Greensboro’s CISOs reached the role from some unlikely starting points. One of the six below programmed threat codes into missile detection systems on the F-111 as an Air Force avionics technician. Another directed IT for NATO in Brussels and coalition communications at Bagram Air Field. A third co-founded an insurance agency with his wife and served as its CTO through more than 30 acquisitions. Others built careers inside a single company for nearly two decades, ran IT for a chemical manufacturer’s expansion, and managed technology for a charter school network. They now protect a health system, an insurance brokerage, a vehicle finance company, county government, a public university, and a managed IT services provider.
Robert Patto – VP & CISO, Cone Health
Robert Patto spent more than a decade in the U.S. Navy and with naval and allied commands. He managed information security and technology aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, directed IT programs for U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa and the Sixth Fleet in London, and served as coalition communications officer for a combined joint special operations task force at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan. He later directed IT for NATO in Brussels and served as director of cyber operations at U.S. Fleet Cyber Command in Norfolk, including service aboard the USS Bataan during Operation Unified Protector in the Mediterranean. Patto moved into healthcare security at Sentara Healthcare, served as deputy CISO at OhioHealth, and spent more than four years as executive director and CISO of Southcoast Health in Massachusetts. He became VP and CISO of Cone Health in April 2023.
Tim Ringeman – CISO, Relation Insurance Services
Tim Ringeman started as a software engineer at Intel, working on data storage and out-of-band device management. In 2005 he co-founded Ringeman Insurance with his wife and served as CTO, then led technology through a three-way merger that formed Hiller Ringeman and more than 30 acquisitions, cutting IT costs by more than 60%. When Relation Insurance Services acquired the agency in 2020, he joined as a security engineer and chief security officer, built an in-house security team supporting more than 1,300 employees, and became CISO in October 2023. He now leads security, compliance, and IT operations for the PE-backed brokerage, with security built into every acquisition from diligence through integration.
Scott Toth – Director, Information Security & CISO, Volvo Financial Services
Scott Toth has spent nearly 20 years at Volvo Financial Services in Greensboro. He started in desktop support in 2007, then worked as a network analyst and security administrator for the Americas region before becoming an information risk analyst at the company’s global headquarters. He went on to serve as information security officer, security, privacy, and compliance manager, and director of global enterprise and cybersecurity. Toth has served as director of information security and CISO since April 2023, and in June 2026 added runtime and vendor management to his remit. His expertise includes GDPR and international privacy regulation, cloud security, and third-party security evaluations. He has also served as technical and IT director at Lawndale Baptist Church since 2005, and holds a Ph.D.
Jeff McCartney – CISO, Guilford County
Jeff McCartney managed information systems at DialAmerica Marketing, where he led Y2K compliance and the company’s first corporate-wide antivirus program. After roles at Fujitsu Network Communications and Crystal Run Healthcare, he spent 20 years at Balchem Corporation, first as information systems manager and then as senior director of IT. There he built a five-year technology roadmap that supported the company’s growth from 7 to 26 locations and from $310 million to more than $600 million in revenue, led IT integration for multiple acquisitions, and cut security incidents by 90% through tighter controls and user training. McCartney became CISO of Guilford County in February 2023.
Todd Rudin – CISO, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Todd Rudin served four years as an Air Force avionics technician on F-15 and F-111 aircraft at Cannon Air Force Base, programming regional threat codes for missile detection systems and supporting the Northern No-Fly Zone over Iraq. He then managed a branch for Automotive Finance Corporation and worked as a quality assurance representative on data center construction for Walker Engineering. At American Express he built the ISO compliance program for a new Tier 4 data center and coordinated threat assessment, then spent four years as an IT auditor at XPO Logistics, achieving ISO 27001 certification and advising on CMMC. Rudin joined UNC Greensboro in 2021 as information security risk and compliance manager and became its CISO in June 2026. He holds CRISC and CISA certifications.
Jamie Ellerbe – CISO, Gray & Creech Office Solutions
Jamie Ellerbe spent nine years as a senior computer lab administrator at North Carolina A&T State University. He then provided desk-side support for IBM and worked for five years in technical support for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, managing projects including the replacement of 1,272 RSA devices and a migration of 342 machines to virtual desktops. As director of IT for Alpha Academy Charter Schools in Fayetteville for a decade, he designed the school network’s security policies and deployed more than 1,000 devices. Ellerbe joined Gray & Creech Office Solutions in Greensboro in June 2022 as CISO, leading IT and cybersecurity operations for the managed services provider.
Many Roads Through the Gate City
Greensboro’s CISOs arrived by very different routes. Patto and Rudin came from military service, one through Navy and NATO commands and the other through Air Force avionics. Ringeman built and sold an insurance agency before securing the brokerage that bought it. Toth spent his whole career at Volvo Financial Services, McCartney spent two decades at a growing manufacturer, and Ellerbe moved from university labs and federal support into managed services. What they share is depth in the organizations and industries they now protect. In a city built as a crossroads, it fits that its security leaders came from so many directions.
Discover more CISOs securing their organizations:
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John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.