2025 Texas Technology Summit Agenda

Michael is a skilled CISO with the ability to build a cybersecurity program from the ground up. His passion is taking something and optimizing it to extract every bit of performance possible. He has authored or co-authored nearly 20 books on cybersecurity, has testified before Congress on best practices for protecting personal information and has assited in getting multiple laws passed in North Dakota. With an ability to explain complex technical issues in a simple manner, Michael is an industry leader on IT security, data privaty and asset protection.

Synopsis

In an environment of tightening budgets along with increased compliance and oversight, it can be challenging to build a successful IT & cybersecurity program. In this presentation, Michael will review the six key steps for success. He will also provide actionable items you can use to strengthen your IT & cybersecurity programs including: what should be in your board presentation to get approval for your program, methods to gain alignment for unity of effort and key SOC metrics.

Andrew Moore has a history of building great operational systems. With over 20 years of cybersecurity and IT industry experience, he has been instrumental in building several businesses into multimillion-dollar companies. Andrew earned his degree in business management after working in IT consulting for many years. He later joined IronEdge as Chief Operating Officer in 2009 where he focuses on providing operational frameworks that create a scalable and repeatable baseline for company growth. Above all else, he is passionate about creating a service-centric culture that focuses on great experiences and putting people first.

Synopsis

In the ever-evolving landscape of modern business, organizations are constantly seeking innovative ways to drive efficiency, productivity, and competitive advantage. Harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key strategy for achieving these goals. At our presentation, we will delve into the transformative capabilities of Microsoft Co-pilot, an advanced AI tool, and how it can revolutionize work processes across diverse industries.

As a Co-Founder, VP of Revenue and Bondsmith at C1st, I help organizations discover and implement IT solutions that enable them to move forward. Since 2018, I have transformed from a fired corporate America washout to a surprise entrepreneur, co-founding two successful IT companies that offer a range of services, such as securing and managing networks, passing compliance audits, lowering cyber security insurance costs, and increasing employee collaboration and automation. Our technology solution engineers are skilled in Microsoft, Networking, Security, Cloud, Backup/DR, and Employee Support.

Synopsis

Join Kent Fagan, Co-Founder of C1st Technology, as he leads a discussion with Adam Mansour, Chief Security Officer at ActZero, an AI-powered Managed Detection and Response Company. We will cover the top AI-powered threats and defenses in cybersecurity. During the session we’ll cover questions such:

1. How to build an autonomous SOC
2. What roles does Machine Learning or Large Language Models play in Cyber attacks and defense
3. What types of Cyberattacks are we seeing leveraging Dark AI?
4. What type of timeline are we seeing for these changes?

Jason brings over 25 years of experience in information systems and technology, largely in healthcare. He’s held a variety of roles and responsibilities in disciplines ranging from sales to consulting to project management. Jason’s true passion is engaging with clients, both current and prospective, as well as partners and industry personas in fact-based dialogues to the betterment of the IT community. In addition, delivering premium customer experiences and technology solutions through thought leadership, passion, and expertise. Jason has been with Rubrik for 7 years and is based in Nashville, TN.

Synopsis

As organizations face the growing threat of ransomware and data exfiltration, many are reevaluating their preparedness for a large-scale data loss event. The problem is that legacy backup systems, which were designed to protect against hardware failure or natural disasters, are now being targeted by cybercriminals as their first point of attack. In this session, we will discuss why traditional backup systems and cyber recovery solutions are fundamentally different capabilities. We will also explore the steps that organizations can take to prepare for and recover from a cyber-attack, including implementing a modern cyber recovery tool like Rubrik.

Andy Perkins is a Sr. Systems Engineer with Veeam Software for nearly 4 years and has an IT background in desktop, datacenter & server operations within higher education, fortune 500 Retail and Oil & Gas industries.

Synopsis

Join VEEAM as we discuss and demo our latest cyber resilient capabilities like early threat detection, proactive threat hunting, malware-free restore, I/O Anomaly Visualizer, enhanced security & compliance analyzer and more!

