Cyber Job Moves: Defenders Take the Helm as Security Leadership Shifts

Aaron Bishop – U.S. Department of Defense

Aaron Bishop has been named Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity and Chief Information Security Officer at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he provides policy, technical, and program oversight on cybersecurity matters across the department. The role supports enterprise security strategy and the protection of defense information systems. Bishop previously served as CISO for the Department of the Air Force. (source)

Bryce Bailey – State of Nebraska

Bryce Bailey has been confirmed as CISO for the State of Nebraska, moving from the interim role he assumed in January. In this position, he leads cybersecurity strategy and protection of enterprise systems and data across state agencies. Bailey previously served as Nebraska’s deputy state CISO after joining the state’s cybersecurity team in 2025. His background also includes public-sector security work with the CISA and oversight of security operations for the city of Dallas. (source)

Colin Ahern – New York State

Colin Ahern has been named Director of Security and Intelligence for New York State, becoming the first official to hold the newly created role. Ahern previously served as the state’s Chief Cyber Officer, overseeing cybersecurity strategy since 2022. In the new position, he will coordinate statewide cyber defense and security intelligence efforts while aligning agencies to respond to emerging global threats. He brings more than two decades of experience spanning the U.S. Army, private sector cybersecurity roles, and leadership positions with NYC Cyber Command. (source)

Michaela Lee – New York State

Michaela Lee will serve as Acting Chief Cyber Officer for New York State following Colin Ahern’s appointment as Director of Security and Intelligence. Lee previously served as Deputy Chief Cyber Officer for Operations, overseeing statewide cybersecurity operations and coordination with government and private-sector partners. She will lead the state’s cyber office on an interim basis until a permanent chief cyber officer is named. (source)

Rob Lloyd – Center for Digital Government

Rob Lloyd will become Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government, a division of e.Republic focused on research and advisory work for state and local government technology leaders. In the new role, he will guide the organization’s research and advisory initiatives on digital government and public-sector technology strategy. Lloyd currently serves as Chief Technology Officer and Director of the Seattle Information Technology Department and will depart the city role at the end of March. He previously worked as CIO for San Jose and as CIO and Chief Security Officer for the city of Avondale, Arizona. (source)

Tracye Cantrell – City of Seattle

Tracye Cantrell will serve as Interim Chief Technology Officer for the City of Seattle following Rob Lloyd’s departure later this month. Cantrell currently serves as Assistant Chief Technology Officer and also leads the city’s public safety technology portfolio and project management functions. She previously served as Interim Chief Technology Officer in 2018 and has worked closely with Seattle’s technology leadership on modernization and service delivery initiatives. (source)

Jenna O’Steen – Accenture Federal Services

Jenna O’Steen now serves as Public Safety Portfolio Lead at Accenture Federal Services, where she oversees mission-focused technology programs supporting federal public safety agencies. The portfolio includes work with departments such as Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice, State, and the U.S. Courts. O’Steen has led large-scale modernization initiatives using cloud platforms and artificial intelligence. Her work focuses on advancing government systems that support national security and public safety operations. (source)

Carlos Phoenix – Ceresti Health

Carlos Phoenix has taken on the role of CISO at Ceresti Health, where he oversees information security, compliance, and privacy initiatives. Phoenix previously spent more than eight years at VMware as Product CISO, directing product security and compliance for enterprise cloud offerings. He also held senior cybersecurity consulting roles at Coalfire and KPMG, focusing on risk, compliance, and security advisory work. (source)

Colin Gérard – VIGINUM

Colin Gérard has been promoted to head the Threat Analysis unit at VIGINUM, the French government service tasked with detecting foreign digital interference. In this role, he leads analysis of online influence campaigns and emerging information threats. Gérard also serves as an associate researcher at the GEODE center. His work focuses on monitoring coordinated influence activity and evaluating risks to public discourse. (source)

Luciano Ferrari – Stax Payments

Luciano Ferrari has taken on the role of Vice President of Cybersecurity at Stax Payments, where he leads enterprise security strategy for the company’s cloud-based payments platform. The organization operates a PCI Level 1 and SOC 2 certified environment supporting payment processing services. Ferrari previously served as Senior Director of Cybersecurity and Data Protection Officer at Simpplr. Earlier roles include CSO and Product Security Officer at Kaleris and regional information security leadership at Infineon Technologies. (source)

