CIO & CISO Think Tank

Highly qualified IT Security Analyst & Adjunct Professor with 15+ years experience specializing in business continuity, disaster recover, IT security, and knowledge transfer. Applies methods for assessing and mitigating risk, analyzing impacts, and managing incidents. IT security experience including security auditing, governance risk and compliance, ITGRC implementation and business continuity planning.Highly qualified IT Security Analyst & Adjunct Professor with 15+ years experience specializing in business continuity, disaster recover, IT security, and knowledge transfer. Applies methods for assessing and mitigating risk, analyzing impacts, and managing incidents. IT security experience including security auditing, governance risk and compliance, ITGRC implementation and business continuity planning.

Providing industry-leading practices in cyber-risk management and compliance while implementing an effective cybersecurity program that protects against threats, advances transformation, and drives growth.

Sulabh Sood is currently working as Vice President at Lumen Technologies. He has been tasked to build the execution engine for global technology, IT, engineering, and product organizations. He is leading an organization to manage and direct Program Management, Business Operations, Program governance & prioritization, Budget management, IT Operations, IT Compliance, IT Vendor Management, Strategic outsourcing, and Agile Transformation Office. Before joining Lumen, Sulabh worked in global companies such as GE, Atos and in pre-IPO startups. Sulabh is an accomplished technology leader with diverse experience in digital transformation, cloud implementation, DevOps, GTM strategy, operations, and product & program management. He has led org-wide transformation by partnering with functions such as engineering, product management, customer success, commercial, marketing, finance, and HR. Sulabh firmly believes in establishing a culture of trust, customer obsession, learning, excellence, and holistic people development through inclusion. Sulabh started his career as a Software Engineer after completing Engineering in Computer Science. He gained valuable leadership experience while working with startup CEOs and VCs during his education at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi. He is also an alumnus of GE leadership programs. Sulabh has performed leadership advisory to the C-suite including the board of directors and has been a speaker at multiple leadership conferences. As a contribution back to his alma mater, he serves as Vice President for PAN IIT Alumni USA, Atlanta chapter.

Sallie Fulsom Wright, BS, MA, CISSP, has 30+ years of experience in information technology executive leadership serving in the capacity of CIO, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Assistant Vice President and Deputy CIO, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer. She has worked for 4 tier-1 Research institutes including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Oklahoma State University and Georgia State University. She has worked for a total of 9 institutions of higher education and has taught computer science courses for many of them. Currently, she is teaching Cyber Security Classes for Emory University’s partnership with the Georgia Women in Technology Program. Sallie is currently a CIO & Executive Counselor for Info Tech Research Group working with CIOs, CISOs and other Executives to move their organizations to the next level of excellence. Prior to joining Info Tech, she spent 3 years as the CIO for Fulton County Government in Atlanta, Georgia focusing on digital transformation, modernization, strategic planning, and organizational redesign. Ms. Wright was selected in 2018 as a top finalist in the InspireCIO Georgia CIO of the Year Award. In 2014 she was a top five finalist for the Technology Association of Georgia’s (TAG) Diversity Leadership Awards. She was also a top five finalist for 2013 and 2014 TAG Excellence in Leadership Award. In August 2015, she was inducted into the PinkTech Hall of Fame. She is a speaker and moderator at local, regional, and national technology conferences. She serves as a mentor to students in the Georgia State University Robinson School of Business MBA program and other programs. She serves on the Georgia Public Defense Foundation Board, the Inspiredu Board, the Atlanta Technology Professionals Board, the SIM Atlanta Board, the Vendorship Board, the Georgia Prosecutors Foundation and served for 10 years on the Technology Association of Georgia’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board. Ms. Wright built information security organizations for Oklahoma State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and UAB. She worked for the Renaissance Computing Institute in the role of Director of Research Engagement where she participated in the development of multi-disciplinary grants for UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University. She has led many enterprise projects for UAB including PCI Compliance and Web Presence. In addition, she co-founded the Southeast Region Higher Education Security Consortium. She was a founding member of the EDUCAUSE Higher Education Information Security Council for 10 years and served on the Southeast University Research Association (SURA), SANS Advisory Board and the CISO Executive Board. She is also a Certified Executive Coach.