Marcus is a well-rounded IT Executive with over 25 years of experience in the field of Senior Executive Leadership, IT Infrastructure, Operations, Project Management, Strategic Planning, and Data Analytics. A driven and accomplished executive with a proven track record in managing complex projects and systems operations at an enterprise level with an empowering and results driven approach. Insightful visionary who motivates teams to deliver quality solutions and support, while collaborating with executive teams and key stakeholders to formulate strategic plans, execution roadmaps, and expected outcomes.

Synopsis

This roundtable is for attendees for executives with VIP badges only. This session is intended for audience participation so be ready to discuss, receive valuable information, and connect with others for further discussion.

Blair has 30+ years of cybersecurity sales, marketing and business development experience starting as Symantec’s 1st Canadian employee. Blair expanded his cybersecurity and cryptographic expertise with several start-ups including Chrysalis-ITS (Thales), Titus, InfoSec Global, Crypto4A and since September 2019, was recruited back to Thales’ Global Technology Alliances team, inclusive of the Quantum Cryptography portfolio. He is an avid presenter, start-up consultant and IT industry contributor. Blair holds an Hons.BA from the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada.

Synopsis

This session will outline the tactical steps for establishing and building or accessing a Post-Quantum Crypto (PQC) test environment. With the increasing volume of ecosystem options available and emerging, now is the time to identify and test against your priority enterprise applications and use cases. This session will identify and highlight some of the key challenges addressing PKI, Code Signing, IoT, and TLS use cases. To summarize, best practices and strategies being implemented in the real-world will be shared to provide attendees with concrete examples for leveraging a PQC test environment.

For over 40 years David has always been on the forefront of innovative technology. His deep experience encompasses Software Development, IT Consulting, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Software-defined networking, Business Continuity Planning, VoIP, and Sales Leadership.
His passion in the industry has allowed him to witness and experience the digital transformation of technology and delivery of services in this emerging market.

Synopsis

The principles laid out by Sun Tzu in his Art of War have transcended time and directly apply to the realm of cybersecurity. Join us with your fellow IT professionals as we explore Sun Tzu's teachings and their impact on today's digital battleground. In an era where digital threats loom large, cybersecurity compliance has emerged as a modern-day battlefield for organizations. As we delve into our discussion, we’ll explore how companies grapple with the ever-evolving landscape of cyber risks.
Prepare to be inspired and enlightened by the wisdom of a military strategist and its contemporary applications in the ever-evolving cyber landscape.

Jim has been working in cybersecurity for over two decades. Beginning at Blue Coat as a support engineer, Jim began his career in support helping customers ensure their users were protected from malicious sites on the internet. He has worked at top cyber companies like F5 and Forescout. As a Director of pre-sales engineers at Arctic Wolf, Jim educates organizations on new approaches and techniques to mitigate cyber risk. He is passionate about transforming security departments into value centers for their organizations.

Synopsis

In order to minimize our cyber risk, we need to learn from our past. What are the key security takeaways from last year? How did the threat actors breach environments? What were the top TTPs the bad guys used? We can’t just look at last year though. What are the big predictions we see for 2024? Once we understand lessons from last year, and think about what’s coming this year, we need to figure out what actions to take. What are the projects and cybersecurity topics we need to be thinking about for this year to minimize our cyber risk? We’ll discuss this and more in this session.

Aaron Murphy is the Field CTO for the Americas. Aaron has more than 25 years of experience with Enterprise data management including backup, security, availability, DR and governance.
Originally from the UK and now living in New Jersey he has extensive experience in the EMEA and Americas markets including global organizations concerned with data management best practices and regulatory requirements such as those in Finance, Pharmaceutical, Healthcare and Government.
Aaron believes passionately in data science and has championed applications that use data, machine learning and dashboards for competitive advantage. He also believes strongly in the power of automation and API's and loves to talk about integrating Veeam with automation, security, reporting and compliance systems.

Synopsis

Today there are many challenges faced by IT leaders when looking to better prepare, defend, mitigate impact and recover from cyber attacks. This presentation will look at unbiased primary research and trends in the industry and identify challenges that we all face and reveal what organizations are looking for and why in order to develop a better cyber security posture, close gaps, inefficiencies and potential problems.

