General Peter Pace retired from active duty on October 1, 2007, after more than 40 years of service in the United States Marine Corps.

General Pace was sworn in as sixteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sep. 30, 2005. In this capacity, he served as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, he served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Pace holds the distinction of being the first Marine to have served in either of these positions.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Teaneck, NJ, General Pace was commissioned in June 1967, following graduation from the United States Naval Academy. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Administration from George Washington University, attended the Harvard University Senior Executives in National and International Security program, and graduated from the National War College.

During his distinguished career, General Pace has held command at virtually every level, beginning as a Rifle Platoon Leader in Vietnam. He also served as Commanding Officer of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment; Commanding Officer of the Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C.; Deputy Commander, Marine Forces Somalia; Deputy Commander, Joint Task Force Somalia; Director of Operations for the Joint Staff; Commander, U.S., Marine Forces Atlantic/Europe/South; and Commander in Chief, US Southern Command.

In June, 2008, General Pace was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a President can bestow.

General Pace is currently serving on the Board of Directors of several corporate entities involved in management consulting, private equity, and IT security. He has served on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, and the Secretary of Defense’s Defense Policy Board. He also served as leader-in-residence and the Poling Chair of Business and Government for the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. He is a Distinguished Visiting Research Scholar for Fordham University, and an Adjunct Faculty member of Georgetown University.

General Pace is associated with a number of charities focused on supporting the troops and their families, to include: He is Chairman of the Board for Wall Street Warfighters Foundation, an organization that provides training support and job placement services for disabled veterans interested in careers in the financial services industry. He is a long-standing member of the Board of Directors for the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation – a charity that provides scholarship bonds to children of Marines or Federal law enforcement personnel who were killed while serving our country. He serves on the Advisory Board for Snowball Express, a charity focused on providing positive activities for children of our fallen military members. He and his wife Lynne are on the advisory board for Our Military Kids, an organization that supports children of deployed Guard and Reserve personnel with tutoring and enrichment activities. General Pace and his wife, Lynne, have a son, Peter; a daughter, Tiffany; a daughter-in-law, Lynsey Olczak Pace; and three grandchildren, Linden, Hadley, and Holden Pace.

James C. Trainor is Senior Vice President within Aon’s Cyber Solutions Group. Mr. Trainor joined Aon after a distinguished career at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he most recently led the Cyber Division at FBI Headquarters.

Mr. Trainor played a critical role in devising the FBI’s national strategy to combat cyber-crime and was the senior FBI executive responsible for all cyber investigations. During his three year tenure in the Cyber Division, Mr. Trainor led FBI Agents and Analysts in every major high-profile cyber investigation involving the FBI.

In his new role, Mr. Trainor will help shape Aon’s overall cyber strategy on behalf of clients, working closely with colleagues across technology, system integration, risk transfer and advisory to ensure a holistic and integrated approach.

Mr. Trainor joined the FBI as a Special Agent in 1996. Over his twenty year FBI career, he served in both overseas and domestic assignments focused on cyber, counterintelligence, counterterrorism, intelligence and criminal matters. He has served in field assignments in Chicago; New Haven, CT; Boston; New York City and at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Mr. Trainor is a graduate of Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts and obtained a master’s degree from the University of Connecticut. He is also a certified Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) from Carnegie Mellon University and has GIAC certifications in GISP, GSLC and GISF.

Prior to joining the FBI, he was a military intelligence officer for the U.S. Army.

Lieutenant General Hernandez retired on 1 November 2013 following 39 years of distinguished service in the United States Army. His last active duty assignment was as the first Commander of Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), where he was responsible for the daily operations and defense of all Army networks, and when directed, conduct the full range of cyberspace operations. In addition to building a cyber force of more than 17,000 people, he led the development of a wide range of transformational concepts, plans and programs to increase the Army’s ability to conduct Land and Cyber operations. As the Army’s lead for all cyberspace activity, he was the force modernization proponent for cyber doctrine, training, leader development, organization, materiel and people. He developed strategic direction, requirements and an acquisition approach for all cyberspace operations in the Army. Additionally, he was responsible for the Army’s full-spectrum Information Operations (IO) organization, which provides IO theory development and training to operational application across military operations.

Previously General Hernandez served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army Operations; Chief, U.S. Military Training Mission, Saudi Arabia; and Commanding General, Human Resources Command. In all three positions, he was involved in key issues and decisions at the highest levels. In his role as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army Operations, he oversaw Army operations worldwide, directed Army transformation efforts, co-chaired the programming and budget board, chaired the Army network modernization board, approved and prioritized Army requirements. As the Chief, Military Training Mission, Saudi Arabia, he was the senior defense official to the U.S. Ambassador. He led the largest security assistance program in the world, oversaw the Foreign Military Sales program, strengthened the strategic military partnership and increased readiness and interoperability.