Adnan H. – Wesleyan University

Adnan H. has been named CISO at Wesleyan University, where he oversees the institution’s information security strategy and risk management programs. The university is a private research and liberal arts institution based in Connecticut. He previously served as Associate Vice President and Deputy CISO at the University of Central Florida. He previously worked at George Mason University. (source)

James Dyer – KnowBe4

James Dyer has been named Head of Threat Intelligence at KnowBe4, where he leads efforts to analyze cybercriminal activity and emerging attack techniques. The company provides security awareness training and phishing defense platforms to organizations worldwide. He most recently served as Threat Intelligence Lead within the organization, overseeing research into phishing campaigns and adversary tactics. Before that, he worked as a cyber intelligence analyst at Egress Software Technologies. (source)

Anjan Bagchee – Rightworks

Anjan Bagchee has been named CISO at Rightworks, where he leads cybersecurity strategy and protection of the company’s cloud platform serving accounting and finance professionals. The firm provides managed cloud, security, and IT services to more than 70,000 businesses and accounting organizations. Bagchee previously served as CISO at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and held senior security leadership positions at SS&C Intralinks, BNY Mellon, and EnerNOC. (source)

Gayle Nixon – Rightworks

Gayle Nixon now serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Rightworks, where she leads global marketing strategy and brand development. Nixon previously held the Chief Marketing Officer role at COMPLY, directing go-to-market strategy and expansion into new financial technology markets. Her background also includes marketing leadership positions at Litera Microsystems, SS&C Intralinks, Rocket Software, and Harte Hanks Trillium Software. (source)

Dhaval Damania – CISO Global

Dhaval Damania has been named Executive Vice President of Cybersecurity and IT at CISO Global, where he oversees cybersecurity operations and enterprise technology strategy for the company’s AI-driven security platform. The firm develops cybersecurity software, managed security services, and compliance solutions for organizations. Damania previously served as Assistant Vice President of Information Technology at CyraCom International and held leadership positions at Iridium and IO Data Centers. (source)

Phil Venables – ArmorCode

Phil Venables has joined ArmorCode’s board of directors, bringing decades of cybersecurity leadership experience to the company. Venables previously served as CISO at Goldman Sachs and Google Cloud and is currently a venture partner at Ballistic Ventures. ArmorCode develops exposure management technology designed to help organizations identify and remediate security risks across applications, infrastructure, cloud environments, and AI systems. (source)

Sonalee Parekh – SentinelOne

Sonalee Parekh has been appointed Chief Financial Officer at SentinelOne, with her tenure beginning March 24. She will oversee the company’s global finance organization, including accounting, tax, treasury, and investor relations. Parekh previously served as CFO at Asana and earlier held the same role at RingCentral. SentinelOne develops AI-driven cybersecurity technology through its Singularity platform for endpoint, cloud, and identity protection. (source)

Chris Butera – CISA

Chris Butera will serve as acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the CISA. In the role, he will oversee the agency’s efforts to address major cyber threats and strengthen the resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure. Butera previously served as senior technical director for CISA’s cybersecurity division and has held leadership roles, including associate director of threat hunting and deputy director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center. (source)

Gwenyth Castro – Binarly

Gwenyth Castro has been appointed CEO of Binarly, a U.S.-based software and firmware supply-chain security company. She previously served as chief of staff to the CEO at Bishop Fox, where she led strategic initiatives and supported the firm’s global expansion. The company develops supply-chain security technology designed to help organizations detect vulnerabilities and risks across firmware and software. (source)

Roland Palmer – JumpCloud

Roland Palmer has been appointed CISO and vice president of security at JumpCloud. He will lead the company’s global security strategy and oversee efforts to protect its platform, employees, and customers. Palmer previously served as vice president of security and compliance at Sumo Logic. JumpCloud develops identity, device, and access management technology designed to help organizations secure users and systems across modern IT environments. (source)

Peter Liebert – Clari + Salesloft

Peter Liebert has been appointed CISO at the newly combined Clari + Salesloft organization. He will lead the company’s unified security strategy, integrating governance, operations, and risk management across the merged platform. Liebert previously worked as vice president of cybersecurity at Vista Equity Partners and was the CISO for the State of California. The company develops AI-driven revenue software used by thousands of enterprises to manage forecasting, pipeline development, and sales operations. (source)

