP, CBCP.

Jeremy Koppen is Chief Information Security Officer of Equifax, charged with continuing the company’s leadership in security, a core component of the Equifax EFX2027 Strategic Priorities.

Prior to joining Equifax, Jeremy served as Managing Director of Mandiant, part of Google Cloud, where he led hundreds of cyber engagements for Fortune 100 and 500 companies with a focus on mitigating emerging threats, scaling security operations through automation and AI, and enhancing cyber resilience. Jeremy has provided strategic counsel to government leaders, corporate boards, and C-Suite executives, and has played a key role in responding to some of the most advanced cybersecurity threats across industries.

Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in Computer Science with a concentration in Digital Forensics from the University of Rhode Island.

Steven is Mandelbaum Barrett’s Chief Cybersecurity/Legal Officer. An ISACA Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer, Steven’s client-facing practice focus is on cybersecurity and privacy, risk assessments and data breach response, AI risk, and regulatory compliance. He regularly publishes on cybersecurity law, privacy, and emerging technology risk, advises organizations on aligning technical security programs with legal and regulatory obligations, and teaches Cybersecurity Law at Nova Southeastern University Law School.

Jennifer Bolling is a Regional Cyber Director for the Executive & Professional Risk Solutions (EPS) Practice within the Midsouth Region and is based out of the Atlanta, GA office. Jennifer specializes in consulting and broking services for Cyber and Professional Liability and her responsibilities include assessment of exposures, coverage and program structure, strategic action planning, market negotiation and program placement. Jennifer’s 21+ years of insurance industry experience enables her to take an enterprise view of risk across all professional risk lines.
 
Before joining USI in 2021, she was with Arthur J Gallagher & Co. for nearly 17 years as a Senior Resource Specialist focusing on Management and Cyber Liability. Jennifer has placed management and professional liability coverages and related lines for a variety of organizations, including large publicly traded, privately held and not-for-profit entities in various industries. Prior to Gallagher, Jennifer’s work included marketing and business development for software companies.

Jennifer earned a BBA degree from Mercer University – Stetson School of Economics, Macon, GA and was also a Tift College Scholar. She earned her Cyber COPE® Insurance Certification℠ (CCIC) which is an eight-month program developed and delivered by Chubb and Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Policy & Information Systems. 

She is a member of Professional Liability Underwriting Society and Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS), and a winner for Risk & Insurance 2021 Power Broker (Cyber category). 

Jennifer grew up in Buford, GA, and currently resides in Birmingham, AL.

Strategic security executive with over two decades of transformational leadership across the world's most demanding technology and enterprise environments. Proven track record driving enterprise-wide security strategies that align with business objectives while managing complex, global teams and regulatory compliance frameworks. Recognized expert in designing and implementing comprehensive security architectures that enable digital transformation while maintaining the highest standards of protection across application security, infrastructure security, cloud security, identity and access management, third-party risk, and enterprise threat detection.

In her current role as SVP, Global Chief Security Officer at Blue Yonder, a leading provider of end-to-end supply chain software and solutions for global enterprises, Dr. Voss sets strategic direction and drives execution across all facets of the organization's security program. Leading a high-performing team of security engineers, architects, and security operations experts, she establishes security policies, procedures, and practices that protect enterprise assets while enabling business velocity and innovation. Her responsibilities encompass application security, infrastructure security, access control and identity management, third-party risk management, threat detection and response, and regulatory compliance for complex global supply chains.

Drawing on her extensive tenure at industry-leading organizations including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corporation, Oracle Public Cloud, Salesforce, and Capital One, Dr. Voss has consistently delivered transformational security programs that reduce risk, enhance operational resilience, and support scalable growth. Her expertise spans foundational security architecture, fraud detection and prevention, identity management, and enterprise cloud security practices.

Lucas brings more than a decade of cybersecurity expertise to the C1 team, specializing in creating outcome-based security roadmaps for complex enterprise environments. With a background spanning systems engineering at Cisco and cloud architecture, he excels at bridging the gap between technical defense and business risk. Lucas is dedicated to helping clients navigate the evolving threat landscape through strategic design, zero-trust frameworks, and a relentless focus on long-term security resilience.

At ManageEngine, leadership in enterprise support for the Americas encapsulates my commitment to advancing Endpoint Management & Security. Our team's dedication to empowering customers with cutting-edge solutions has solidified our role as industry pace-setters. My tenure at Zoho Corporation, spanning roles from Regional Technical Account Manager to Associate Director, has been marked by fostering robust customer relationships and spearheading technical innovation. With skills honed in system administration and mobile device management, I contribute to the seamless integration of ManageEngine products, ensuring exceptional service delivery.

IT and managed security sales specialist with over fifteen years of experience. Proficient at gathering business requirements, analyzing business needs, and presenting technology strategies and solutions that align with business objectives. My main goal is to help the enterprise increase user productivity, decrease risk and control costs.

