Defense, space, and critical energy infrastructure share a common thread. The systems being protected are strategic assets whose failure carries consequences far beyond a single organization. Advanced nuclear energy, offensive and defensive cyberspace operations, aerospace manufacturing, and defense contracting all operate under a level of national consequence that shapes how security is built and governed. The leaders in this feature bring backgrounds spanning military targeting operations, federal cybersecurity governance, and enterprise security leadership, and their work reflects what it means to protect infrastructure the country depends on.
Robert Bivins – Acting CISO, United States Air Force
Robert Bivins is serving as acting CISO for the Department of the Air Force since May 2026, providing enterprise level cybersecurity governance, risk oversight, and statutory compliance integration across Air Force and Space Force operations. He spent more than three years as chief of the compliance and cybersecurity divisions within the DAF CISO organization, expanding his scope in 2025 to oversee integrated CISO functions across FOIA, privacy, records management, Section 508, and RMF policy. Before that role, he spent five years as CTO and associate director of the Security and Support Services Division at the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, managing cybersecurity, IT projects, and communications missions.
His earlier Air Force career includes nearly three years as an enterprise architect at the Pentagon reviewing programs for policy alignment, and more than five years as a computer engineer supporting a 100,000 component test lab. His career reflects sixteen years of progressive responsibility inside Air Force cybersecurity governance, culminating in the top security seat for one of the largest military branches in the country.
Faisal Ahmed – CISO, TRIUMPH
Faisal Ahmed joined TRIUMPH as CISO in February 2026, bringing more than twenty years of cybersecurity, technology management, and risk management leadership across Fortune 500 companies, government, and healthcare. Before TRIUMPH, he spent more than four years at Howmet Aerospace, most recently as deputy CISO and senior cyber and CMMC operations manager, and previously as CMMC program manager guiding the company toward DoD Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Level 2 readiness across fourteen domains and 110 controls for a five billion dollar aerospace business.
His earlier career spans federal cybersecurity program leadership at the National Institutes of Health, Health and Human Services, and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield’s Federal Employee Program, along with program management roles at the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of the Interior. He holds PMP, CISSP, CMMC, and Blockchain Architect certifications. That combination of federal healthcare cybersecurity governance and aerospace CMMC compliance leadership gives him a security perspective grounded in both regulatory rigor and defense industrial base requirements.
Traci Gaines – Chief of Cybersecurity, SAIC
Traci Gaines has served as chief of cybersecurity for SAIC’s Technology Application Development and Sustainment contract since June 2025, leading contract wide cybersecurity strategy and governance protecting mission critical systems and data supporting defense and space operations. She spent more than two years as a cybersecurity manager at SAIC before stepping into her current role. Her career includes more than twenty one years of service in the United States Air Force in cyber systems operations, along with roles at DXC Technology as a cybersecurity engineer, SAIC as an information security risk management analyst, Telos Corporation as an IT project manager, and CACI as a configuration and data management specialist.
She holds an MBA in information technology management along with CISSP and Project Plus certifications, and serves as an adjunct professor at Bellevue University teaching cybersecurity and information technology courses. More than twenty five years in the cyber domain, spanning military service and multiple defense contractor environments, reflects a career built on sustained operational depth in mission critical government systems.
Vincent Wolterman – CISO, Clear Ridge Defense
Vincent Wolterman became CISO at Clear Ridge Defense in March 2026, following eight years at the company across roles spanning vice president of applied research, ethical hacker, vice president of cybersecurity, cyber software engineer, cyber tool developer, and director of special programs. As VP of cybersecurity, he reported directly to C level leadership with responsibility for all facets of the company’s security posture. Before Clear Ridge Defense, his career centered on offensive cyberspace operations and military targeting, including more than sixteen years of military operations planning experience and six years of offensive cyberspace operations work.
He served as senior OCO and fires planner supporting Joint Force Headquarters Cyber and Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, and as fires planner and targeting officer with U.S. Army Cyber Command synchronizing offensive cyberspace operations and intelligence efforts for a Combat Mission Team. Earlier, as a targeting officer with the 4th Infantry Division, he orchestrated cyber enabled high value individual targeting in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, and commanded the Joint Defense Operations Center at Kandahar Airfield. That direct offensive cyberspace and military targeting background is a distinctive foundation for a CISO role, giving him firsthand experience with the adversary tactics that defense sector security programs are built to defend against.
Marcus Blackstone – CISO, X-energy
Marcus Blackstone was named CISO at X-energy in February 2026, after serving more than three years as director of cybersecurity at the advanced nuclear energy company. His work focuses on enterprise wide programs safeguarding critical infrastructure, ensuring compliance with privacy regulations and Nuclear Regulatory Commission guidelines, and integrating technologies including artificial intelligence to strengthen threat detection and predictive risk management. He began at X-energy as information security manager before advancing to director of cybersecurity and then CISO.
Before X-energy, he spent more than four years as managing partner and CISO at Truarc.io, and served on Presidio’s security advisory board while working as a principal security consultant there. His earlier career includes information assurance roles at Northrop Grumman and CACI International supporting the U.S. Coast Guard Finance Center, and an IT manager role at Alere. That progression from federal information assurance work through consulting and into nuclear energy cybersecurity leadership reflects a career built around protecting systems where operational failure carries consequences well beyond data loss.
Strategic Infrastructure Demands Strategic Security
The organizations in this feature protect nuclear energy generation, military cyberspace operations, aerospace manufacturing supporting national defense, and mission critical systems for defense and space programs. Security failures in these environments are not measured only in financial terms. They carry implications for national security, energy resilience, and military readiness. The leaders in this feature bring backgrounds shaped by military service, federal governance, and enterprise security leadership, and their work reflects the weight of protecting infrastructure that the country’s strategic posture depends on.
John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.