Federal Tech Leaders Summit

The Honorable Kirsten A. Davies was sworn in as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Department of War (DoW) on December 23, 2025, following her presidential nomination and U.S. Senate confirmation. As the principal advisor to the Secretary of War on all matters relating to information management, information technology, cybersecurity, and information assurance, her core mission is to accelerate decision advantage for the warfighter and ensure America’s technological superiority.

As CIO, Ms. Davies exercises enterprise-wide leadership over the Department’s information technology and cybersecurity strategy, budget, and execution. She is responsible for ensuring the resilience and operational effectiveness of the digital infrastructure that underpins warfighting, readiness, and strategic deterrence. Her authority extends to modernizing legacy environments and strengthening cyber resilience against a contested threat landscape. Her mandate includes oversight of critical capabilities such as C4 systems, position, navigation, and timing, and electromagnetic spectrum management. Furthermore, she exercises authority, direction, and control on behalf of the Secretary of War over the strategic direction of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the NSA’s Cyber Security Directorate (CSD) Information System Security Program (ISSP), and the Department of War Cyber Crime Center (DC3).

Ms. Davies brings nearly two decades of executive leadership experience at the intersection of cybersecurity, enterprise technology, and large-scale organizational transformation. Prior to her federal service, she served as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for Unilever, where she led global cyber resilience for one of the world’s largest consumer goods enterprises. Her distinguished career includes technology and cyber roles at The Estée Lauder Companies, Barclays-Africa Group, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, and Siemens. Across these roles, she built high-performing teams to defend complex global operations—from manufacturing and supply chains to financial networks—against advanced persistent cyber threats.

In addition to her corporate leadership, Ms. Davies is the founder of the Institute for Cyber, a nonprofit organization dedicated to citizen safety and security in the digital universe. Ms. Davies holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Politics and Government from the University of Puget Sound. She has pursued advanced studies in international law, business, and human rights at John Hopkins University and the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and holds a professional certification in change management from the Prosci Institute.

Seval Oz serves as Senior Advisor and Nominee for Assistant Secretary for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology at the U.S. Department of Transportation, where she drives innovation deployment and aligns R&D with national strategic goals. A pioneer in autonomous and connected mobility, Seval formerly served as Head of Global Partnerships for Google [X]’s Self-Driving Car Program (Waymo) and as CEO of Continental Intelligent Transportation Systems, where she launched Continental AG’s Silicon Valley division.
Her extensive leadership experience includes serving as CEO of Aurima and holding public board positions with Microvision (MVIS) and Pioneer Electronics. An expert in AI, ADAS, and digital transformation, Seval holds nine patents in vehicular technology and is a published author in MIT Technology Review. She earned her MBA from the Wharton School and her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and MIT.

Lance Jenkinson is the CIO for the VA OIG.

Sean Gallagher is the Acting CIO at NASA.

Ms. Theresa Kinney; Senior Deputy Program Director/Manager for the NASA SEWP Program Office. Ms. Kinney manages the strategic direction, planning and operations of SEWP – a premier Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) providing Federal Agencies access to the latest in Information Technology & Communication and Audio-Visual Technology solutions. Ms. Kinney is a 20+ year veteran to NASA. In this capacity, she is the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for the SEWP Program overseeing 190+contracts. Ms. Kinney is an ACT/IAC Fellow and Board member, an active member of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), and Board Member for ATARC. Ms. Kinney was the winner of the Federal 100 award for 2022, for her work with Supply Chain Risk policies and requirements. She prepared NASA’s first Working Capital Fund (WCF) business case and worked to fit the WCF model within the framework of the existing SEWP architecture while insuring continuation of NASA’s Executive agent designation from Office of Management and Budget (OMB). A native of Montana, Ms. Kinney graduated with academic honors from Strayer University in Maryland. Following graduation, she continued her education at George Washington University to receive her master’s Certificate in Federal Contracting.

Jessie Posilkin is the Acting Executive Director for TMF at the GSA.

Justin Cole currently serves as the Director of Data Transparency at the Bureau of Fiscal Service, where he oversees the development of two government-wide data products: USAspending.gov, the official source of government spending data, and FiscalData.Treasury.gov, the official source of important financial data including the national deficit and government revenue. Previously, he worked as a Strategic Advisor at the IRS and served as a Presidential Innovation Fellow (PIF) with several different agencies, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the General Services Administration. He has a Master of Science in Public Policy & Management from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Economics and Policy Studies from Syracuse University.

