Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Matt Higgins
Cofounder and CEO of RSE Ventures, Guest Shark on Shark Tank, Bestselling Author, ‘Burn the Boats’
Matt Higgins is a Co-founder & CEO of RSE Ventures, a renowned serial entrepreneur, growth equity investor, and the host/executive producer of CNBC's upcoming series "Business Hunters." With an illustrious career spanning 25 years, Matt has amassed deep operating experience across various industries, including sports and entertainment. His inaugural book, "Burn The Boats," published in 2023, encapsulates his journey navigating complex situations to empower founders to realize their full potential.

From managing the global media response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as the youngest mayoral press secretary in New York City to overseeing the rebuilding efforts of the World Trade Center site as the Chief Operating Officer of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Matt's impact on both public service and private enterprise is profound.

In addition to co-founding RSE Ventures, Matt has played pivotal roles in reshaping iconic brands like the New York Jets and the Miami Dolphins, leaving an indelible mark on the sports industry. Under his leadership, RSE Ventures has successfully backed disruptive startups from inception, including RESY and the Drone Racing League, while also championing societal causes such as Autism Speaks.

As a recurring guest Shark on Shark Tank and a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Matt is deeply committed to driving positive change. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a J.D. from Fordham Law, where he was a member of the Fordham Law Review. 
 
Michael Assraf
Chief Executive Officer at Vicarius
Michael is the CEO and co-founder of Vicarius, an autonomous vulnerability remediation solution that helps security and IT teams mitigate threats to their digital environment.
 
Before founding Vicarius, Michael was instrumental in the growth of multiple other start-ups, serving in positions ranging from support to the C-Suite.
 
Hiep Dang
Vice President of Strategic Technical Alliances at HiddenLayer
Over 20 years ago, Hiep turned a casual curiosity in computer viruses and forensics into a full-time cybersecurity career. His journey has given him a spectrum of experiences from burgeoning startups to Fortune 500 companies over a wide range of technical and business roles including software development, threat research, product management, product marketing, competitive intelligence, industry consortiums, and technical alliances.  
 
Throughout his career, Hiep has launched and supported several enterprise and consumer cybersecurity products for Qualys, Cylance (acquired by BlackBerry), McAfee (acquired by Intel), and Aluria (acquired by EarthLink). Hiep also served as the Director of Anti-Malware Research for McAfee, where he oversaw a globally distributed 24x7 organization responsible for researching and responding to complex malware and breaches. 
 
Scott Shafer
Director of Sales Engineering at Varonis
Scott Shafer 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.
 

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

John Hultquist
Chief Analyst of Mandiant Intelligence, Mandiant, Now Part of Google Cloud
John Hultquist is Chief Analyst of Mandiant Intelligence at Google Cloud. Prior to the acquisition of iSIGHT Partners by FireEye/Mandiant, John led iSIGHT’s cyber espionage practice, where his team uncovered the Russian threat actor best known as Sandworm. He has over 15 years of experience covering emerging threats in cyber espionage and information operations, working in the private sector and the US Government. He is the founder of CYBERWARCON and SLEUTHCON. 
 
Sam Kassoumeh
Co-Founder of SecurityScorecard
Sam Kassoumeh is co-founder and chief operating officer and is responsible for driving the company’s product portfolio. With extensive experience as both a cybersecurity practitioner and leader, Kassoumeh’s experience has been pivotal in the growth and development of the company as well as establishing the ecosystem risk management space. 

Kassoumeh’s passion for internet security started in his teens and  propelled him into key cybersecurity roles including as head of security and compliance at Gilt Groupe and worldwide InfoSec lead at Federal-Mogul. 
 
Jason Trunk
Enterprise Architect at Island
Jason Trunk serves as Enterprise Architect at Island with over 20 years of experience with emerging technologies including server side code optimization, network decryption, and front-end browser performance. Before Island, Jason served as field CTO for AppDynamics (now Cisco), executive director at JPMorgan Chase, vice president at BigPanda, and other technical leadership roles at Mercury Interactive, Quest Software, and CA Technologies. 
 

FEATURED SPEAKERS

Alexander Casas
Chief of Police, FIU & Secure Miami MC

MASTER OF CEREMONY

 

Jon Ford
Senior Practice Leader, SLED Solutions at Mandiant, Now part of Google Cloud

Mr. Ford is 25-year veteran in cybersecurity, incident response, and intelligence led cyber operations in both government and commercial sectors. Prior to joining Mandiant, Mr. Ford served in executive leadership roles for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Mr. Ford served as the responsible executive to the U.S. Cryptologic Centers for strategic and tactical oversight of global cyber operations and key asset protection. In these roles, Mr. Ford developed the framework used by the U.S. Government to manage risk of cyber threats supporting government and critical infrastructure capabilities receiving recognition by the White House National Security Council and the United States Congress.

