Our Speakers
Get ready to learn from a diverse lineup of experts, innovators, and passionate professionals sharing their knowledge across cybersecurity disciplines. Whether it's offensive, defensive, or everything in between, these speakers bring real-world experience and fresh perspectives to the BSides SWFL stage.
Featured Speakers
Bio
Bio
Bio
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Brian Zegers
Information Security Officer at Lee Health
Brian Zegers works as a Information Security Officer at Lee Health, which is a Hospitals & Physicians Clinics company with an estimated 14 K employees; and founded in 1916. They are part of the Information Security team within the Information Technology Department and their management level is Non-Manager. Brian is currently based in Fort Myers, United States.
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Craig Chamberlain
Causality Engineer
Craig has seen things you people wouldn't believe - attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, C-beams glittering in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. He was a principal at three successful security product startups. In between startups, he served as a special consultant for security at apex level finance and defense sector firms. He previously served as a principal researcher and area lead at Elastic where he developed the first ML jobs for cloud native threat hunting and detection among other features. He is a member of the review board at CAMLIS, a policy attaché at DEFCON and a mentor at BSides Las Vegas. He has presented at numerous conferences including the SANS Threat Hunting Summit, SOURCE Boston, Cloud Security World and AWS Community Days in Boston and New York, and six BSides conferences.
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Erich Kron
Speaker, Podcast Host, Author and Social Engineering Expert
Erich Kron, CISO Advisor at KnowBe4, author, podcast host, and regular contributor to cybersecurity industry publications with over 750 published news comments, is a veteran information security professional with over 30 years’ experience in the medical, aerospace manufacturing and defense fields. He is the former security manager for the US Army's 2nd Regional Cyber Center and holds CISSP, CISSP-ISSAP, SACP and many other certifications. Erich has worked with information security professionals around the world to provide the tools, training and educational opportunities to succeed in Information Security.
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Ethan Muntz
Strategic Threat Analyst II - Health-ISAC Threat Operations Center
Ethan Muntz is a Strategic Threat Analyst at Health-ISAC. Combining interest in cybersecurity issues and machine learning, Ethan aspires to bring current and actionable cybersecurity trend analysis to the Health-ISAC membership. Ethan acts as the Health-ISAC liaison in joint research into emerging AI security risks facing healthcare, including AI model poisoning and large-scale social engineering. Since joining the Health-ISAC team in 2022, Ethan has spearheaded many strategic initiatives, such as joint research with members, a biweekly geopolitical newsletter, and monthly deep-dive reports into influential policy. Finally, Ethan facilitates two working groups at Health-ISAC, the Artificial Intelligence Working Group and the Regional Tensions Working Group.
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Harshad Sadashiv Kadam
Indeed Inc, Senior Infrastructure Security Engineer
Harshad Sadashiv Kadam is a Senior Security Infrastructure Engineer at Indeed with over a decade of experience driving Zero Trust, SASE, and multi-cloud security for global enterprises. He thrives at the intersection of strategy and hands-on engineering, designing next-generation defenses against AI-driven threats while mentoring emerging security talent.
Previously a Cloud Infrastructure Engineering Manager, Harshad led global cloud migrations and large-scale reliability initiatives, delivering multimillion-dollar efficiencies and strengthening operational resilience. As a mentor and AI-Champions Guild leader, he is passionate about fostering inclusion and inspiring the next generation of security innovators. -
JC Vega
Founder, Executive Security Advisors
Colonel J. Carlos Vega is a former military officer and current cybersecurity executive with over 30 years of leadership experience across defense, government, and industry. He is widely recognized for bridging mission and market, bringing deep expertise in cyber risk, governance, and organizational transformation.
A former CISO, CIO, and strategic leader, Vega has led innovation within the Department of Defense and shaped cybersecurity strategy across startups, public agencies, and corporate boardrooms. His work focuses on systemic cyber risk, supply chain security, and enterprise resilience.
Vega was the first Cyber Operations Colonel in the U.S. Army and played a central role in the creation of the Army’s cyber branch. As a co-founder of the Army Cyber Institute, he helped define the history, doctrine, and future of Army Cyber Operations, building a professional culture rooted in high performance, ethics, and mission-first leadership. His experience provides a rare, first-hand perspective on the institutional evolution of military cyber power.
He serves as a board member and strategic advisor to multiple organizations, where he provides executive oversight and guidance on digital risk, resilience, and cybersecurity governance. He is Vice Chairman of the ISSA Board of Directors Special Interest Group (BoD SIG), a forum dedicated to advancing cybersecurity expertise in corporate boardrooms.
A frequent keynote speaker and trusted voice in national security and cyber policy circles, Vega draws on decades of operational leadership to inform and empower decision-makers navigating complexity and disruption.
