Chattanooga punches well above its size in security leadership. The city hosts Volkswagen’s only U.S. assembly plant, a major insurer, a regional academic health system, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, and several of the seven cybersecurity leaders below run global or national programs from homes in the area. Three served in uniform, one in the Marines, Army, and as a Louisville police detective before his first security job. Others came up through VW plant floors in Tennessee, Germany, and Argentina, through auditing at a health insurer, and through a Navy career that set a record for ship interdictions in the Arabian Gulf.
Dennis E. Leber – CISO, Erlanger Health System
Dennis E. Leber served five years as a U.S. Marine and spent more than 13 years as a detective with Louisville Metro government before moving into technology. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve, managed operations at UPS Supply Chain Solutions, and worked as a cybersecurity architect for the Army’s Human Resources Command at Fort Knox. He went on to lead IT and security at Fort Knox Federal Credit Union and became CISO of Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services, protecting data on more than 4 million residents across 120 counties. He then served as the inaugural CISO of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, later adding CTO and assistant vice chancellor, followed by interim CISO at UConn Health and CISO at Honest Health, where he led the company to HITRUST certification. Leber became CISO of Erlanger Health System in February 2026, protecting seven hospitals and more than 6,300 employees across four states. He holds a Ph.D. in information technology management and a CISSP, has taught as an adjunct professor at institutions including Harvard and SUNY Albany, and has authored and edited publications on AI governance.
Eric Keeton – CISO & Director of Cybersecurity, Volkswagen Group of America
Eric Keeton started with IT internships at Shaw Industries in Dalton and AT&T in Atlanta, then worked as a systems engineer at CompFirst, AmeriPath, and KBR, where he supported the ATF and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. He directed IT security and administration at Life Care Centers of America for four years. Keeton joined Volkswagen in Chattanooga in 2009 as CISO and security and technology specialist, then managed shop floor IT at the plant. From 2015 to 2017 he worked in Wolfsburg, Germany, managing product-related IT security for connected vehicles and production systems. He returned to Chattanooga to lead IT technical projects and governance, and since April 2024 has served as CISO and Director of Cybersecurity for Volkswagen Group of America and the North American Region, covering the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in information technology.
Patricio Gonzalez Keilty – (Former) CISO, Volkswagen Chattanooga Operations
Patricio Gonzalez Keilty began in information security at T-Systems in Argentina and briefly worked in network security at Red Link. He spent nearly 13 years at Volkswagen Group Argentina, serving as its CISO from 2008 to 2013, then as network security architect and OT security analyst. He moved to Chattanooga in 2021 to become CISO of Volkswagen Chattanooga Operations, a role he held for three and a half years. He then served as production information security officer for Volkswagen Group of America from January 2025 to September 2026.
Josh Lane – CISO & VP of IT, Veeco
Josh Lane spent six years in the U.S. Army as noncommissioned officer in charge of a tactical intelligence system, leading more than 20 soldiers through 28 months of deployment in Iraq. As an IT manager at Northrop Grumman, he deployed and sustained military intelligence systems in active combat environments. He then spent eight years at Bank of America, rising to senior vice president for global information security strategy, controls, and planning. Lane joined Veeco Instruments as CISO in 2020 and built its enterprise security program across corporate, engineering, laboratory, and manufacturing environments. Since October 2023 he has also led IT as vice president, briefing the board and audit committee and building the company’s data and AI governance program. He is an ORBIE Award winner, co-chairs the NewYorkCISO ORBIE Awards, and works from Chattanooga. He is an advocate for helping veterans build careers in cybersecurity.
Shayne Champion – CISO, CaseWorthy
Shayne Champion has built nearly his entire career in Chattanooga. He ran operations at Chattanooga Data Connection, then spent several years at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and its Riverbend subsidiary as an IS audit project manager and systems security officer, working on CMS, FISMA, and HITRUST programs. At the Tennessee Valley Authority he managed the cybersecurity program and NERC CIP compliance for the hydro generation fleet’s 49 dams. He directed information security and architecture at Erlanger Health System and served as CISO of Conversant Group. Champion became CISO of MediSked in 2020 and, after its acquisition by CaseWorthy, has served as CISO for the combined group since 2023. He has served on several boards of directors and as an examiner for Tennessee’s state-level Baldrige Award program.
Kevin R. Morrison – VP & Deputy CISO, Unum
Kevin R. Morrison started as an IT security analyst at BECU in Seattle, earning his MBA at night. At Parsons he was the inaugural information systems security officer for a Department of Energy nuclear project, then built and led a 17-person global GRC team. He has held the top security role at six organizations: The Results Companies, law firm Jones Day, PulteGroup, where he was the first CISO, Coinstar, Alaska Airlines, and Driven Brands. Morrison joined Unum in Chattanooga as VP and Deputy CISO in September 2024. He was named a Global Top 100 CISO in 2022 and 2024, contributed to the book CISO Compass, and co-chairs the Cybersecurity Collaborative’s Atlanta chapter. He also volunteers as a coach with The First Tee of Chattanooga.
Bryan Kissinger – Industry Advisor, OutThink
Bryan Kissinger served seven years as a U.S. Navy surface warfare officer aboard the USS Lake Erie, USS Kitty Hawk, and USS Rushmore. Leading a force protection detachment in the Arabian Gulf, he set a record for the most foreign vessel captures on a single tour in support of UN sanctions. After consulting at Arthur Andersen, he became information security officer at Mayo Clinic, then spent more than six years as a director at PwC. At Kaiser Permanente he led a $55 million enterprise HIPAA security program and served as the health plan’s first privacy and security officer. He went on to serve as CISO of Sharp HealthCare and VP and CISO of Banner Health, where he also served as co-interim CIO overseeing 550 IT staff and a $170 million budget. From 2019 to July 2026 he was SVP and CISO of Trace3, working remotely from Chattanooga. He now advises OutThink on human risk management and sits on AirEye’s CISO advisory board. He holds a Ph.D.
A Small City With Global Reach
Chattanooga’s security leaders run programs far larger than the city itself. Keeton oversees Volkswagen’s cybersecurity across North America, Lane protects a global semiconductor manufacturer, and Morrison and Champion have led security at companies across the country. Leber, Lane, and Kissinger carried military discipline from the Marines, Army, and Navy into the boardroom. Gonzalez Keilty brought more than a decade of Volkswagen security experience from Argentina to the Chattanooga plant. Whether they work at Erlanger and Unum downtown or for companies based elsewhere, these leaders have made the Scenic City a quiet hub for security talent.
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John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.