Chair of the Board of Advisors for Cyber Florida at the University of South Florida, Frank Cilluffo was a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and the Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory Council, and he’s routinely called upon to advise senior officials in the executive branch, U.S. Armed Services, and state and local governments on an array of matters related to national and homeland security strategy and policy. In addition to briefing Congressional committees and their staffs, he has publicly testified before Congress on numerous occasions, serving as a subject matter expert on policies related to cyber threats, counterterrorism, security and deterrence, weapons proliferation, organized crime, intelligence and threat assessments, emergency management, and border and transportation security. Similarly, he works with U.S. allies and organizations such as NATO and Europol. He has presented at a number of bilateral and multi-lateral summits on cybersecurity and countering terrorism, including the U.N. Security Council.

Following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Mr. Cilluffo was appointed by President George W. Bush to the newly created Office of Homeland Security. There, he was involved in a wide range of homeland security and counterterrorism strategies and policy initiatives and served as a principal advisor to Director Tom Ridge, directing the president’s Homeland Security Advisory Council.

Mr. Cilluffo then joined George Washington University in 2003, establishing the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security as a prominent nonpartisan “think and do tank” dedicated to building bridges between theory and practice to advance U.S. security. He served as an associate vice president, where he led a number of national security and cybersecurity policy and research initiatives. He directed the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security and, with the School of Business, launched the university’s World Executive MBA in Cybersecurity program.

Prior to his White House appointment, Mr. Cilluffo spent eight years in senior policy positions with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. There, he chaired or directed numerous committees and task forces on homeland defense, counterterrorism, transnational organized crime, information warfare, and information assurance.

He has published extensively in academic, law, business, and policy journals, as well as magazines and newspapers worldwide. His work has been published through ABC News, Foreign Policy, The Journal of International Security Affairs, The National Interest, Parameters, Politico, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Quarterly, and The Washington Post. He currently serves on the editorial advisory board for Military and Strategic Affairs and has served as an on-air consultant for CBS News and as a reviewer for a number of publications and foundations.

COL (retired) John Burger serves ReliaQuest as the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Vice President of IT Infrastructure. Before joining ReliaQuest, he served 27 years in multiple assignments, including the CISO at the United States Central Command from 2010-2012. As the CISO, he directed the efforts of National Security Agency HUNT teams to protect and defend a warfighting network of over 1+ million devices in the Middle East. In 2012, he was selected as the Chief of Cyber Warfare, where he directed the cyberattacks in Afghanistan and Iraq and the planning for offensive cyber operations against Iran.

Ed Giorgio is the founder and president of Bridgery Technologies and was the co-founder and CEO of Ponte Technologies, a security and technology company that was recently acquired by KEYW Corporation. He was formerly a principal at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he spent 10 years working on information security and enterprise resilience issues for a variety of commercial clients and federal agencies. Mr.Giorgio also has nearly 30 years of security experience with the National Security Agency (NSA). While at NSA, he pioneered developments in communications security, national intelligence policy and technology, and public key cryptography. Mr. Giorgio is the only person to have served as both Chief U.S. codemaker and, subsequently, as Chief U.S. codebreaker at NSA where he directly managed 1600 mathematicians and computer scientists. As a mathematician, he designed and delivered the first public key based e-mail privacy and authentication system on the worldwide intelligence network. Mr. Giorgio is considered a leading authority on cryptography where he holds patents. In 2015 he was a panel member on the cryptographer’s panel at the RSA conference. His research interests include cryptography and data science, where the latter are focused on hidden Markov models, machine learning, Bloom filters, Internet metadata graphs, and predictive analytics.

Leslie Ireland is the former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Intelligence and Analysis. She joined the Treasury in 2010 after 25 years at CIA where she specialized in Iran, the Middle East, and WMD. Ireland retired in November 2016 after more than 31 years in the Intelligence Community.

At the Treasury, Ireland was responsible for leading the analysis of key financial vulnerabilities of foreign threats to U.S. national security, e.g., Iran’s nuclear program, North Korean finance networks, foreign cyber threats to the U.S. financial sector, and foreign investment in the United States. Ireland was also responsible for expanding the infrastructure needed to protect the Treasury’s national security information and establishing the Treasury’s first Insider Threat Program. Concurrent in her role as Assistant Secretary, Ireland was appointed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to serve as the first National Intelligence Manager for Threat Finance. In that role, she served as the principal advisor to the DNI on threat finance and was responsible for overseeing the intelligence process regarding the use of financial information to combat the wide range of U.S. national security threats. Ireland also created and chaired the DNI Financial Sector Advisory Board (FSAB).

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Ireland served as a daily intelligence briefer to the president from 2008-2010. As the first DNI Iran Mission Manager from 2005-2008, she served as the principal advisor to the DNI on Iran and was responsible for overseeing the intelligence process on Iran for the entire U.S. government. She held a range of other assignments at CIA, including Executive Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence Porter Goss and Executive Assistant to Deputy Director of Central Intelligence/Acting Director of Central Intelligence John McLaughlin, and was detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense as Country Director for Iran and Kuwait.

Ireland is the recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest award bestowed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, personally awarded by the DNI, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal (2016 and 2008), and the CIA Intelligence Commendation Medal. She is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and Georgetown University.

Rick Knop is a lawyer turned investment banker and private equity principal. After working on Capitol Hill (as a legislative assistant to two Congressmen) and practicing international corporate law Rick co-founded The Windsor Group in 1992. The Windsor Group was the first investment bank focused on the government/defense contracting industry. As CEO he built Windsor into the premier investment bank for that industry and led many M&A transactions.

In 2005 BB&T Bank (now Truist) acquired Windsor. After the acquisition of the Windsor Group, Rick was Co-head of BB&T Capital Markets until 2009. In 2010 Rick, with his wife Leslee Belluchie (a senior executive in the defense industry), cofounded FedCap Partners – private equity fund that invested in Federal technology, cyber security, and national security companies. After selling their last portfolio company, Rick partnered with Macquarie Capital, the leading investor in the world in critical infrastructure, for investments/acquisitions of government contractors. Together they have consummated a number of significant Federal technology company transactions. Rick was a member of the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University for 8 years, as well as founder and Chairman of the George Washington University Center for Cyber & Homeland Security. Rick also served as the President of the National Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth, Vice Chairman and member of the Board of the World Affairs Council of Washington DC.

He is currently an Emeritus member of the Board of Advisors for George Washington University Law School, member of the Board of Advisors of the McCrary Institute for Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure, chair of the Board of Advisors of Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida, member of the Board of Trustees of the London Town Foundation, and a board member of several government/defense companies.

Rick has won numerous awards including The Greater Washington Technology Financier of the Year, the Association of Corporate Growth Dealmaker of the Year, the Technology Good Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America, and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from The George Washington University. Rick received a JD with honors from GW Law School, an AB from Indiana University, and was a First Lt in the US Army.

He is a member of The Cosmos Club, the Annapolis Yacht Club, the Mar-aLago Club, the Breakers Ocean Club, the Palm Beach Yacht Club, and Chartwell Country Club. He is married to Leslee Belluchie, has three grown children, and six grandchildren. He and his wife have homes in Palm Beach, Florida and Annapolis, Maryland. He and his wife have endowed scholarships and professorships at The George Washington University and Auburn University.