He is a Senior Army Aviator and Blackhawk Instructor Pilot, ISC2 CISSP certified, a Board Certified Qualified Technical Expert, and has taught at West Point. He holds a graduate degree from the Naval Postgraduate School. -
Jim Routh
Jim Routh is a former CSO/CISO (6x) in financial services and healthcare. Jim served as the Chair of the H-ISAC for five years, Board Member for the FS-ISAC for seven years, while also serving the FS-ISAC leading committees for many years. He is
currently a Board Member for three organizations and advises over 20 cybersecurity and IT companies. He currently teaches cybersecurity at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Jim is an industry icon in cybersecurity. He is an active advisor and investor with five venture capital firms that focus on cybersecurity. -
John Christly
John Christly, VP of Commercial Services at OneZero Solutions
John Christly is the former Chief Information Officer and Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Hallandale Beach, where he directed critical response operations across cyber, natural disaster, and civil emergency scenarios.
He now serves as the Vice President of Commercial Services for OneZero Solutions, where he leads the strategy, growth, and execution of the commercial cybersecurity business across a diverse range of sectors including maritime, healthcare, energy, oil & gas, and financial services.
A FEMA-trained leader, John holds the Professional Development Series Certificate from the Emergency Management Institute and has completed courses including IS-100 (Introduction to ICS), IS-200 (ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents), IS-700 (NIMS: An Introduction), IS-800 (National Response Framework), ICS-300 (Intermediate ICS), and ICS-400 (Advanced ICS). These certifications equip him with advanced Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) competencies for leading coordinated, multi-agency responses.
John is also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), CMMC Certified Professional (CCP), Certified Anti-Terrorism Specialist (CAS), ISO 27001:2022 ISMS Lead Auditor, Registered DoD RMF Practitioner (RDRP), Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and an FAA-licensed Drone Pilot.
With more than two decades of executive cybersecurity experience including roles as Global CISO, Municipal CIO, and CEO of a InfoSec/GRC consulting firm, he has led high-impact cyber incident responses, forensic investigations, and tabletop exercises across healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure sectors. -
John Dilgen
Threat Intel Analyst
John Dilgen is a Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst at ReliaQuest, where he specializes in researching cyber threats impacting ReliaQuest customers. With a strong technical background, he previously served as an Incident Response Analyst and Trainer at ReliaQuest.
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Justin Wynn
Principal, Coalfire Systems
Justin Wynn is a Principal at Coalfire who specializes in physical security and regularly performs network, application, wireless, and social engineering penetration tests. He's conducted over 300 penetration tests and numerous physical engagements - where style is everything. Recent events have inspired Justin to become more involved with security awareness and community outreach in addition to spending time on covert entry training, physical 0-day research, and inventing new tools+techniques for physical security. Other interests include radio/SDR, entrepreneurship, inventing, shooting, martial arts, and other cliche hobbies. Please like and subscribe. @redteamwynns
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Merrit Bear
Chief Security Officer at Enkrypt AI
Merritt serves as Chief Security Officer to Enkrypt AI, and also advises a small handful of young tech companies including Andesite and AppOmni. Previously, Merritt served for over five years in the Office of the CISO at Amazon Web Services as a Deputy CISO, helping to secure AWS infrastructure at vast scale. Her career includes security roles in all three branches of the U.S. government and the private sector. Merritt's insights on business strategy and tech have been published in outlets such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, and SC Media. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College.
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Michael Brown
Security & Compliance Director
Michael Brown, CISSP, HCISPP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC, CDPSE, GSLC, GSTRT, is an information security professional and leader with years of experience in IT and information security/cybersecurity. While a security consultant advisor, he worked with clients in the healthcare, financial, manufacturing, and other sectors to assess their security programs and work with them to improve and mature their security posture. He is now Security and Compliance Director for FRG Systems, ensuring their HITRUST and SOC compliance. He is experienced with a variety of security regulations, frameworks, and standards. A seasoned speaker and presenter, he has presented at SFISSA, BSides Tampa, St Pete, and Orlando, HackMiamiCon, and ISSA International. He is an ISSA Fellow and Secretary and past president of the South Florida Chapter of ISSA.
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Michael Roytman
CTO at Empirical Security
Michael Roytman is the CTO of Empirical Security. Previously, he was the Chief Data Scientist of Kenna Security, and a Distinguished Engineer at Cisco. He served on boards for the Society of Information Risk Analysts, Cryptomove, and Social Capital. He was the co-founder and executive chair of Dharma Platform (acquired, BAO Systems), for which he landed on the 2017 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. He currently serves on Forbes Technology Council.