Currently, Mr. Ford serves as the Senior Executive to Mandiant’s multi-lateral partnerships and Pinnacle clients. Mr. Ford leads operations, strategy and solutions for their global partners, and globally leads Mandiant’s Insider Threat risk offerings. 

Jeff Worthington
Executive Strategist at Crowdstrike

Jeff Worthington, Executive Strategist, sits on the Executive Strategist Team at CrowdStrike, where he provides strategic advisory services related to enterprise cybersecurity solutions for all industry verticals including Government, Education and Healthcare. Prior to joining CrowdStrike, he served as the Chief Information Officer for the Joint Special Operations Command capping a career of uniformed federal service spanning 30 years installing, operating, maintaining and defending our Nation’s most vital information network across the globe. He has served in positions from the foxhole to the White House in both conventional and Airborne Special Operations units.

Chipper Jones
Regional Director of Sales at Stellar Cyber

Chipper Jones leads business operations for Stellar Cyber in the Southeast. He lives outside Athens, GA, with his wife and 7 children. Having led sales teams with various cyber security organizations in the past 10 years, Chipper has helped many enterprises improve their cybersecurity posture within IAM, AppSec, and Security Operations. 

Scott Dowsett
Global Field CTO at Anomali

Scott holds the position of Global Field CTO at Anomali. Formerly Vice President of Global Sales Engineering at Anomali. He has over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and computer networking. Scott frequently speaks at SANS, Anomali Detect, and numerous industry conferences. Scott holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium and the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certification from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. In addition, he is also certified in Risk and Compliance and Data Privacy. Memberships include OASIS Open Member, Advisory Board member CSU, and Chico Cybersecurity for Executives program.

Albert Caballero
Americas Field CISO Director at SentinelOne

Albert Caballero is a patented cybersecurity expert, technology strategist, and published author with a passion for security engineering, cloud computing, and threat intelligence. Field CISO at SentinelOne, he has acted as Global Head of Security Engineering at Warner Bros. Discovery, CISO of HBO Latin America, and BISO within both WarnerMedia and AT&T. Co-founder of Trapezoid, a cybersecurity software company focused on firmware integrity management, and a SIEM Product Manager, he has also run a large Security Operations Center (SOC) at Terremark, a Verizon Managed Services Provider. He has helped defend government agencies and corporate entities by leading incident response teams and conducting forensic investigations at scale alongside Kroll and other major security services firms.

Juan Villar, CISSP
Senior Solutions Architect at Securonix
Juan Villar is a seasoned Cybersecurity Professional with over a decade of experience in safeguarding on-premises, cloud, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. He holds certifications such as the CISSP, AWS Certified Solution Architect - Associate, and Google Cloud - Professional Cloud Security Engineer. He currently serves as a Senior Sales Engineer at Securonix. Leveraging his knowledge in UEBA, SOAR, SIEM, XDR, MDR, Network and Endpoint Security, and Security Operations, Juan showcases the business value of Securonix solutions to clients and partners. Prior to his role at Securonix, he’s worked as an Enterprise Sales Engineer at leading Gartner Magic Quadrant Cybersecurity Vendors, collaborating with sales teams across the Southeast USA and Latin America. Juan has an ability to identify customer requirements, deliver tailored product demonstrations, and provide comprehensive training and guidance. He is committed to helping organizations navigate today's evolving threat landscape.

 

Dr. Natalie Foster Johnson
Information Systems Manager at Broward County Aviation Department

Dr. Natalie Foster Johnson is pursuing a Juris Master with a focus in Cyber from FSU, holds an Executive Doctorate in Business Admin specializing in InfoSec from St. Thomas University, a Master’s in Business Admin, and a Bachelor's in Mgmt Info Systems from FAU. Dr. Johnson holds Associate C|CISO, CDPSE, CISM, GSTRT, and PMP certifications. With 15+ years of experience with business analytics, change and project management, governance, security, and compliance, Dr. Johnson proudly serves Broward County by collaborating in securing critical infrastructure and other compliance and governance endeavors. Cybersecurity Professional, Mom, Girl Scout, Sister, Daughter, Auntie, and Friend; Dr. Johnson is a lifetime member of Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, a member of ISACA South Florida, a member of the South Florida Chapter of PMI, Vice President of Programs and Events of the South Florida Chapter of Cyversity, and a founding member of the CyberMINDS Research Institute..