Shawn Smith – Nashville Metro Government

Shawn Smith has been named Chief Information Officer for the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County. He will oversee technology operations supporting more than 50 city agencies and lead the Information Technology Services department. Smith joins from the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he served as IT director, and previously held the role of CIO for Kenosha County, Wisconsin. Nashville Metro manages technology infrastructure and digital services for the consolidated city-county government. (source)

Dharmesh Rathod – Alterego Technology

Dharmesh Rathod has joined Alterego Technology as Group CISO and Member of the Board of Directors. Rathod previously served as CISO at Tata Electronics and earlier held Group CISO roles at Adani Group, Essar Group, and Welspun Group. With nearly three decades of experience in enterprise IT and cybersecurity leadership, he has led security programs across sectors including semiconductor manufacturing, energy, logistics, ports, mining, and financial services. In the new role, he will oversee cybersecurity governance and enterprise resilience. (source)

Alex Au Yeung – Trellix

Alex Au Yeung has joined Trellix as Chief Product Officer. Au Yeung previously served as Chief Product Officer at Axiad and earlier led global product strategy for Symantec’s enterprise security portfolio. With more than two decades of product and technology leadership experience, he will oversee Trellix’s product innovation and strategy as the company advances its AI-powered cybersecurity platform and threat detection capabilities. (source)

Zach Nelson – Trellix

Zach Nelson has joined Trellix as Chief Human Resources Officer. Nelson previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer at CAI Software, where he led global HR strategy during a period of organizational growth. With more than two decades of human resources leadership experience across technology companies, he will oversee Trellix’s global talent strategy, workforce development, and organizational culture as the company continues expanding its AI-powered cybersecurity platform and operations. (source)

Michael Herman – Check Point Software

Michael Herman has joined Check Point Software as Head of Channels and Alliances for Europe. Herman brings more than three decades of experience in the technology sector and most recently served as Vice President of Partner Sales and Ecosystems for EMEA and LATAM at Netskope. Earlier in his career, he worked at Palo Alto Networks, IBM Global Technology Services, Cisco, Olivetti, and Siemens. In the new role, he will lead Check Point’s European channel and alliance strategy. (source)

Lewie Dunsworth – DeepSeas

Lewie Dunsworth has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of DeepSeas. Dunsworth previously served as CEO of managed security provider Nuspire and brings more than 25 years of cybersecurity and services leadership experience. At DeepSeas, he will lead the company’s growth strategy and innovation efforts as it expands its integrated cybersecurity offerings, including its DeepSeas Complete platform combining vCISO services, managed detection and response, and continuous security validation. (source)

Doron Bachar – Conifers

Doron Bachar has joined Conifers as Vice President of Research & Development. Bachar brings more than two decades of experience leading complex technology programs and software development teams. He previously held senior technology leadership roles within Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, where he worked on strategic initiatives integrating large language model–based AI tools. At Conifers, he will oversee engineering and development as the company expands its AI-powered SOC platform for enterprise security operations. (source)

Elad Hoffer – Conifers

Elad Hoffer has joined Conifers as Vice President of Product. Hoffer previously served as Head of Core Product at Salt Security and earlier held product leadership roles at Otonomo and NICE Systems. With nearly two decades of experience developing products at the intersection of cybersecurity, data, and artificial intelligence, he will lead product strategy and development for Conifers’ CognitiveSOC platform. (source)

Rupal Hollenbeck – LayerX Security

Rupal Hollenbeck has been appointed Chair of the Board of Directors at LayerX Security. Hollenbeck previously served as President of Check Point Software Technologies and earlier held senior leadership roles at Cerebras Systems, Oracle, and Intel. With more than three decades of experience in enterprise technology and cybersecurity leadership, she joins the board as LayerX expands its platform focused on securing user and AI interactions across enterprise environments. (source)

Mark Priebe – GetReal Security

Mark Priebe has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer at GetReal Security. Priebe brings extensive experience scaling cybersecurity companies and previously spent nearly a decade at digital risk protection firm ZeroFox, helping grow the organization into a global enterprise provider. In the new role, he will lead GetReal Security’s global commercial strategy, revenue growth, enterprise sales, strategic partnerships, and customer success as the company expands its platform designed to detect deepfakes and AI-driven identity threats. (source)

Anthony Chadd – Zimbra

Anthony Chadd has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer at Zimbra, where he will oversee global revenue operations including sales, partnerships, marketing, and customer success as the company expands its secure email and collaboration platform business. Chadd previously served as CRO at Vercara and held senior leadership roles at Neustar. (source)