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Mike Raggo
Co-Founder
Michael T. Raggo has over 30 years of security research experience. During this time, he has uncovered and ethically disclosed vulnerabilities in products including Samsung, Checkpoint, and Netgear. Michael is the author of “Mobile Data Loss: Threats & Countermeasures” and “Data Hiding” for Syngress Book. He is also a frequent presenter at security conferences, including Black Hat, DEF CON, Gartner, RSA, DoD Cyber Crime, OWASP, SANS. He was also awarded the Pentagon’s Certificate of Appreciation.
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Mrunal Gangrade
Mrunal Gangrade – Vice President, JPMorgan Chase | AI & Healthcare Innovator | IEEE Contributor
Mrunal Gangrade is a Vice President at JPMorgan Chase, where she leads pioneering initiatives at the intersection of technology, data science, and healthcare innovation. With a deep focus on applying machine learning to real-world healthcare data, she develops predictive solutions that drive operational efficiency and improve patient outcomes.
As a passionate advocate for responsible AI, Mrunal collaborates with academic and industry partners to explore the ethical, regulatory, and technical challenges of deploying AI in clinical settings. She has authored peer-reviewed publications in leading IEEE journals and serves as a reviewer for conferences and journals in AI and healthcare informatics.
Beyond her technical work, Mrunal actively contributes to the innovation ecosystem as a hackathon judge and thought leader, frequently speaking on the future of intelligent healthcare, AI governance, and data-driven impact. Her unique perspective bridges financial services and healthtech, making her a sought-after voice in cross-disciplinary conversations on digital transformation. -
Sandi Towers Romero
PhD Professor Paralegal Studies
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Sudarshan Tirumani Narayanan
Associate Director of Operational Architecture
Sudarshan Narayanan is a seasoned technology leader with over 21 years of experience in Information Technology, specializing in operations architecture, TechOps, DevSecOps, and platform engineering. He currently serves as the Associate Director of Operational Architecture at Kyndryl Inc., where he has spearheaded transformative initiatives across Bridge, AIOps, and ModernOps platforms, driving architectural convergence and operational excellence at scale.
Throughout his career, Sudarshan has developed deep expertise in platform engineering, GitOps, cloud technologies, automation, release engineering, and application development, with hands-on involvement in system analysis, design, software development, testing, deployment, and operational support. His leadership has been instrumental in translating complex DevSecOps challenges into automated, scalable processes to achieve NoOps at scale.
Previously, Sudarshan held key roles at IBM Corporation (USA and India) as a DevOps Architect, and at Allscripts India as an Expert Software Engineer, as well as in earlier positions at Extentia Information Technology. His projects have spanned multi-cloud architectural transformations, CI/CD automation frameworks, Kubernetes orchestration, cloud brokerage solutions, and enterprise software deployment systems, with proven results in reducing operational complexity, accelerating deployment velocity, and strengthening security posture.
His accomplishments include multiple patent filings, Outstanding Technical Achievement Awards (OTAA) at IBM, and several Excellence Awards at Kyndryl. He also contributed to Kyndryl’s recognition as the “Most Innovative DevOps Vendor” for its Bridge DevSecOps Framework. Sudarshan holds certifications as a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Red Hat Delivery Specialist, and in Container Platform Administration I & II, as well as Platform Engineering.
Sudarshan earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Electronics & Communication from K.V.G. College of Engineering, affiliated with Visvesvaraya Technological University, in 2004. -
Vlad Iliushin
Cybersecurity Expert@ ELLIO Technology, President of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO).
Vlad is the co-founder and cybersecurity expert at ELLIO and President of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO).
A true cybersecurity enthusiast, Vlad’s passionate about network security, IoT, and cyber deception. Before ELLIO, he founded and led the Avast IoT Lab (now Gen Digital), developing security features and researching IoT threats. He has spoken at many conferences, including Web Summit and South by Southwest (SXSW), where he demonstrated IoT vulnerabilities. -
Wilson Bautista Jr.
CEO, Jun Cyber and Founder of BSides St. Pete
Wilson Bautista is a retired military officer and the founder and CEO of Jün Cyber, a consulting firm focused on information security. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Cyber Ohana Project, a Florida nonprofit. Wilson has a Master's in Information Systems Management from Boston University and an MBA from the University of South Florida.
In the Marine Corps, he led a platoon in Afghanistan, ensuring technology connectivity for over 1,000 personnel. As a defense contractor, he prepared Southeastern Marine Corps bases for audits by the Defense Information Systems Agency, overseeing security reviews and vulnerability assessments.
Wilson helped a global manufacturing company achieve ISO 27001 certification and GDPR compliance by establishing operational readiness practices. He has served as a virtual CISO for various sectors, developing cybersecurity programs including vulnerability management and third-party security risk assessments.
He holds multiple certifications, including CISSP, ISACA (CISM, CISA, CRISC, CGEIT), ISO/IEC 27001 Senior Lead Implementer, and Project Management Professional.