Marcus is a well-rounded IT Executive with over 25 years of experience in the field of Senior Executive Leadership, IT Infrastructure, Operations, Project Management, Strategic Planning, and Data Analytics. A driven and accomplished executive with a proven track record in managing complex projects and systems operations at an enterprise level with an empowering and results driven approach. Insightful visionary who motivates teams to deliver quality solutions and support, while collaborating with executive teams and key stakeholders to formulate strategic plans, execution roadmaps, and expected outcomes.

Mark's Bio

Results-orientated Information Technology Executive offering over 20 years demonstrated success, with a proven track record of managing operations, conceptualizing and directing the development of business-driven technology solutions. Expertise in formulating and delivering strategies for technology acquisition, integration, migration and designing, optimizing and running world-class operations. Proven ability to strategically and cost effectively utilize technology in alignment with corporate goals. Recognized for consistently improving delivery times and service levels, whilst reducing costs. Excels at strategic planning, building high performance teams, project management and implementing best practice methodologies and continuous improvement programs.

Carlos Bio

In his role as Director, Data Security at consumer fintech leader Oportun (NASDAQ: OPRT) Carlos is directly responsible for ensuring the responsible and secure adoption of Generative AI throughout the company. Carlos will be able to share his first hand experience on what it takes to set up a Generative AI program that achieves productivity goals while also proactively managing the real risks to the organization.

Charles Bio

Charles is a product manager who loves developing new software products. He loves working with designers, developers, and data scientists to build SaaS web applications. He is great at facilitating product discovery workshops, user forums, and product roadmap workshops. The fuzzy front end of the product discovery process is his favorite part.

Synopsis

This panel will cover an array of differenct topics, come and listen!

Vidya Shankaran is the Field CTO for Cloud, Security and Emerging Technology solutions at Commvault. A seasoned technologist, she delivers customer value, through pragmatic outcome-based results. Vidya has close to 2 decades of global experience; This has helped her understand and gain unique perspective on the real-world challenges of IT customers supporting businesses from data management and business continuity point of view.
In her current role, Vidya evangelizes Cloud, data security, AI and emerging technologies with customers and partners and ensures a seamless integration of Commvault’s solutions in customers’ data architecture. She was adjudged finalist in the “CIO/CTO of the year 2023” Global Awards by “Women Tech Network” for her contributions to Commvault and industry at large.

Synopsis

A Complete cyber-resilient architecture starts before the attack and never ends—and that recovery will be a challenge especially if cleanroom recovery is not included in the architecture. Isolated recovery environments are a key component of a holistic and effective cyber resilience plan.

Rob Allen, Chief Product Officer of ThreatLocker, is an IT Professional with two decades of experience assisting small and medium enterprises embrace and utilise technology. He has spent the majority of this time working for an Irish-based MSP, which has given him invaluable insights into the challenges faced by businesses today. Rob’s background is technical - first as a system administrator, then as a technician and an engineer. His broad technical knowledge, as well as an innate understanding of customers' needs, made him a trusted advisor for hundreds of businesses across a wide variety of industries. Rob has been at the coalface, assisting clients in remediating the effects of, and helping them recover from cyber and ransomware attacks.

Synopsis

In a world where anyone can create successful malware or have AI generate it for them, it's important to know how malware can be successful so you can better defend. Starting from a default-deny posture, learn how adopting Zero Trust principles can keep your data safe and operations running regardless of hacking attempts by man or machine.

Bruce Johnson has worked in the IT industry for over 30 years with IBM, Cisco Systems and now Cradlepoint. He is a security CISSP and has been working in security for over 20 years.

He loves speaking about relevant cybersecurity solutions and how they can address business issues. He has delivered presentations at security events around the world. In his current role, he focuses on 5G networking and security solutions for Cradlepoint.

Bruce has a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Statistics from Brigham Young University. He lives in the foothills of northern Utah and enjoys skiing, mountain biking, and woodworking.

