Illinois’ manufacturing base spans industrial equipment, automation, building materials, welding, and complex enterprise operations that increasingly depend on secure software, resilient infrastructure, and disciplined risk management. The leaders in this feature reflect that range. Their backgrounds cover enterprise security strategy, secure software development, operations, architecture, compliance, AI governance, infrastructure modernization, and cybersecurity program building inside organizations where physical operations and digital systems are closely tied.
Scott Anderson — Director and Deputy CISO, John Deere
Scott Anderson is director and deputy CISO at John Deere, where he leads key parts of the enterprise security program, including security architecture, security awareness and communications, the Cybersecurity Defense Center, and secure software development lifecycle initiatives. In the role, he helps drive execution of the company’s information security strategy and regularly briefs executive leadership and the board on cyber risk and security posture. That combination of program execution, board communication, and SSDLC responsibility stands out in a manufacturing company operating at global scale.
Before moving into the deputy CISO role, Anderson held senior leadership positions across enterprise data and analytics, infrastructure and operations, digital transformation, global hosting and network services, and application delivery at Deere. That breadth gives him a profile shaped not just by security, but by long experience across the technology stack inside one of Illinois’ most prominent industrial companies. His background in enterprise AI strategy, data governance, and cloud transformation adds further depth to his current security leadership role.
Jorge Loeza — Director Information Security & Operations, ITW Welding
Jorge Loeza is director of information security and operations for ITW Welding, where he now leads security and operational efforts inside a major manufacturing business line. His profile reflects a leader with experience spanning security, networking, infrastructure, cloud, data center operations, and IT service management across several industries. That breadth is useful in manufacturing settings, where security leaders often have to work across plant, enterprise, and distributed operational environments rather than in a narrowly defined security silo.
Before joining ITW Welding, Loeza spent more than 16 years at Kroll in global network and security leadership roles and also held earlier positions in healthcare, infrastructure, and network administration. His combination of architecture, operations, and security management gives him a practical, implementation-oriented background that fits well in a feature focused on Illinois manufacturing and industrial technology leadership.
Patrick Dunphy — Head of Cybersecurity, Omron Management Center of America
Patrick Dunphy is head of cybersecurity at Omron Management Center of America, where he serves as the primary cybersecurity leader for a multinational organization supporting business units across robotics, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology components. In that role, he developed the organization’s first cybersecurity roadmap, built an AI adoption and governance framework, helped reduce cyber insurance costs, and partnered with business leaders on customer-facing cybersecurity programs. That is the kind of cross-functional remit that carries particular weight in industrial organizations with multiple operating companies and product lines.
Dunphy’s earlier work includes senior technology and cybersecurity leadership roles at American Hotel & Lodging Association and Hospitality Technology Next Generation, where he handled strategy, governance, product development, and large-scale industry collaboration. At Omron, those experiences translate into a leadership style centered on technology alignment, risk reduction, governance, and business enablement across a manufacturing-heavy portfolio.
Brian Ekkebus — Director & Chief Information Security Officer, USG
Brian Ekkebus is director and chief information security officer at USG, where he is responsible for the company’s information security program and long-term security strategy. His work includes managing the security roadmap, directing audit and compliance activities, and balancing control requirements with the practical needs of the business. That balance is especially important in manufacturing environments, where protecting intellectual property, operations, and core systems must be done in a way that supports business continuity rather than slowing it down.
Before joining USG, Ekkebus spent more than three decades at Northern Trust in roles covering identity and access management, information security governance, risk, audit, and data security operations. That long foundation in governance and control gives him a different but valuable profile in this slate: less centered on public-facing transformation language and more rooted in disciplined program leadership, mature control structures, and organizational change over time.
Thomas Henson — Director Enterprise InfoSec & Compliance, Boyd Group Services Inc.
Thomas Henson is director of enterprise information security and compliance at Boyd Group Services, the corporate parent of Gerber Collision & Glass. His profile highlights an experienced risk, technology, and cybersecurity leader who has built information security capabilities from the ground up and aligned them to changing business conditions such as digital transformation and Manufacturing 4.0. That ability to build and evolve security organizations is a strong fit for industrial and operationally complex environments.
Earlier, Henson served as CISO at Molex for more than a decade, where he led initiatives spanning risk management, GRC, cloud, IoT, product-related compliance requirements, board reporting, third-party certifications, OT security, incident response, business continuity, disaster recovery, and supply chain security. That tenure gives him one of the deepest manufacturing-specific security backgrounds in this group, with experience extending across both enterprise and industrial domains.
Digital priorities across Illinois manufacturing
The leaders in this group reflect how cybersecurity in Illinois manufacturing is becoming more intertwined with software development, AI governance, infrastructure modernization, OT and industrial operations, compliance, and board-level risk communication. Their roles show that manufacturing security leadership is no longer limited to perimeter defense or audit readiness. It now sits much closer to business transformation, product integrity, resilience, and long-term operating strategy.
Explore more profiles of the leaders shaping cybersecurity across numerous industries in our CISOs to Watch collection.