Devo / Chief Information Security Officer
JC is the Chief Information Security Officer at Devo and former Executive Security Advisor at IBM Security. He is a proven executive, strategic leader and visionary with over three decades of security leadership roles with two decades of cybersecurity experience. He served 29 years in the US Department of Defense (Army) in multiple leadership, advisory and mentorship roles that includes CIO, Board Member, Advisor, CISO, Chief of Staff, Director of Cyber Operations and Public-Private Partnerships, and cyber instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. JC has led operations in high stress environments characterized by demanding standards and intense operational schedules. He possesses extensive experience in building strategic cyber programs at the Army/National level and leading professional Operations, Research and Technology teams in preparation for combat and support missions in the most hostile environments.
JC is cofounder of the Army Cyber Institute (ACI), the US Army’s cybersecurity career field (Cyber branch), Co-Founder and Chairman of the Joint Service Academy Cybersecurity Summit (JSAC) and CyCon US. The ACI is US national asset and cybersecurity think tank that is focused on preventing “Cyber Strategic Surprise” that would negatively impact the United States, allies, and its critical infrastructure. In the creation of the Cyber branch, JC addressed the challenges of culture, talent management, education and training, and operational roles and relevance of the positions. He is the first conference chairman of CyCon US, a joint endeavor with NATO’s Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence that focuses on nation state cyber interests. As the JSAC co-founder and chairman (2015 and 2016), he organized an elite group of national leaders from government, private industry, and academia that focus on the future challenges of the cybersecurity discipline and domain.
JC has a passion and practice for mentoring and coaching members of underrepresented communities that date back more than a decade before joining International Consortium of Minority Cybersecurity Professionals in July of 2021. He has mentored or coached hundreds of youth, students, and seniors who were interested in cybersecurity careers. He is especially adept at doing outreach to those members of the community that are underserved by building bridges and creating gateway opportunities that are welcoming and viable opportunities.