Specialties: Cybersecurity, EDR, MDR and XDR services, Managed aiSIEM, Penetration Testing & Vulnerability Assessment, Managed IT Services, Virtualization, Data Storage and Protection, Data Center Solutions, Disaster Recovery Expertise and Network Infrastructure Solutions.

Michael Gutsche is a security expert recently promoted to run the Security Advisory Team for North America. In this role, Mr. Gutsche is responsible for running a team of exports that help drive security strategies for our largest customers. Michael joined Splunk with over 25 years of experience building large enterprise security and operations programs. Most recently he was Chief Cyber Security Strategist for HPE. However, he has spent most of his 25+ year career on the practitioner side. Prior to HPE he held leadership positions of Senior Vice President of Core Operations at Mastercard International, and Chief Information Security Officer at Sisters of Mercy Health System and Express Scripts.

Dave leads all aspects of marketing including brand positioning, demand generation, and product marketing. Before Legit, Dave was CMO at ThreatX, an API and app protection platform. Previously, Dave led marketing teams at ZeroNorth, Forcepoint, Raytheon, and RSA Security. In his free time, Dave enjoys live music, CompTrain, yoga, and spending time with his wife and three children.

The boring Bio for Phillip would mention his years of experience in Privacy, Security, Governance, and Audit. It would tell of the business sectors he's worked with, and perhaps even the companies and professional organizations he's been affiliated with for the last 25+ years.

This is not that Bio.

Telling stories and pulling connections together from places unexpected; using Poetry, Literature, and Fairy Tales to make points understood by those not in the tech field; and sometimes writing way too strange abstracts—these are the things that make Phillip happy.

When a group wants him to come up with a talk, his wheels start turning and they don't stop until something is on paper (or on a screen ). The results are usually a journey that leave the listeners somewhere they weren't when the story began.

Phillip prefers people thinking of him more as someone who looks at the world differently but helps to get you where you need to be.

James (Jim) is a veteran in the information security and risk space. He previously served as partner at Ernst & Young, where he helped build the company’s cybersecurity practice during his 27-year tenure. Most recently, Jim worked as CISO and head of US operations at Panaseer. He has also held positions as CTRO at AIG, CSO and CTRO at Kaiser Permanente, and managing director at JP Morgan Chase, where he was global leader of Information Risk and Resiliency, Treasury and Security Services.

Alan brings 25 years of cybersecurity leadership spanning enterprise B2B and B2B2C markets. Before founding StrongestLayer, he held senior roles at Proofpoint, McAfee, Intel Security, and HyTrust, focused on advanced threat protection, insider risk management, and behavioral analytics. At Intel Security he directed global product strategy across EMEA, leading teams in the U.S., Europe, and Israel. He holds a BBA in Finance from the University of St. Michael's College and completed his Executive MBA in Leadership, Strategy, and Design Thinking at Rotman School of Management. Alan joined StrongestLayer as CEO in early 2025 after advising the founding team, recognizing the strategic opportunity: if only AI can defend against weaponized AI, reasoning-based detection becomes essential.

Jason Payne is a Sales Engineer at Torq, where he helps security teams modernize the SOC with AI-driven automation. He brings roughly two decades in cybersecurity, with a career that runs from the analyst's seat to the operations leadership chair. Jason spent nearly a decade leading security operations as a Senior Director, running a 24/7 MDR SOC, before moving into solutions engineering and security architecture. His earliest work was decidedly hands-on, from deploying intrusion detection and cleaning up compromised hosts to building the monitoring systems behind a rapidly scaling platform. That operator's background is the through-line: Jason has triaged the incidents, led the teams that live in the queue, and now focuses on how AI can carry that load without adding risk. He is based in Houston, Texas.

Scott Taylor is a senior technology leader with over 23 years of experience across end-user, partner, and manufacturer environments within the IT industry. He currently serves as Director, Cyber Resilience, Field Solutions Architect at Everpure, where he leads technical strategy and helps drive customer success through innovative security and resilience solutions. For more than a decade, Scott has focused on pre-sales technical leadership, building and guiding high-performing teams that consistently deliver measurable business outcomes.

He is passionate about delivering innovative and efficient solutions while fostering a growth-oriented culture grounded in strategic thinking and strong leadership. Throughout his career, Scott has successfully navigated complex technical landscapes, providing valuable insights to clients, executive leadership, and key stakeholders. Known for cultivating high-performing, collaborative teams across practices and business units, he promotes continuous learning, creativity, and a strong focus on helping clients achieve their business objectives.

Chamon Gayton is a highly motivated and accomplished cybersecurity professional and retired military veteran, bringing over 17 years of proven experience in security operations, governance, risk and compliance (GRC), and information assurance within both federal and private sector environments. Specializing in leading enterprise-wide security initiatives, Chamon has a distinguished record of successfully guiding organizations through complex compliance and security challenges, with deep expertise in federal frameworks including FISMA, FedRAMP, StateRAMP, NIST (800-53, 800-53A, 800-18, 800-60), FIPS 199 & 200, and DoD standards.

