Austin, TX
June 5-6 2025
The battlefield has changed. It’s no longer just boots on the ground — It’s code, cloud, and quantum. On June 5–6, in Austin, Texas, the Cipher Brief presents NatSecEDGE — Where national security meets the leading edge of innovation. From AI-driven warfare to open-source intelligence. Quantum-secure comms to the race for critical minerals. This is where the threats are real, the tools are evolving, and the mission is clear: Secure the future. Be at the edge.
Mark Montgomery
Former Executive Director, U.S. Cyberspace Solarium Commission
Rick
Ledgett
Former Deputy Director of NSA
Chip
Usher
Senior Director for Intelligence at the Special Competitiveness Studies Project
Dr. Michael Vickers
Former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
The Hon. Sue Gordon
Partner, Gordon Ventures / Former PDDNI, ODNI
Meet the leaders charting a path forward.
Gilman
Louie
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, America’s Frontier Fund
John
Watters
Chairman and CEO of Apollo Information Systems and CEO of JPW Advisory
Jeremy
Hitchcock
Co-Founder and Partner, New North Ventures
Amb. Henry
Crumpton
Partner, Crumpton Ventures & Founder, Crumpton Global
Matt
Redding
Assistant Director of Industrial Security, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA)
John Sherman
Former Chief Information Officer, DoD
John
Sherman
Former Chief Information Officer, DoD
Dean, George Bush School of Government and Public Service
The Hon. Bob Kerrey
Managing Director, Allen and Company
Sheetal
Patel
Former Assistant Director for CIA’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center
Sheetal Patel
Former Assistant Director for CIA’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center
Kelly
Bissell
CVP, Microsoft
Kelly Bissell
CVP, Microsoft
Brian Miller
Senior Vice President for Growth, BMNT
Will
Hurd
Former U.S. Congressman, and former CIA Officer
Matt
Olsen
Co-Chair, Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice, WilmerHale
Matt
Olsen
Co-Chair, Defense, National Security and Government Contracts Practice, WilmerHale
Teresa Smetzer
CEO, Smetzer Associates LLC
Cynthia Kaiser
Former Deputy Assistant Director, FBI Cyber Division, and Senior Vice President, Halcyon
Mary Beth Long
Former United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
Steve Faehl
Federal Security CTO, Microsoft
Teresa Smetzer
CEO, Smetzer Associates LLC
Steve
Faehl
Federal Security CTO, Microsoft
Cynthia Kaiser
Former Deputy Assistant Director, FBI Cyber Division, and Senior Vice President, Halcyon
Shawn Driver
Chief of Staff, HavocAI
Philip Carson
Founding Member & Investor, Cubit Capital
Jim
Blom
Head of Corporate Development and Portfolio Strategy, Fairlead
Susan Hennessey
Counselor, WilmerHale and former Chief of Staff, NatSec Division, DOJ
LTC Nick
Rinaldi
Human Performance Portfolio Lead at Army Applications Laboratory
Artificial Intelligence
Critical Minerals
Open-Source Intelligence
Special thanks to our sponsors for their support!
Platinum Plus
Supporting
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