As the Commanding General of Human Resources Command, General Hernandez directed the personnel management, from accession to retirement, for all soldiers and officers. He transformed personnel services and the management systems to support an Army at war.

General Hernandez has extensive operational experience, and has held commands at each level from Lieutenant to Lieutenant General. He served as the Assistant Division Commander, Support for 1st Armored Division and oversaw the division’s deployment and logistic operations in Baghdad, Iraq. As the Operations Chief in J-39, IO, he established and directed the IO Task Force responsible for supporting the integration of Combatant Command IO plans with USG activities.

General Hernandez holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Masters of National Security Strategy from the National War College where he was named a distinguished graduate. His overseas experience includes tours in Germany, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Currently, General Hernandez serves as the West Point Cyber Chair to the Army Cyber Institute, is the President of CyberLens, LLC and serves as a cyber expert on advisory boards.

He and his loving wife, Pat, grew up together in Palmerton, PA and were married in 1976 upon graduation from West Point. They currently reside in the DC area and have two wonderful children.

Bruce McConnell is responsible for leading EWI’s communications and networking with public and private sectors around the world. He also manages the institute’s Cooperation in Cyberspace Program, which includes its Worldwide Cybersecurity Initiative.

Beginning in 2009, McConnell provided programmatic and policy leadership to the cybersecurity mission at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He became Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity in 2013, and responsible for ensuring the cybersecurity of all federal civilian agencies and for helping the owners and operators of the most critical U.S. infrastructure protect themselves from growing cyber threats. During his tenure, McConnell was instrumental in building the national and international credibility of DHS as a trustworthy partner that relies on transparency and collaboration to protect privacy and enhance security.

Before DHS, McConnell served on the Obama‐Biden Presidential Transition Team, working on open government and technology issues. From 2000‐2008 he created, built, and sold McConnell International and Government Futures, boutique consultancies that provided strategic and tactical advice to clients in technology, business and government markets. From 2005‐2008, he served on the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.

From 1999‐2000, McConnell was Director of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank, where he coordinated regional and global preparations of governments and critical private sector organizations to successfully defeat the Y2K bug.

McConnell was Chief of Information Policy and Technology in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 1993‐1999, where he led the government‐industry team that reformed U.S. encryption export policy, created an information security strategy for government agencies, redirected government technology procurement and management along commercial lines, and extended the presumption of open government information onto the Internet.

McConnell is also a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He received a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School for Public Policy at the University of Washington, where he maintains a faculty affiliation, and a Bachelor of Sciences from Stanford University.

McConnell is married to Margaret Anderson, a futurist and life coach.

Teri Takai served as the Department of Defense Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO) until May of 2014, after being appointed in October 2010. In this capacity, she served as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for Information Management/Information Technology and Information Assurance as well as non-intelligence Space systems, critical satellite communications, navigation, and timing programs, spectrum and telecommunications. She provided strategy, leadership, and guidance to create a unified information management and technology vision for the Department and to ensure the delivery of information technology based capabilities required to support the broad set of Department missions.

Prior to this federal political appointment, Ms. Takai served as Chief Information Officer for the State of California. As a member of the Governor's cabinet, she advised the governor on the strategic management and direction of information technology resources as the state worked to modernize and transform the way California does business with its citizens. Prior to her appointment in California, Ms. Takai served as Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology (MDIT) since 2003, where she also served as the state's Chief Information Officer. In this position, she restructured and consolidated Michigan's resources by merging the state's information technology into one centralized department to service 19 agencies. Additionally, during her tenure at the MDIT, Ms. Takai led the state to being ranked number one four years in a row in digital government by the Center for Digital Government. Additionally, in 2005, Ms. Takai was named "Public Official of the Year" by Governing magazine.

Before serving in state government, Ms. Takai worked for the Ford Motor Company for 30 years, where she led the development of the company's information technology strategic plan. She also held positions in technology at EDS and Federal-Mogul Corporation. Ms. Takai earned a Master of Arts degree in management and a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan.

Richard A. Spires currently serves as the CEO of Resilient Network Systems, a San Francisco-based software firm that provides the Trust Network platform to bring trust to the cloud and the Internet of Things. Trust Networks virtualize real-world relationships and conditions of trust by resolving identities in the network and enforcing each party's rules in transit.

Mr. Spires was appointed and served as the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Chief Information Officer (CIO) from August 2009 till May 2013. In this capacity, Mr. Spires was responsible for the strategy and operations of the department’s annual $5.6 billion investment in Information Technology (IT). Mr. Spires also served as the Vice-Chairman of the Federal Government CIO Council and the Co-Chairman of the Committee for National Security Systems (CNSS), the committee that sets standards for the US Government’s classified systems.

