Category: Influencer
Name: Mark Weatherford
Title: Senior Vice President & Chief Cybersecurity Strategist
Company: vArmour
Why nominated: Throughout his career, Weatherford has parlayed his extensive background in security and a deep knowledge of emerging markets to help organizations struggling to stay equipped with the best technology build and implement strategic cybersecurity plans to comply with today's data center and cloud needs.
Profile: A security professional and technology leader helping companies understand data center and cloud security challenges, Mark Weatherford has spent more than two decades in cybersecurity operations leadership and influencing executive level policy in multiple organizations. Before President Obama appointed Weatherford as the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) first deputy under secretary for cybersecurity in 2011, he served as vice president and chief security officer at the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) where he had landed after he'd served, under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, as California's first CISO.
Weatherford was also the CISO for the state of Colorado under two governor and during his service with the U.S. Navy, where he was a cryptologist, he headed the military arm's Computer Network Defense Operations and the Naval Computer Incident Response Team.
He has not only distinguished himself in the cybersecurity private sector but Weatherford has shown his influence in the political realm as well, working to change and innovate the role of security among policy leaders. He's not only taught companies how to keep data safe but he's offered valuable guidance for dealing with government regulations.
Weatherford is a member of the CSIS Cyber Policy Task Force for the 45th President, a founding member of the Cyber California Board of Advisors, and sits on the Board of the National Cybersecurity Center (NCC).
What colleagues say: "I've known Mark since we were both state Chief Information Security Officers over a decade ago and believe him to be one of the key influencers responsible for elevating the posture of security across state governments. His tireless efforts as a member of the Executive Committee on the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) have had a profound effect on the professionalization of cybersecurity within state government. He has worked with Legislators at both state capitols and on Capitol Hill to architect and secure passage of numerous pieces of security and privacy related legislation that the citizens of America benefit from. Mark has also been influential in shaping the next generation of security professionals through his proactive mentoring and cultivation of the workforce. Numerous CISO's and security professionals across the nation are indebted to Mark for his wise counsel and assistance in helping them develop their security careers.”
- Chris Ipsen, assistant vice president and CIO, Desert Research Institute
