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Defense IT Summit

Event Date:
Time:
Location:
Ritz Carlton Pentagon City | 1250 S Hayes St, Arlington, VA 22202

The Defense IT Summit unites federal and industry leaders to explore how IT modernization is reshaping the defense landscape.

Leadership will outline key priorities and agency initiatives focused on critical areas such as AI in defense operations, CJADC2 and multi and hybrid cloud security. Join us as we discuss the evolving national security strategy, including advancements in zero-trust architecture.

Defense IT Summit 2025
Agenda

Speaker

  • Leslie Beavers
    Leslie Beavers Acting CIO DOD

Federal leaders are looking toward zero-trust infrastructures and security solutions to better defend networks across the national security landscape. Defense officials provide methods and processes to create a zero-trust environment for better security. IT leaders will discuss how zero-trust architectures enforce access controls and continuous monitoring safeguards sensitive defense data.

Speakers

  • Gurpreet Bhatia
    Gurpreet Bhatia Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity DOD
  • Kynan Carver
    Kynan Carver Cybersecurity Lead, Defense Market Maximus
  • Monica Montgomery
    Monica Montgomery Deputy CISO for Management and Strategy and Deputy Director, Cybersecurity Office NGA

CJADC2 is the north star for the DOD’s digital modernization efforts, uniting all the service branches in air, land, sea, cyber and space toward a common goal of connected, multi-domain operations. Join us as federal leaders discuss the progress they’ve made in pursuit of the strategy and what comes next.

Speaker

  • Justin Fanelli
    Justin Fanelli Acting CTO and PEO Digital Technical Director, Department of the Navy

The Department of Defense faces a constant need to innovate and maintain technological superiority. However, many promising research projects languish in the “valley of death,” failing to secure the necessary funding and support to move beyond initial prototypes. Join our panel as it explores the critical challenges of transitioning promising research from the lab to practical military applications.

Defense leaders are managing, evaluating and assessing agencies’ IT resources to combat some of the most pressing national security challenges. Hear from experts on how they envision IT capabilities enabling missions while staying ahead of evolving threats.

Speakers

  • Bill Hepworth
    Bill Hepworth Program Executive Officer, Enterprise Army
  • Lam Nguyen
    Lam Nguyen Chief Scientist Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center
  • Collen Roller
    Collen Roller Senior Data Scientist Air Force Research Lab
  • Jennifer Swanson
    Jennifer Swanson Deputy Assistant Secretary for Data, Engineering & Software Army

We’ll announce our next batch of Flywheel Award winners, recognizing distinguished leaders and their work in federal government.

The flywheel — a critical component in a machine to increase its momentum — is also a critical symbol representing our goal to keep federal IT decision-makers informed on technology’s impact on government. This momentum is what fuels the constant need for transformers to innovate around the defense systems, infrastructure and tools that are keeping our nation safe.

Categories include: Cyber Defender, Emerging Tech Innovator, Digital Transformer, Data Advocate, Rising Star and Cloud Innovator. The finalists can be seen below.

  • Matt Quinn
    Rising Star Matthew Quinn Joint Operational Edge Product Owner, DISA J9 Hosting and Compute
  • Glenn Parham
    Rising Star Glenn Parham Digital Service Expert, Defense Digital Service
  • Taylor Wells
    Rising Star Taylor Wells Senior Technical Advisor to the Director, DISA
  • Col. Robert Bailey
    Emerging Tech Innovator Col. Robert Bailey Acquisition Portfolio Director, Marine Corps
  • Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley
    Emerging Tech Innovator Brig. Gen. Michael McGinley Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Life Cyber Management Center
  • Margaret Palmieri
    Emerging Tech Innovator Margaret Palmieri Deputy Chief Digital and AI Officer, CDAO, DOD
  • Les Call
    Cyber Defender Les Call Director, Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office, DOD
  • David Voelker
    Cyber Defender David Voelker Zero Trust Implementation Lead, Department of the Navy
  • Charles Wille
    Cyber Defender Charles Wille Deputy Director, Readiness and Security Inspections, JFHQ-DODIN
  • Beth Caswell
    Digital Transformer Beth Caswell Director, Digital Transformation & IT Portfolio Management, Department of the Navy
  • Robert Franzen
    Digital Transformer Robert Franzen Deputy Customer Experience Officer, DOD
  • Joseph Pack
    Digital Transformer Joseph Pack Digital Engineering Lead, Naval Sea Systems Command
  • Earl Armstrong
    Data Advocate Earl Armstrong Principal Technical Advisor for the Naval Operational Energy Office, Department of the Navy
  • Jesus Caban Chief of Clinical and Informatics Research, Walter Reed, DHA
    Data Advocate Jesus Caban Chief Data Scientist, PEO, DHMS
  • Michael Chappell
    Data Advocate Michael Chappell CIO, PEO Enterprise, Army

Fueled by advancements in technology like artificial intelligence and large language models, the rapidly evolving threat landscape demands a proactive approach from federal agencies. This panel will delve into how AI is reshaping strategies to safeguard critical infrastructure, warfighters and sensitive data.

Speaker

  • Joel Krooswyk
    Joel Krooswyk Federal CTO GitLab
  • Ranjeev Mittu
    Ranjeev Mittu Branch Head, Information and Division Sciences U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Speakers
  • Leslie Beavers
    Leslie Beavers Acting CIO, DOD
  • Gurpreet Bhatia
    Gurpreet Bhatia Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer for Cybersecurity, DOD
  • Kynan Carver
    Kynan Carver Cybersecurity Lead, Defense Market, Maximus
  • Justin Fanelli
    Justin Fanelli Acting CTO and PEO Digital Technical Director, Department of the Navy
  • Bill Hepworth
    Bill Hepworth Program Executive Officer, Enterprise, Army
  • Joel Krooswyk
    Joel Krooswyk Federal CTO, GitLab
  • Ranjeev Mittu
    Ranjeev Mittu Branch Head, Information and Division Sciences, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
  • Monica Montgomery
    Monica Montgomery Deputy CISO for Management and Strategy and Deputy Director, Cybersecurity Office, NGA
  • Lam Nguyen
    Lam Nguyen Chief Scientist, Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center
  • Collen Roller
    Collen Roller Senior Data Scientist, Air Force Research Lab
  • Jennifer Swanson
    Jennifer Swanson Deputy Assistant Secretary for Data, Engineering & Software, Army
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