Jim Doggett
Chief Information Security Officer at Semperis

Jim is a high energy leader focused on embedding risk management, security, and compliance into the business fabric to efficiently manage risks. He's a retired partner from EY where he spent 27 years helping clients through financial audits and building and sustaining security, risk and controls. He also served as global leader of Information Risk and Resiliency for the Treasury and Security Services division of JP Morgan, Chief Security Officer (CISO) and Chief Technology Risk Officer for Kaiser Permanente, and Chief Technology Risk Officer and CISO for AIG. Subsequently, he helped start up Panaseer in building the first continuous controls monitoring platform (remain as Board Advisor) and is presently CISO at Semperis. 

Elizabeth Rasnick
Assistant Professor at the University of West Florida’s Center for Cybersecurity

As a first-generation college student and a woman in STEM, Dr. Elizabeth Rasnick is driven to recruit and retain underrepresented populations into the cybersecurity talent pipeline. Her goal for students is that they understand cybersecurity is ever-evolving and they need to continuously update their skills. Dr. Rasnick’s research includes investigating recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations in cybersecurity, cybersecurity education, disaster recovery, and cybersecurity issues in supply chains. She has presented research and run workshops at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Rasnick often speaks to community groups about cyber essentials. She is currently serving as the senior vice president for the Florida affiliate of Women in Cyber Security. Dr. Rasnick holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science, an M.B.A., and a Ph.D. in Information Technology.

Paul Martini
Chief Executive Officer at iboss

Paul Martini holds over 230 patents in cloud cybersecurity and is a trusted expert on Zero Trust, a modern cybersecurity architecture designed to prevent ransomware, breaches and data loss by making all applications private. Paul has been recognized for his leadership and innovation, receiving the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and being named one of Goldman Sachs' 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. Paul has also been published in many scientific journals, including the Journal of Foundations in Computer Science and the Journal of Analytical Biochemistry. Paul is co-founder, CEO and Co-Chair of iboss, a leading Zero Trust cloud security company which protects organizations globally from breaches and data loss. 

Kevin Kirkwood
Deputy CISO at LogRhythm

Kevin leads the internal practice of security for LogRhythm. His teams includes: Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), Application Security (AppSec), Security Operations Center (SOC) and physical security. This concentration in security practice, tools and operations enables the team to ensure that they provide a safe foundation to build the security platforms of the future while protecting their employees, systems and, ultimately, clients who use their products.


Ken Towne
Senior Solutions Engineer, Americas Team Lead, at Cyberint

Ken leads technical advisory engagements in the Americas for Cyberint. Leveraging nearly 20 years of experience supporting technical initiatives across public and private sectors. Starting his career as a U.S. Marine, gaining experience in information systems while specializing in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) collections and targeting. His expertise and primary focus areas are modernizing cyber security architecture, threat data analytics, adversarial threat profiling and machine learning. 

Derek Loomis
Senior Product Manager at Ordr

Derek Loomis is a Senior Product Manager at Ordr driving the OrdrAI CAASM+ solution (Cyber Asset Attack Surface Management).  He has 16 years' experience in cybersecurity with expertise in security operations, asset management, compliance, network security & vulnerability management.  Before Ordr, he worked at Axonius & Qualys.  In a previous career,  Derek won an Emmy Award as an Associate Producer for ESPN SportsCenter in 2004. 

Carlos Bacquet
Principal Solutions Architect at Lacework

Carlos Bacquet is a Principal Solutions Architect at Lacework where he solves Cloud Security problems for enterprise customers in the Toronto region. Before joining Lacework Carlos spent the last 15 years working on network management and security applications in the Telecommunications, Cable and Streaming Media industries. Carlos holds a Bachelor of Computer Science and a Master in Computer Science with focus on machine Learning applied to Security applications. His areas of expertise include Kubernetes security and machine learning security applications applied to cloud infrastructure.

Lawrence Embil
Security Manager - Security Architecture, Governance, Incident response, at Miami Dade County

Lawrence is a cybersecurity strategist with 25 years of experience across private, public, and academic sectors, currently managing Miami-Dade County’s Security Architecture, Risk and Compliance, and Incident Response teams. He specializes in aligning Critical Infrastructure Security and implementing prescriptive security controls for projects such as nuclear plant control systems, elections security, and Smart City initiatives. Lawrence is also skilled in leading risk assessments and holds multiple cybersecurity certifications and co-founded an AI and cybersecurity advisory practice in 2017. He is committed to giving back to the South Florida community.