Jim Tunnessen is the CIO & Chief AI Officer for the National Endowment for the Arts, where he provides executive leadership and oversight of the agency’s Office of Information & Technology Management in support of the NEA’s mission and strategic goals. He is a Doctor of Engineering (AI/ML) candidate at George Washington University, with research focused on multi-agent governance in the federal IT environment. Jim is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, the Society for Information Management – Capital Area Chapter, and the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Carlene C. Ileto is the Chief Management and Governance Officer for U.S. CBP. In this role, Ms. Ileto is responsible for building a directorate that is comprised of Workforce Management, Financial and Acquisition Management, Portfolio and Program Management, Strategic Management, Trusted Partnership, and Mission Engagement. Her stewardship in bringing these areas into a single directorate has allowed for complete oversight of major mission programs and portfolios to achieve mission excellence.

In her previous role as Deputy Chief Data Officer at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Ms. Ileto helped establish the Chief Data Officer Directorate as a separate and distinct line of business. She was directly responsible for the many facets of data management, data framework, data standards, policy, analytics, data interoperability, and data security for the Department. Previously, Ms. Ileto was the Executive Director of the Infrastructure Services Office within the DHS OCIO where she answered the call for the data center optimization and consolidation efforts, network services, as well as the data center and cloud migration initiatives. As the Deputy Chief Data Office, Carlene received the 2019/2020 Fed Scoop award.

Prior to her move to the Infrastructure Office, Ms. Ileto led the Products and Services Delivery Office in delivering agency-wide products and services such as Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs), Mobility, and the Cyber Security Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) implementation across all DHS Components. The Products and Services Delivery Office was the Fed Scoop Cyber Security 2017 winners for the CDM implementation and the 2018 AFFIRM winner for Cyber Security.

Ms. Ileto, a member of the Senior Executive Service since 2006, previously served as the Executive Director for the OCIO Enterprise Business Management Office (EBMO), with responsibility for portfolio and program management, IT policy, and Program Life Cycle Methodologies, including Agile Methodology. Ms. Ileto oversaw the planning, acquisition, and execution, of $6.8 billion in IT investments across the DHS IT Portfolio. Ms. Ileto successfully built policies and procedures to implement the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) within DHS. The EBMO Office was the recipient of the 2015 CIO 100 Award in Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2014 AFFIRM Award winner, and 2013 FED 100 Award winner.

Prior to joining DHS, Ms. Ileto served as Director of Enterprise Voice Networks at the IRS, where she led the deployment of telecommunications technologies in Modernization and Information Technology Services (MITS). As Executive Director of the Internal Management Domain Directorate, she managed over 430 employees, delivering the IRS integrated financial management system and modernizing collections compliance systems to ensure accurate collections from businesses and citizens. One of those systems was a Video relay Services System that provides the ability for deaf/hard of hearing (DHOH) to communicate with each other using American Sign Language (ASL) through a remote interpreter. As a result, the office received a CIO Symposium 100 Award (CIO Magazine).

Ms. Ileto began her 40-year career as a systems engineer working on the Surface Launched Cruise Missile project for BAE Systems and was a systems engineer for IBM Federal and Commercial Division for 12 years. She is a native of Hampton Roads, Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with a minor in computer science.

Austin Clark is the Enterprise Security Architect at the Department of Transportation (DOT), bringing 15 years of dedicated government civilian service to his role. He’s currently spearheading critical cybersecurity initiatives, including enterprise logging, phishing-resistant MFA, zero trust architecture, and SASE, fortifying the DOT’s digital defenses. Before his tenure at the DOT, Austin served as a Defensive Cyber Branch Chief for the Department of the Army. Beyond his civilian contributions, he is also a Chief Warrant Officer 4 in the Army Reserve’s cyber branch. Academically accomplished, Austin holds an MS in Information Security Engineering from SANS and a suite of industry certifications.

Tommy Gardner is HP’s Chief Technology Officer for HP Federal, spanning the US Federal Agencies, Higher Education, 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, digital supply chains, quantum information science, artificial intelligence, high performance computing and systems integration.

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, an ASME Fellow, and serves on the ANSI Board of Directors. He is currently on the U. S. Council on Competitiveness and serves as the Co-chair of the Advanced Computer Roundtable.

Christine Pacheco is a highly accomplished professional, and currently serves as the Director of Federal Civilian Sales at Equinix. In this role, she leads a team of sales professionals focused on driving digital transformation at federal civilian agencies, including Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Treasury.

Prior to her current position, Christine held the role of Director Client Executive at AT&T, where she led the financial vertical sales team within the public sector division. She successfully managed a $150M book of business, which included the Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, and various financial independent agencies. Throughout her tenure at AT&T, Christine served in leadership roles, including leading the Contract Modifications team and serving as Chief of Staff supporting the President of AT&T Government Solutions and National Business.

Christine currently resides in Alexandria, VA, with her husband, two active children, and their rescue pup, Sonny. She values the importance of work-life balance and finds joy in spending time with her family.