Synopsis

Just as WD-40 has proven its versatility by finding numerous uses beyond its initial purpose, browser isolation technology is now demonstrating its own adaptability in the security realm. Originally a tool for web security, isolation has expanded its reach into other critical areas such as securing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and unmanaged devices, safeguarding data shared via collaboration platforms like Zoom and Teams, and even addressing longstanding phishing challenges. Join us in this session to explore the diverse use cases of isolation technology and discover how it can help fortify your organization's defenses against an ever-evolving threat landscape. A true zero trust solution.

Wes Spencer, a renowned technology innovator and co-founder of multiple cybersecurity companies, including Perch Security (acquired in 2020), boasts a stellar reputation in the industry. He's been honored with prestigious awards like the 2020 Cybersecurity Educator of the Year by the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. Wes has been featured in top-tier publications like The Wall Street Journal, Pro Publica, and Dark Reading.

Currently, Wes holds key positions at FifthWall Solutions as Vice President and Channel Chief, specializing in cybersecurity insurance, and also serves as Vice President of Cybersecurity Strategy at CyberFOX, showcasing his significant impact and leadership in the cybersecurity sector.

Synopsis

As cybersecurity evolves, protecting organizations from threats gets tougher. Verizon states 90% of Windows breaches arise from user privileges. Reduce risk by removing Admin rights despite potential frustration. Join CyberFOX to learn how to balance security and user ease, safeguarding your organization.

Michael Soule specializes in product development and innovation for public cloud technologies at Sentinel Technologies, a nationwide managed services provider. He has extensive experience in consulting on identity, governance, and administration for a wide range of customers.

Synopsis

Ensuring a secure identity is crucial in today's cybersecurity practices, but unfortunately, traditional identity practices are outdated and not entirely secure. In this upcoming exploration, we will delve into the challenges that many encounter when attempting to adopt more modern and secure identity practices. Prepare yourself for a wealth of informative insights as well as practical and actionable guidance that can help you improve your security practices.

In addition to being a Data Protection & Privacy Architech with Capgemini, Harvey is also the Director of ISACA Houston. He is very involved in the IS community in Houston and enjoys bringing people together to share knowledge and experience on a variety of topics relating to IT & IS.

David Sledge's Bio

David is an engaging information technology and cyber security leader with more than 15 years of leadership experience in the information technology field. He is enthusiastic about building diverse, collaborative teams while leading by example, genuinely understands the importance of inspiring change through influence, the propensity to connect with people and building relationships through learning from & listening to others. He is driven in the pursuit to growth professionally and personally while working to reach new people to expand the cyber security community.

Clif Triplett's Bio

Clif is a senior executive with broad and in-depth experience and knowledge of nearly all facets of information technology on a global basis. He has significant experience with Fortune 200 companies and industry leaders in the oilfield services, tractor, automotive, aerospace, defense and telecommunication industries. Respected leader, innovator, and change agent with keen ability to quickly assess a situation and create a strategy and architecture that best serves the need of the particular company. Has developed and driven market and internal strategic initiatives for major enterprises, start-ups, turnarounds, divestitures, mergers and acquisitions. Leader acknowledged for integrity, strategic thinking, architectural strength, operational excellence, manufacturing expertise, information security and global business acumen.

Chris Nicolaou's Bio

Chris is a solutions-oriented technology leader with an entrepreneurial spirit. With 20+ years of experience in strategic roles, often at the intersection of IT and new business development, he has expertise in cybersecurity, enterprise architecture (cloud and on-premise), ITIL v3, Lean IT, and Agile as well as business modeling, risk assessment and client engagement. He is also passionate about team development.

Synopsis

This panel will cover an array of differenct topics, come and listen!

Scott Shafer – Technical Evangelist for Varonis supports a wide range of security and technology initiatives by helping Varonis’ customers and partners get the most out of the company’s products. In his 20+ year career Scott has served as an IT engineer, Operations Manager, and various leadership roles within Governance Risk and Compliance for FinTech software companies serving the financial services, treasury management and payments market space.
Scott is an Information security professional with recent focus on security risk and compliance management including identification of risk impact with cost aware mitigation strategies related to regulatory and cybersecurity requirements. He holds a CISSP certification and leverages his background to fuel his passion for enabling organizations to pragmatically manage risk around their most valuable asset, company data.
Scott holds a bachelor’s degree in IT, Computer Science and Network Security from DePaul University in Chicago.