Michael Melore
Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at IBM

IBM Senior Cyber Security Advisor, Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Founder/Moderator for “SecRT”, regional CISO/Security Leader Round Table groups across the US (1,300+ Security Executive Members).   Author, frequent National public speaker and moderator, FBI InfraGard committeeman, NASCIO committee member, and recognized subject matter expert in Security and Threat Intelligence, Identity Access Governance, and Authorization. Past Consulting roles include: Lead architect for many of the world’s largest authentication and authorization infrastructures, including two of the 1st Billion user authentication infrastructures. Champion of regularly scheduled cybersecurity threat simulation exercises, training and education.

Larry Kraus
Captain - Research and Analysis Division at Pasco Sheriff's Office

Captain Larry Kraus has been in law enforcement for over 20 years and is currently serving as the Director of Intelligence-Led Policing for the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. Inspector Kraus began his law enforcement career with the Florida Highway Patrol where he served in multiple roles to include being assigned to a joint taskforce at the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Inspector Kraus served as a Senior Counterterrorism Analyst in NCTC’s Operational Intelligence Branch (OIB), responsible for maintaining 24/7 global terrorism situational awareness by independently researching and analyzing raw intelligence reporting, while maintaining awareness of current threats. Prior to being assigned to the NCTC Operations Center, Inspector Kraus served as a Task Force Officer and Senior Counterterrorism Analyst for the Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group (ITACG) and the Joint Counterterrorism Awareness Team (JCAT). 

J. C. Vega
Founder, Executive Security Advisors, Chief Evangelist, Military Cyber Professionals Association

Colonel J. Carlos Vega, a retired US Army officer, Executive, and Board Member, brings an exceptional synthesis of strategic leadership, governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), cybersecurity expertise, and an unparalleled ability to drive collaboration. His significant public and private sector roles mark a career as a strategic leader, advisor, innovator, and team builder in national and cyber security. Colonel Vega serves as the Chief Evangelist for the Military Cyber Professionals Association, a non-profit dedicated to serving those who serve our nation.

With substantial experience as a CISO, CIO, CxO, and CTO, Colonel Vega possesses a profound breadth of executive leadership and cybersecurity knowledge. His operational expertise and visionary outlook have been vital in shaping robust cybersecurity policies and fostering an organizational culture of compliance and diligent risk management across diverse regulatory landscapes.

Christopher Alexis
Senior Engineer at Rubrik

Chris has 20+ years of experience in Information Technology. He draws from a diverse experience, from System Administration managing diverse server environments for a multi-billion dollar oil refinery to Data Protection designing solutions incorporating storage, virtualization and cloud-based infrastructure to provide a complete data protection & availability strategy. 

Chris works side by side with organizations, helping them create and execute a strategic and visionary plan to Modernize, Automate and Transform IT, as well as the people and policies within the business. In this way Chris helps organizations to be successful in this rapid-fire and fast-paced digital/IoT era. 

Randy Pestana
Director of Cybersecurity Policy at the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy and the Director of Education and Training at Cybersecurity at Florida International University

Randy Pestana is responsible for managing the institutes cyber-related partnerships to include U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, State, and Veterans Affairs, the Organization of American States (OAS), and numerous industry partners across the cybersecurity community. His technical specialization is in International Relations with focuses on U.S. foreign policy, security studies, and cybersecurity. Most of his work has been linked to cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development, as well as international security threats facing the United States and its partners and allies. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs and Honors College. Prior to joining FIU, Mr. Pestana attended the Platoon Leader’s Course in Quantico, Virginia for the United States Marine Corps where he received a favorable evaluation and top five ranking by his peers as a Candidate Platoon Sgt. and most recently served as a recruiting assistant where he helped train recruits prior to their departure to basic training. 

TESTIMONIALS / Why should you attend Secure Miami 2024

"Our world is increasingly interconnected and reliant on technology, making cybersecurity a critical aspect of any organization's strategy. Join us at Secure Miami to gain valuable insights from industry leaders and cyber experts on the latest trends and emerging threats. Don't wait for a breach to happen – take proactive steps to safeguard your assets, operations, and reputation. Your attendance at this conference could make all the difference in securing your organization's future."

-Patrick Dyer, CEO, DigitalEra Group