Speakers

Stuart McClure, founder of Cylance, the fastest-growing cybersecurity company in history, revolutionized the industry by proving that AI could predict and prevent malware before they executed. In this talk, Stuart explores how to apply that same "prevention-first" mindset to modern organizational strategy and leadership. 

The session will confront the "Permutation Gap"—the inability of human leaders to anticipate the infinite variables of complex crises—and demonstrate how Generative AI and "Auto-Brainstorming" simulations can bridge that gap. By running thousands of strategic permutations in a secure sandbox, leaders can identify and neutralize failure points before they ever occur in reality. 

Chuck joined Proofpoint as Executive Advisor, Public Sector in 2023 and is an Information Scientist who specializes in information security, policy, and strategy. He previously served in various State, Local Government and Higher Education roles with Amazon Web Services. Chuck is the former Commonwealth of Kentucky Chief Information Officer, under Governor Matt Bevin and as a Colonel, Chuck taught strategy and Cyber Operations at the United States Army War College serving in various information technology roles over his 29.5 years of military service, including Chief Information Officer at the United States Military Academy and lead theater Information Technologist for Third Army, Camp Arifijan, Kuwait.

Helvetiella has over twenty years of experience in information and network security. During her tenure, she has played a critical role in the development and enhancement of FIU’s network, rolled out Two-Factor Authentication to over 80,000 users, deployed a new cyber security awareness training program and a vulnerability management program.

In 2014, Helvetiella received the prestigious Cybersecurity Leadership and Innovation Award in the Education Category by the Center for Digital Government, awarded to those in state and local government and education who have driven forward cybersecurity efforts in their communities. Currently, she is on the Organizing Committee for the annual National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education Conference and Expo, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Lauren leads product marketing for Rubrik's industry solutions. With over 15 years of product marketing and industry experience, Lauren focuses on telling the story of Rubrik through a vertical lens to connect to the unique challenges customers face with cyber resilience within their respective industries.

Anthony Seto is a Senior AI Security Architect at Palo Alto Networks and former Field CTO at Dig Security (acquired by Palo Alto Networks). Leveraging deep expertise in DSPM and AISPM, Anthony advises enterprise leaders on securing the critical convergence of data and AI. His 20-year career spans companies such as Snyk, VMware, Salesforce, and Accenture, giving him a holistic understanding of enterprise infrastructure. Anthony is a husband, father of three (including twins), an automotive enthusiast, and a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt.

John Sarantakes is a seasoned sales leader with nearly three decades of experience guiding global technology organizations through complex growth and transformation. As Chief Revenue Officer at BlackFog, he leads the company’s worldwide sales strategy, helping public and private sector clients strengthen their cybersecurity posture in an era defined by data sovereignty, threat intelligence, and digital trust. 

John’s leadership spans senior roles at Dell, Absolute Software, Headspring Systems, and InMotion, where he built and scaled high-performing teams across North America and EMEA. His approach blends commercial acumen with a deep understanding of the evolving threat landscape, making him a compelling voice on topics such as data exfiltration prevention, behavioral threat modeling, and the future of endpoint security. 

John brings a strategic lens to the conversation, sharing insights on how organizations can move beyond reactive defense and adopt proactive, intelligence-driven security frameworks that protect data at its source.

Juan Escobar is a cybersecurity leader specializing in partner strategy and security transformation across the Americas. With leadership roles at Fortinet and Cofense, he has helped organizations adopt modern cybersecurity frameworks that include endpoint protection, threat detection and response, identity security, and managed security services. Juan works closely with partners and customers to bridge the gap between emerging cyber threats and practical security solutions that strengthen organizational resilience.

Curt Aubley is CEO and Co-Founder of Sevii, where he is pioneering Autonomous Defense & Remediation (ADR) powered by Agentic AI Cyber Warriors. Sevii’s platform hunts, investigates, and remediates cyber threats at machine speed—helping organizations outpace adversaries while delivering measurable cyber risk reduction and AI-driven operational ROI. 

Curt brings more than 28 years of cybersecurity and technology leadership across defense, enterprise, and startup environments. He has served as Vice President & Chief Technology Officer at Lockheed Martin, VP & CTO for the Americas at McAfee, VP/CTO within Intel’s Data Center Group, VP of Solutions at CrowdStrike, and Managing Director & GM leading global cyber practices at Deloitte. A former U.S. Army officer with the 10th Mountain Division, Curt blends defense-grade operational experience with deep expertise in AI-driven cyber defense and enterprise security strategy.
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Antonio is the CEO and Co-Founder of Zepo Intelligence, bringing a background in engineering, international relations, and an MBA from Wharton. He previously held leadership and consulting roles at Grupo ACS, Ferrovial, Allianz, and McKinsey & Company. As a serial entrepreneur, he has been recognized by Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania for his work in innovation and technology.

