Richard Stiennon is Chief Research Analyst for IT-Harvest, the firm he founded in 2005 to cover the booming IT security industry. He is the author of Surviving Cyberwar (Government Institutes, 2010) and UP and to the RIGHT: Strategy and Tactics of Analyst Influence (IT-Harvest Press, 2012). He writes the Cyber Domain column for forbes.com and is frequently quoted as a cyber security expert in mainstream media. He advises his clients on cybersecurity strategy.  He is also the Executive Editor of securitycurrent.com and the Senior Fellow at the International Cybersecurity Dialogue. He was Chief Marketing Officer for Fortinet, Inc. and VP Threat Research at Webroot Software. Prior to that he was VP Research at Gartner, Inc. Stiennon has presented on cyber security threats and defenses in 28 countries on six continents. He is known for his iconoclastic analysis of the security industry and always challenges his audience to question accepted practices in the face of changing cyber threats.  He has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and an MA in War in the Modern World from King’s College, London. He is writing his next book on cyberwar and military affairs. 

Steven Urban has spent the past twenty-two years designing global networks, and has primarily focused the past ten years designing security solutions and implementing compensating security controls for the Fortune 500. He spent seven years with TippingPoint, where he made IPS deployments commonplace.  He then went to focus on the detection of evasive threats working within the security analytics and big data analysis – He has worked for security start-ups - Lancope, Logrhythm, and Click Security before joining vArmour. He has also helped start-ups - Broadsoft, NetDevices, Copper Mountain Networks, and Mitel. Before making his way to the vendor world, Steve spent more than 12 years managing Networks and Architecture for United Technologies (UTC). His vast experience is greatly appreciated by technology manufacturers and customers alike. 

Jeremy Parkins, CISO and IT infrastructure, has worked for over 17 years in the IT Security and IT Infrastructure fields managing security programs for large financial institutions and public utilities. Currently he is the CISO at a gas and electric public utility based out of Connecticut and has an extensive background in information security operations and governance. He holds a CISSP and CISA certification and maintains a high level of involvement in the information security community.

Peter Casano has been in the tech industry for over 20 years holding technical, sales, and leadership roles.  He spent his last 10 years in security related companies holding various direct sales, channel sales, and leadership roles at HP, Click Security, Microsoft, and PacketLogix (VAR). Peter’s security sales experience includes Network Security, Application Security, SIEM, Security Analytics, Identity Management, Strong Authentication, WLAN Security and Performance Management.  Peter Casano began his career as an IT Professional managing mobile devices, desktop, server, and LAN/WAN environments at AT&T, and led the network and security infrastructure team at FiberNet. Peter graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from The Pennsylvania State University.

Ibrahima Mbaye is the Global Head of Information Security at AGT International. Mr. Mbaye is a seasoned Information Security executive with more than 15 years’ experience developing and enhancing Information and Cyber Security programs. His areas of expertise include global Information Security strategy and operations management, enterprise security architecture, design and integration, data security, privacy and IT risk management. Before joining AGT, Mr. Mbaye held multiple executive positions in the banking financial sector in New York City.

Bala Rajagopalan is the Head of Information Security for Bluemountain Capital Management. He is responsible for the company's security policies and strategy, cybersecurity strategy, business continuity, security framework, security risk assessment, data protection and security operations. Bala is a thought leader with over sixteen years experience leading information security programs for world-class financial organizations. He is the former Global Head of Information Security for BNY ConvergEx Group where he was managing their information security practice and providing valuable contribution to their corporate IT risk program. At Citi, Bala was Senior Vice President- Information Security for Citi’s Global Electronic Trading group. He also held similar positions at World Bank, GE Capital and Reuters.
Bala is an advisory board member on multiple security-based vendor firms providing strategic advice on product and technology development. He is an active member of  committees led by SIFMA, an US regulatory body and Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and provides valuable insights in the development of several information security and cybersecurity policies and framework formation. 

Samer Ghanem is CIO of AGT International. Formerly the company’s Global VP of IT Systems, Mr. Ghanem is a seasoned technology executive with more than 15 years’ experience enhancing business operations through smart, efficient use of technology. His areas of expertise include global IT strategy and operations management, enterprise system architecture, design and integration, IT infrastructure and IT risk management. Before joining AGT, Mr. Ghanem was an entrepreneur and IT consultant at BMW Group, The New York Times, the United Nations and Applied Technologies International. He holds a Master’s In Technology Management from Columbia University and a Bachelor’s in Management from the University of Alexandria in Egypt.