Synopsis

In this presentation we will provide insights around the inherent risks related to using Generative AI, self-trained LLMs and AI workloads within the Healthcare enterprise. With data at the heart of any AI usage, we will cover efficient methodologies for identifying and mitigating your own risk to safely enable AI, making your workforce more productive and driving toward the innovation AI promises. Specifically the topic will engage the audience to consider how understanding the data set, its sensitivity, the access to it from internal employees to third parties, and how data will be used and created. Protecting data wherever it goes and ensuring compliance through the AI journey.

Learning Objectives: In this presentation the audience will learn about the inherent risks surrounding AI and therefore data within the healthcare enterprise. Marrying key objectives around cloud security, governance risk and compliance, Risk management and threat detection/prevention through the AI lifecycle.

Mario is currently Security & Technology Executive advisor for a global fortune 228, has over 33 years experience in the Oil & Gas industry, Information Technology, and Cyber Security. Mario was previously the CISO for Schlumberger. He possesses over 33 years of experience at Schlumberger, of which the last 23 years have been spent focusing on IT, Security, Risk. Privacy and Auditing. He was responsible for developing the overall cyber security long term strategy for Schlumberger worldwide and is recognized for his leadership and management in all aspects of Cyber Security throughout the company and within the community. He has served in the advisory board of many major security vendors, such as Watchfire (now IBM), McAfee, Palo Alto Networks and others.
He has been an active member of ISSA for the past 14 years holding multiple board positions. He was the president of the South Texas chapter in 2007, that year the South Texas chapter won the 'Chapter of the Year' award from ISSA International. In 2014 he was named ISSA Fellow. He also teaches CISSP preparation classes, and presents new security technologies. Won the 2012 ISE Central "People Choice Award" and was rank by ExecRank.com as top 25 most influential Security Profesional during 2012. In 2014 he was honored with the CSO40 award

John's Bio

John L. Driggers possesses over 23 years of experience in Oil Field operations, IT, Security, and Risk. Prior to his current role as SLB CISO & VP, CyberSecurity John was the Cyber Security Operations Manager responsible for delivering the Next Generation Security Operations Center. John was one of the founding members of the SLB IT Security group, helping to define the standards and policies as the company grew its reliance on connected IT systems. In this role he helped create one of the first sandbox networks, designed to safely observe and monitor the actions of malicious software. John moved from IT Security research into IT Security Operations, and was responsible for leading the IT Security program integrating one of SLB’s largest global acquisitions. John’s current role of VP, Cyber Security is again part of the overall SLB Digital Transformation. SLB has grown the Cyber Security program to reflect the evolution of the products and services that the company delivers, and the role that Digital plays in the overall strategy. The Cyber Security group in SLB is now responsible for the comprehensive security stance of the company, ranging from the Digital Software and Services offerings, the traditional IT landscape, and the IIoT products deployed to the wellsite. A key part of John’s role includes the expansion and evolution of the next generation intelligence, detection and response capabilities of SLB . John has been a member of SLB ‘s Incident Response Team since 2000, and has a SANS GSEC certification.

Chris' Bio

Chris Wolski is a distinguished information security expert, former Chief Information Security Officer for a Fortune 1000 company, and now provides fractional information security leadership for Applied Security Convergence. He is currently on the board of ISSA South Texas and is dual hatted as the Maritime Cross Sector Chief for the Houston InfraGard and Area Maritime Security Committee (AMSC) Cyber Subcommittee Chair. He is an award-winning transformational information security leader with over two decades of cross-industry cybersecurity expertise. Distinguished track record of architecting comprehensive resilient cybersecurity strategies and building and developing world-class security teams. Fluent in bridging communication gaps, from frontline staff to boardroom dialogues, ensuring robust, organization-wide security alignment.
His rich career started out as an information security analyst in the government and private sector where he eventually promoted his way to lead various information security teams. Most recently he led security at CSAT Solutions and the Port of Houston Authority, where he supervised an expedited threat communication system for 191 Houston Ship Channel Security District organizations resulting in him being awarded a U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Service Citation. His cybersecurity expertise cuts across critical infrastructure, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and government sectors. As a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, he has managed information security operations involving multinational organizations. Chris holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