Kurtis Minder is the founder of GroupSense, a leading provider of digital risk solutions. He built a robust cyber reconnaissance operation that protects some of the world’s largest enterprises and government organizations. Having exited GroupSense in 2025, he now consults for cybersecurity technology companies and serves as a cyber board advisor.

Kurtis is a recognized expert in ransomware response, having served as the lead negotiator in some of the largest ransomware, breach, and data extortion cases globally. His experiences and insights are captured in his book, Cyber Recon, which explores the high-stakes world of cyber threat actor engagement and ransomware response.

Collin Chapleau is the Senior Director of Security & AI Strategy and Field CISO at Darktrace, where he helps the world’s largest and most complex organizations harness AI-driven cybersecurity to defend against an evolving threat landscape. With a foundation in computer engineering, advanced mathematics, and cybersecurity, Collin specializes in translating AI research into real-world security strategies for customers and key partners.

Since joining Darktrace in 2018, he has architected AI-powered security deployments across complex global enterprises and led technical solution teams across North and South America. Collin has engineered integrations and novel solutions across customers’ full security stacks to enhance AI modeling and improve cyber resilience. He has implemented agentic security solutions that actively detect, investigate, and stop threats in real time.

Jason Trunk serves as Vice President and Field CTO at Island bringing over 25 years experience with emerging end-user compute technologies, application performance, server side code optimization, network decryption, and virtualization. Jason has held prior leadership roles at Amazon Web Services, BigPanda, JPMorganChase, AppDynamics, Mercury Interactive and Quest Software. Jason resides in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, is a father of two, loves squash, sailing, island-hopping, and riding his OneWheel electric skateboard around the world.

Chipper is a husband and father of 8 children living in Jefferson, GA, with 11 years of cybersecurity experience helping companies acquire software solutions ranging from PAM, MFA, SIEM, and RBVM.

Melissa Bischoping is Head of Threat Research & Intelligence at Tanium. An author, presenter, and cybersecurity subject matter expert, she provides practical guidance on attacker behavior, emerging threats, and defensive strategies to help organizations strengthen their security posture.

Lawrence Paul Embil is a cybersecurity and AI executive with 25 years of leadership across Fortune 200, government, and academia. He directs security architecture, risk, and incident response for Miami-Dade County, applying AI orchestration and process engineering to eliminate tens-of-thousands of hours of manual work at enterprise scale. In 2017 he founded Strato.AI, where he advises startups, venture capital, and private equity firms.

With a background in incident response, forensics, and threat hunting, Derek brings over a decade of hands-on cybersecurity expertise to the stage. From responding to some of the most high-profile cases in U.S.From his history of teaching at BlackHat, he’s mastered the art of translating complex technical insights into actionable strategies for every audience.

Marvin Wheeler is Executive Director of the Open Data Center Alliance and a seasoned technology leader with over 25 years of experience in enterprise IT, data center operations, and strategic development. He previously served as COO and Chief Strategy Officer at Terremark, where he led corporate initiatives and built strategic partnerships to support innovative IT solutions for enterprise and government clients.

Before Terremark, Marvin spent 24 years at BellSouth managing data center and network operations, including large-scale 24/7 operations centers across the Southeastern United States. His expertise spans provisioning, maintenance, change management, and network reliability.

He has been recognized as Technology Leader of the Year by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and received the Public School Alumni Achievement Award from the Dade County Educational Fund. Marvin holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida.

Ignacio is the Founder and Managing Partner of ALGO Law Firm, where he provides strategic, discreet counsel focused on crisis management, white-collar investigations, complex litigation, and corporate governance. He built ALGO on the belief that effective legal representation is rooted in relationships, insight, and long-term strategy.

Before founding the firm, Ignacio served 25 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department, retiring as Major of the Special Victims Unit. He led major investigative divisions, managed large teams, and conducted international training for senior law enforcement officials. While serving, he earned his law degree from Nova Southeastern University.

With over 19 years of legal experience, Ignacio combines deep investigative knowledge with legal expertise, allowing him to navigate complex matters and government interactions with a unique perspective.

He serves as pro bono counsel for the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety and is admitted to practice in Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Robert Kraczek, Global Strategist, has more than two decades of security experience, with a specialization in IAM and Access Management. Robert’s responsibilities include helping customers solve business challenges with the One Identity suite of products, as well as helping set the future direction of the portfolio.

Michael is the Founder and CEO of Flamingo, an open-source + autonomous AI platform built for the $380B MSP market, which launched from stealth in October 2025 with $9M raised and 250 MSP deployments before even going live. Previously, he co-founded Vicarius, a cybersecurity startup he scaled to $60M in funding over nine years as CEO before starting Flamingo.