Dr. Michael Owens is an innovative, collaborative, and distinguished leader with over 25 years of experience in startup, corporate, government, and military organizations. A transformation leader and sought-after speaker, Michael frequently keynotes on topics related to cybersecurity, cyberwarfare, and national security matters. As a cybersecurity executive, he has been at the vanguard of some of the most complex issues dealing with breach mitigation/recovery, threat intelligence sharing, and diversity within the tech and cyber industry. Michael is the president and CEO of the U.S. Global Center of Cyber Policy, where he leads the organization in providing federal, state, and local governments with non-partisan thought leadership and expert information and analysis on cybersecurity, cybercrime, and cyberwarfare trends, strategies, and policies from a domestic and international perspective. Prior to this, Michael led the Global Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, and Critical Infrastructure Program for EY within the Forensics, Investigations & Dispute division. In that role, he was responsible for the global strategic direction and standardization of threat intelligence, cybersecurity assessments, audits, and incident response services. Before this, Michael worked at Cisco Systems leading the Advanced Services, Public Sector service delivery team. During this time, he led cybersecurity, wired and wireless networks, and IT strategy engagements for government agencies in the U.S. southeast across and New York. Michael has extensive international and geopolitical experience with projects completed in over 100 countries. As an entrepreneur, Michael pioneered the practice of SMB MSP and fractional CIO/CISO services. Michael is an eight-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a current member of the US Marine Corps Cyber Auxiliary. He is a member of the World Affairs Council of Atlanta, a Political Partner with the Truman National Security Project, and serves on the State Advisory Committee for the US Global Leadership Coalition, the Evanta/Gartner Atlanta CISO Governing Body, and the Leadership Board of the Cybersecurity Collaboration Forum. Michael's educational background includes a bachelor’s from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree from Georgia Institute of Technology, a doctorate from California Intercontinental University, and advanced certificates and executive programs from the U.S. Army War College and Harvard University. He resides in Mableton, Georgia with his two children.

Benji Haye is currently Chief of Staff at Flip AI, a Gen-AI startup focused on helping enterprises unlock their observability data. He’s also a recent graduate of Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA in 2023. Prior to business school, Benji worked in startup operations with Better.com and as a strategy consultant with Accenture. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from NYU in 2017, where he majored in Business Management and double-minored in Public Policy and Psychology.

Aneesh Kumar is an innovative digital leader with a record in healthcare as well as in Silicon Valley. He currently serves as the Chief Digital Innovation Officer at Catalyst Solutions. In this role, he is helping transform Catalyst’s BPO (business process outsourcing) offerings to a business-process-as-a-service platform powered by industry knowledge and advanced analytics. As the Chief Product Officer at Elevance Health, he helped drive a $1B+ increase in sales for the company’s commercial division. He has created product organizations, processes, and culture from scratch at Gainwell Technologies and Cigna. At Accenture, Aneesh helped payers and providers with system transformation. He has also founded and grown two healthcare startups and has led teams of 2 to 2,400 professionals. Earlier, in Silicon Valley, Aneesh defined and delivered multi-hundred-million-dollar products at Apple and Openwave Systems.

Aneesh Kumar is an innovative digital leader with a record in healthcare as well as in Silicon Valley. He currently serves as the Chief Digital Innovation Officer at Catalyst Solutions. In this role, he is helping transform Catalyst’s BPO (business process outsourcing) offerings to a business-process-as-a-service platform powered by industry knowledge and advanced analytics. As the Chief Product Officer at Elevance Health, he helped drive a $1B+ increase in sales for the company’s commercial division. He has created product organizations, processes, and culture from scratch at Gainwell Technologies and Cigna. At Accenture, Aneesh helped payers and providers with system transformation. He has also founded and grown two healthcare startups and has led teams of 2 to 2,400 professionals. Earlier, in Silicon Valley, Aneesh defined and delivered multi-hundred-million-dollar products at Apple and Openwave Systems.

Providing industry-leading practices in cyber-risk management and compliance while implementing an effective cybersecurity program that protects against threats, advances transformation, and drives growth.

Providing industry-leading practices in cyber-risk management and compliance while implementing an effective cybersecurity program that protects against threats, advances transformation, and drives growth.