CISO Council

VJ Viswanathan is a veteran global technology executive recognized and awarded for technology innovation, capability transformation and inclusive leadership. Most recently, VJ is the founding partner at CYFORIX, a global cybersecurity research, advisory & strategy firm delivering solutions to public and private sectors. He serves as the CEO at TORQE, a specialized due diligence, advisory and technology services firm delivering value through analytics and automation. VJ is also the co-host of ELEVATEINTEL, a podcast series at the nexus of technology, social and defense.

With over 25 years of Enterprise technology, Cyber Security, Privacy, Compliance and Risk Management experience, VJ has a detailed track record of designing, implementing and leading highly successful programs, products & services at multinational brands spanning CPG, Telecom, Media, Supply-chain & Finance segments.
As a strategic thought leader, VJ has delivered the first of its kind "Supply Chain Security" & “Omni-channel Risk management” frameworks. As a published author and featured keynote speaker at global industry events, he approaches disruptive digital paradigms with innovation, creativity and active collaboration with his key industry peers, national & international law enforcement and defense groups.

VJ is an active advisor, investor at select incubators & accelerators groups. As a strategic advisor to VC & PE firms, he specializes in developing market analysis, competitive product road map and guides in opportunity mapping. As a Board member and subject matter advisor to CEOs and Corporate directors, VJ evaluates and audits cyber security program for veracity and operational effectiveness.

VJ is passionate about animal rights and giving back to the technology & security industry. He has created a rescue & foster care group for large breed dogs. He is actively engaged with academic institutions and purpose driven professional groups like ‘Minorities in Cyber security’, where he serves as the Board member and chair of mentorship programs to develop the next generation talent through coaching and facilitating scholarships for cyber security education.

Visionary, results and solutions-driven professional with 20+ years of experience in progressively responsible Cyber Security and IT leadership roles in the financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer goods,and chemical manufacturing industries. Adept in building and leading global Cyber Security, IT technical and support functions. Creative, resourceful problem solver with a track record of success in delivering cost-effective and value-added services to his customers. Additional experience in industrial engineering and process improvement. Specialties: Areas of expertise include: Cyber Security, Network Security,Application Security, Infrastructure Management and Security Incident Management, Disaster Recovery, Forensic Investigations, Operations Management, Financial Management, Project/Portfolio Management, Policy/Procedure Development, Budget Preparation, Strategic Planning, Process Design/Implementation, Risk Mitigation, Enterprise Architecture, IT Governance, Manufacturing/Laboratory Automation, Organizational Design, Vendor Audits, System, Start-Up Operations, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Talent Development/Mentoring, International Team Management, and Regulatory Compliance

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, K-12 Education, State and Local government customer segments, as well as Federal Systems Integrators. His current responsibilities include technology leadership, strategic technology plans, product and technology strategies, sales force technical support, and customer and partner relationships. Previously, Tommy has served as the Chief Technology Officer for Jacobs Engineering, Scitor, and ManTech. Earlier in his career he was a senior technical executive at Raytheon. In the U.S. Navy he served as the Deputy for Science and Technology for the Chief of Naval Research. He oversaw the Navy’s Deep Submergence Program as well as its Advanced Technology Program. He also commanded the nuclear submarine, USS San Juan (SSN 751). Tommy’s educational background covers multiple disciplines and fields of interest including: cybersecurity, data science, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration in government markets. Tommy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University, an M.S. in Management of Technology from MIT and a Ph. D. in Energy Economics from George Washington University. He is a Professional Engineer and serves as Chair of the ASME Industry Advisory Board. He is an ASME Fellow and serves as faculty on the Blockchain Research Institute.

Experienced and passionate cybersecurity leader. Responsible for all facets of cyber security to Schneider Electric's enterprise IT, encompassing approximately 140,000 employees in 100 countries, including 220 factories, 35 distribution centers, and 1,200 sites

Jonathan is the Chief Information Security Officer for Lightspin, joining from IHS Markit a global information services where he ran Cloud & Offensive Security and created a security data graph project with his team. Jonathan has held roles at AWS, NBCUniversal, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and is a US Army veteran. Outside of work Jonathan works on his blog, open source projects, spends time with his 2 daughters and practices home cooking, research in military histories of the world, and travels around the East Coast of the US.