Barry's Bio

As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Navitus, Barry is responsible for establishing and maintaining a corporate-wide information security management program to ensure that information assets are adequately protected. His role is critical to understanding and meeting the requirements of company stakeholders, preventing disruptions to operations, and ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information.
Barry previously served as Director of Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for a large Hospital System where he directed a team responsible for identifying and mitigating cybersecurity risks across a large regional, multi-site enterprise of 28,000 employees. Before that, he held roles in information systems security as Manager of Audit Services at leading Children’s Hospital.
Barry is a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA). He was recently invited to join the Evanta Governing Body of the Houston CISO Community, an association dedicated to strengthening the CISO Community by bringing a network of C-level executives together to share and learn from each other.
He holds a Master of Professional Accounting, and Information Management from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University, and a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Synopsis

This roundtable is for attendees for executives with VIP badges. This session is intended for audience participation so be ready to discuss, receive valuable information, and connect with others for further discussion.

Steve joined Arcserve as a Solution Consultant in June of 2011. Prior to joining Arcserve, Steve spent five years working as an IT Manager for a Contract Manufacturer in the biotech industry (San Diego, CA) and before that spent seven years as a Sr. Systems Engineer between two local San Diego value-added resellers. His primary focus over the past decade has been educating and enabling customers and partners on the Arcserve portfolio of data protection solutions—including backup/disaster recovery, business continuity and high availability.

Synopsis

When it comes to cyberattacks, catastrophe is just around the corner, and even data security best practices may not be good enough for today’s onslaught of evolving threats. The only way to ensure IT systems and data are safe is to use a multi-layer solution that includes anti-ransomware and other threat prevention technologies and DR for protection against data loss.

Learn how you can prevent cyberattacks and immediately restore business-critical data – no ransom required.

Pat Nurre has been with Absolute for 10 years as a Sales Engineer and is based in Houston, TX. He covers the SLED accounts for the southern states from Mississippi to California.

Synopsis

The secret to the best Cyber Security Hygiene solution. Can you really manage your whole environment if you can’t see the full picture?

Since 1981 James Del Monte has been a leader in the Houston IT Employment space as an executive recruiter specializing in senior level positions and key technology areas like info/sec. Over his career as President of JDA Professional Services he has filled thousands of positions and helped countless professionals advance their careers. James has shared his views on the employment market, compensation trends and interviewing at several trade groups, conferences, publications and has been top rated for his speaking skills and humor.

Synopsis

This presentation is based on interviews with Houston executives from companies ranging from fortune 100 to 250M. It represents their views of key success factors and what they look for when hiring or promoting.

Clif is a senior executive with broad and in-depth experience and knowledge of nearly all facets of information technology on a global basis. He has significant experience with Fortune 200 companies and industry leaders in the oilfield services, tractor, automotive, aerospace, defense and telecommunication industries. Respected leader, innovator, and change agent with keen ability to quickly assess a situation and create a strategy and architecture that best serves the need of the particular company. Has developed and driven market and internal strategic initiatives for major enterprises, start-ups, turnarounds, divestitures, mergers and acquisitions. Leader acknowledged for integrity, strategic thinking, architectural strength, operational excellence, manufacturing expertise, information security and global business acumen.

Synopsis

SIM Members + IT/IS Managers & Above

Business Process Innovation & Digital Transformation Leader | Technology Executive | Former CTO |Director, Senior Manager, Network Engineering | Chair Texas K-12 CTO Council

Linda White's Bio

Enthusiastic, highly motivated, goal-oriented Cyber Security Professional with of varied security and information technology and security experiences. Proven technical and interpersonal skills within a startup environment as well as Fortune 500 enterprises, private, and public sectors. Flourish within a progressive and expanding organization by leveraging the latest technologies and methodologies providing tangible value to both the organization and its clients. Passionate about delivering innovative, secure customer-centric solutions while aligning to corporate initiatives, protecting the enterprise and increasing revenue.

Synopsis

This panel discussion will cover an array of different topics, come & listen. This session will also include audiance Q&A.