Mr. Spires held a number of positions at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 2004 through 2008. He served as the Deputy Commissioner for Operations Support, having overall responsibility for the key support and administrative functions for the IRS, to include Information Technology, Human Capital, Finance, Shared Services, Real Estate, and Security functions. Prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Spires served as the IRS’ CIO, with overall strategic and operational responsibility for a $2 billion budget and a 7,000-person Modernization and Information Technology Services organization. Mr. Spires led the IRS’s Business Systems Modernization program for two and half years, which is one of the largest and most complex information technology modernization efforts undertaken to date.

From 2000 through 2003, Mr. Spires served as President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director of Mantas, Inc., a software company that provides business intelligence solutions to the financial services industry. Prior to Mantas, Mr. Spires spent more than 16 years serving in a number of technical and managerial positions at SRA International.

Mr. Spires currently serves on the Board of Directors of Learning Tree International (NASDAQ: LTRE), Acentia, Inc., and Mortgage Harmony Corporation.

Mr. Spires received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Cincinnati. He also holds a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the George Washington University. Mr. Spires has won a number of awards for his leadership in IT, to include the 2012 Fed 100 Government Executive Eagle Award, TechAmerica’s 2012 Government Executive of the Year, Government Computer News 2011 Civilian Government Executive of the Year and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering in 2006.

From July 2008 until November 2014, Sir Iain was the Director of Government Communications Headquarters in the United Kingdom, having previously served as its Director General for Operations from 2004. This represented a period of over ten years’ leadership of operational delivery in contexts as varied as counter terrorism; cyber defence; support to the military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya; the prevention and detection of serious crime; and the development of an integrated service of intelligence and security.

As the GCHQ Director he attended the UK’s National Security Council on a weekly basis from its very first meeting in May 2010 and was a Principal member of the Joint Intelligence Committee for over six years.

Cyber Security, both nationally and internationally, has been at the heart of his role in recent years where he has set new direction for innovative partnering with the private sector and with academia.

His reputation is of a transformational leader and he is credited with repositioning GCHQ externally, seeing and grasping the opportunity to radically reshape GCHQ’s role for the cyber security era, as well as with spearheading GCHQ’s internal transformation over the last decade: organisationally and culturally. He was a member of GCHQ’s Board for 13 years, almost half of that period as its Chair, employing a rigorous set of governance systems built around corporate risks, programme and project management described as “world-class”, a strong emphasis on compliance and ethics, and a bold work-force strategy with groundbreaking public service policies.

Sir Iain is now engaged in three fields: the advocacy and demystification of Cyber Security, providing strategic advice and personal perspective, nationally and internationally, to governments and businesses; sharing lessons and insights on strategic and institutional leadership; and entrepreneurship, in the broadest sense of the word.

A Partner and senior strategy adviser at C5 Holdings, he is also on the Board Financial Crime Risk Committee at Standard Chartered Bank. He formed part of the independent panel of experts advising the Australian Prime Minister on Australia’s Cyber Security policies and strategies. He also acts as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of CyLon, Europe’s only incubator space dedicated to developing early stage cyber security companies, and is involved in a number of roles in academia.

He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in the 2013 New Year Honours, having previously been made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 2006 Honours.

Mr. Ledgett has four decades of intelligence, cyber security and cyber operations experience, including 29 years with the National Security Agency (NSA), the largest intelligence organization in the U.S., where he served as Deputy Director from January 2014 until his retirement in April 2017. In that capacity he led a global entity with almost 200 operating locations around the world and acted as the Agency’s chief operating officer, responsible for providing foreign intelligence and protecting our country’s most important national security-related networks and information.

Mr. Ledgett led NSA’s Media Leaks Task Force, responsible for the totality of the Agency’s efforts following the unauthorized disclosure of classified information in June 2013. He also led the NSA’s 24/7 Threat Operations Center (NTOC), responsible for identifying and countering cyber threats to our national security systems. Mr. Ledgett was selected as the Intelligence Community’s first National Intelligence Manager for Cyber, serving as principal advisor to the Director of National Intelligence on all cyber matters. In this capacity, he was responsible for integrating cyber activities across 16 intelligence agencies and numerous international partners, and he developed the first National Intelligence Strategy for cyber. He was also the DNI’s Director for Collection, overseeing all of the Intelligence Community’s collection programs.

Previous jobs at NSA included leading global collection and cryptanalytic operations, global language and analytic operations, and all NSA activities in the Pacific area. He was an instructor and course developer at the National Cryptologic School and an adjunct instructor at the National Intelligence University. Mr. Ledgett spent nearly 11 years in the U.S. Army and completed six field tours between the Army and the NSA.

Mr. Ledgett is a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is on the Board of Directors of M&T Bank, and is a member of several advisory boards.