Tiffanny Gates, senior managing director and National Security Portfolio lead for Accenture Federal Services and three-time Wash100 Award winner, moderated a full expert panel on Wednesday during Baird’s 2021 Government & Defense Conference.
Gates hosted the expert panel to discuss the challenges that the intelligence community faces as the U.S. continues to work to adapt to the cyberspace and counter emerging threats to our national security. With insights and opinions from multiple perspectives in the federal sector, the panel led by Gates allowed the audience to gain an understanding of the threats we face today.
Michael Hale, executive vice president for CACI’s Advanced Solutions Group as well as Diane Janosek from Women in Cybersecurity Mid-Atlantic, AWS’s Sean Roche and Teresa Carlson, president and chief growth officer for Splunk and a six-time Wash100 Award winner, were all featured as panelists.
In her comments, Carlson discussed the shift in priorities and leadership that federal agencies such as the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) have been undergoing in order to adjust to the changes and the advancements that U.S adversaries are making to their own capabilities.
“That’s what I’m seeing too. I think they’ve always been big innovators in the use of digital and cloud. Outside of that, we have pockets. I would say innovation. These agencies had the opportunity to move really fast and experiment,” Carlson explained.
“And the agencies that you’re seeing do that are really looking at what they need for cybersecurity in order to protect the nation and they’re definitely not waiting for other technologies to catch up. We’ve got to use what we have now and make sure that we are focused on that because the answers are out there,” Carlson added.
Baird’s Government & Defense Conference provides an annual forum for discussion on key industry trends and market outlook, as well as networking with industry executives, government officials, and capital providers. This year’s conference featured an estimated 700 plus executives from across the federal landscape and countless virtual attendees to hear the latest news from the elite leaders and companies that influence both the GovCon sector and industry.