Throughout her career, Chamon has demonstrated a consistent ability to build and lead high-performing cybersecurity teams, while developing cross-functional programs from initial planning through implementation — mitigating risk, ensuring compliance, and delivering strong internal and customer-facing outcomes. Her leadership style emphasizes strategic collaboration, continuous improvement, and mission-focused execution.

With a sharp analytical mindset and strong data analysis capabilities, Chamon excels at identifying and addressing security vulnerabilities, synthesizing large datasets to drive decision-making, and enhancing long-term security postures. She has successfully performed and overseen numerous security assessments, audits, and readiness reviews, ensuring adherence to critical state, federal, and industry regulations.

Drawing on her military discipline and leadership acumen, Chamon is known for her ability to mentor emerging security professionals, establish trusted relationships across technical and executive teams, and cultivate a security-first culture. Her hands-on approach and clear communication style make her a valuable contributor to any initiative aimed at elevating security maturity and resilience.

Chamon holds multiple industry certifications and continues to stay at the forefront of evolving cyber threats, emerging regulations, and risk management strategies. Whether advising senior leadership or leading tactical execution, she brings both vision and operational excellence to every engagement.

John Laliberte is the CEO and founder of ClearVector, a leading provider of real-time, identity-driven security for production environments. John has more than 18 years of cybersecurity experience. Prior to ClearVector, John served as SVP/CTO at FireEye/Mandiant, responsible for the global business unit encompassing endpoint security product, email security (cloud) product, cloud and data center operations, data science, and advanced R&D. Prior to joining Mandiant in 2008, John served at the NSA, where he was responsible for research and development. John holds a master's degree in Computer Science and a bachelor's degree in Physics and Astronomy from Boston University.

Joseph supports security and risk (S&R) leaders, helping clients develop security strategies and make informed cybersecurity decisions. As a research director, he leads the analyst team researching security leadership, the role of the CISO, detection and response, and Forrester’s Zero Trust model. His research focuses on insider risk management, security operations, and security management. His over 20 years of security experience includes roles at Solutionary, McAfee, Vigilar, and IBM (ISS), where he focused on managed security and consulting services, email security, network security, and compliance. Joseph holds an MBA from Kennesaw State University and a BA from Auburn University.

Information technology leader and experienced practitioner with exposure in delivery of Cyber Risk Management for a number of regional, national, and global organizations. Former Accountable Officer, proven ability to direct mitigation of risk and implement frameworks/controls that align with organizational goals and comply with regulations in Companies listed on the Stock exchange. Skilled in leading teams, departments, and 24x7 operations to ensure support, leading cyber investigations, safety of company data, and high availability of systems and processes.

Christopher Lariscy, CISSP, GCIH, is a Principal Solutions Architect with MGT Impact Solutions, Technology Solutions Group. He has 21 years in information technology and has been security-focused since 2010, working with K-12, higher education, state and local government, healthcare, and commercial clients. His practice covers security architecture, assessment against NIST and CIS frameworks, incident response, tabletop exercise design and facilitation, AI governance, and virtual CISO advisory. He authored MGT's K-12 guidance on agentic AI and AI-assisted learning, covering both the controls that govern district AI use and the ways attackers use AI against them, and he writes and speaks on AI governance and federal AI policy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Georgia Southern University and is completing a Master of Science in Cybersecurity at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Jacob Prosser is a seasoned cybersecurity professional with more than 14 years of experience in the field. As a Director of Cyber Defense at Cox Communications, he and his team play a critical role in keeping the company and its customers safe from cyber threats. His expertise spans various domains within cybersecurity including application security, identity and access management, security architecture, detection engineering, and incident response.

Jacob graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Management Information Systems, and he holds a CISSP certification.

Steve Hodges is the State Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Georgia, where he leads enterprise cybersecurity strategy, governance, operations, and modernization across a large and complex public-sector environment.

Steve has spent more than 30 years working across technology, operations, and cybersecurity. His career began close to the technology—with programming, databases, networks, infrastructure, and operations—and later evolved through enterprise architecture, business continuity, disaster recovery, governance, risk, and cybersecurity leadership. That experience has shaped how he thinks about security today.

Steve understands what happens when a security decision reaches the operational environment. His work increasingly focuses on the organizational challenges that determine whether an enterprise can act when time matters: trust, decision rights, relationships across organizational boundaries, and the ability to move from information to decision to action.

He speaks and writes about cybersecurity leadership, enterprise resilience, decision velocity, trust, governance, organizational transformation, and emerging technology. His recent work explores Continuous Incident Response and the need to build the trust, authority, and alignment required to act before an incident begins—not try to assemble them after an attacker is already moving.

Steve is a frequent speaker at cybersecurity, technology, and executive leadership events, including SecureWorld, Info-Tech LIVE, AWS Public Sector Innovation Day, StateScoop’s Cybersecurity Modernization Summit, the Georgia Digital Government Summit, and other industry and government forums.