William Mendez is a seasoned cybersecurity leader with over two decades of experience in information security, risk management, and technology operations. He previously served as Chief Information Security Officer for the City of Miami, where he led the development and execution of the city’s cybersecurity strategy, governance framework, and incident response program.

During his tenure, William established security policies and standards, managed compliance with regulatory requirements, and oversaw the implementation of critical security technologies aligned with business objectives. He also played a key role in strengthening risk management practices, vendor security, and business continuity planning.

Prior to becoming CISO, William spent more than 20 years as Information Systems Security Officer for the City of Miami, leading cybersecurity operations, assessments, and remediation initiatives.

He holds a Master of Science in Information Systems and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida International University and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

William is also an active speaker in the cybersecurity community, having presented at TEDx and industry summits, where he shares insights on emerging threats and best practices in cyber resilience.

Christopher Nieves has a decade of experience in cybersecurity, beginning in product development at Stealthbits, where Netwrix Threat Prevention and Threat Manager originated. He specializes in SharePoint and Active Directory and now serves as a Solutions Engineer at Netwrix, supporting the full portfolio of Netwrix solutions.

Jeremy Rodgers is the Field Chief Technology Officer at Armis, where he advises government, health, and education organizations on comprehensive asset visibility, cyber exposure management, and operational resilience. A recognized leader in enterprise cybersecurity, Jeremy previously served as Florida’s State Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), leading the Florida Digital Service’s cybersecurity strategy, expanding local-government grant programs, and strengthening defenses across state and local agencies. His work focused on proactive threat hunting, ransomware response, and building public-private partnerships that continue to protect Florida’s digital infrastructure. 

A U.S. Navy Reserve Commander with over fifteen years of service, Jeremy currently serves as Commanding Officer at a fleet Information Operations unit. Earlier in his career he spent more than a decade at IBM as a security architect for the Department of Defense and intelligence community. A first-generation college graduate, Jeremy holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Engineering from Florida Atlantic University. Jeremy publicly served as city Councilman and Deputy Mayor for the city of Boca Raton, and is currently appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to the Florida Commission on Ethics. When not advancing cybersecurity, he is a husband and father of four based in Tallahassee.
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Connie Barrera has been the Chief Information Security Officer at Jackson Health System for over 12 years.  She has over 30 years of experience in the IT industry. Connie has spent considerable time in almost every role within IT including working with endpoints, systems engineering and architecture, as well as her current role in security.   Connie has a proven track record in healthcare, having previously worked at Baptist Health System and University of Miami.

As the CISO, she is responsible for security architecture and operations, as well as developing policy and standards related to privacy, confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the IT services throughout the enterprise. To this end, Connie develops and maintains risk management, security awareness, and compliance programs to effectively deal with the implications of legislated requirements that impact security for the institution. This includes but is not limited to HIPAA, PCI, FDA Part 11 and the Red Flag Rules.

Connie is very active with speaking at industry trade conferences, summits and webinars including Citrix Synergy, Cyber Security Exchange, U.S. News Healthcare of Tomorrow, Evanta CxO Summit, ISMG Healthcare Security Summit, Calaes Digital Transformation and Cyber Challenges Conference,  HP Protect, Miami Chamber of Commerce Conference,  MIS Threat Conference, iHT2 CISO Summit, Gartner Symposium, CIO Talk Radio, HIMSS, ISE North America, INFOSEC World, ITAC and Mobile Security Conference, and Becker’s Hospital Review Webinar with Imprivata.  She has also written various articles which have been featured in online media sources such as Fierce Healthcare, Cyber Security CIO Review, Citrix Blogs, ZDNet, HealthCare IT News, Cloud Backup,  She is also active in the community by mentoring young students through the IT Women organization and previously serving on industry chapter boards such as ISC2.

During 2013, Connie was nominated for the ISE Southeast Executive Awards Q1 and was a finalist in the ISE North America Executive Awards Q4.  In 2015, Connie was the recipient of the prestigious Citrix Technology Professionals (CTP) award, which recognizes the contributions of individuals who have invested a significant amount of time and resources to become experts in Citrix products and solutions.  March 2016, she won the ISE South East Executive Award People’s Choice Award.  Most recently, CSO50 recognized Connie as an Executive of the year finalist in 2017 and has twice been honored for two projects Connie led during the annual CSO50 conference (2017 and 2018).  In 2019- 2023 she was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as a “healthcare CISO to know”, as well was Global CISO by Cyber Defense Magazine in 202-2025.

Connie has an Executive MBA in Health Sector Management and Policy from the University of Miami and a BS from Florida International University, in addition to earning many industry technical certifications over the years.  Connie lives in Miami, FL with her husband Rigo Barrera and her two boys.