Jeffrey W. Brown is a cybersecurity and IT risk expert with a 25-year track record of implementing cost-effective controls for global Fortune 500 financial institutions including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, GE Capital, BNY Mellon, and AIG. He currently serves as the first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the State of Connecticut, where he is developing and leading a “whole of state” cybersecurity strategy. 

Jeff has authored numerous articles and publications. His latest book, Leading the Digital Workforce, IT Leadership Peak Performance and Agility, published in in June 2023 by CRC Press. He is also co-Chair of Evanta's New York CISO Executive Summit and is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences. He serves as a board advisor for iQ4 and Cowbell Cyber and eShare. He recently launched the Connecticut CyberHub, a collaborative educational initiative aimed at addressing the global shortage of skilled cybersecurity personnel by fostering, accelerating, and scaling the next generation of cybersecurity workforce talent in the State of Connecticut.

Jeff holds a B.A. and an M.S. from Pace University, a certificate in Cybersecurity from Ithaca College, and multiple industry certifications, including CISSP-ISSMP, CISM, CRISC, and PMP

Erik Avakian is former state chief information security officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Erik has over 22 years enterprise experience in security and program management, strategy, service delivery, relationship management, cross-collaboration, program execution, and leading and mentoring teams.

Throughout his 12 ½-year tenure in a CISO role, spanning three different administrations, Erik has amassed a wide range of practical cybersecurity experience in organizational information security strategy, service design, technical standards, security policy, governance, risk management, and compliance. Erik has led numerous enterprise projects and strategic initiatives in areas including intrusion detection and prevention, multifactor authentication, endpoint detection and response, security awareness training, security information and event management, data protection, identity and access management, vulnerability management, digital forensics, and cyber incident response.

Erik’s accomplishments and contributions to the security profession have been nationally recognized. In 2015, Erik was named by GovTech as one of the top 10 Influencers in Government. Erik received a Top 50 in Cybersecurity from StateScoop in 2018, and was named a Top 25 Doer, Dreamer & Driver from GovTech in 2019. Erik also served on the MS-ISAC Executive Committee over the past 8 years, assisting in the nationwide strategic approach for cybersecurity efforts for state and local government. Erik holds numerous industry certifications including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA), Certified Government Chief Information Officer (CGCIO) and is ITIL v3 certified. He an active member of the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).