Hampton Roads is home to one of the largest concentrations of naval and defense activity in the country, and that shows in the careers of Virginia Beach’s security leaders. Two of the six cybersecurity leaders below spent decades in the U.S. Navy, one as a hospital corpsman and one as a chief cryptologic technician on ships and submarines. Another moved from the Defense Intelligence Agency to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence before securing water infrastructure. The others built their careers inside a single organization for more than two decades, rose from private investigator to bank CISO, and climbed from systems administration to the CISO seat at a defense university. Together they protect a regional water utility, defense contractors, a federal institution, and some of the region’s largest employers.
Roger Caslow – CISO, HRSD
Roger Caslow served eight years as a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman before moving into intelligence as a senior intelligence officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency. He spent more than five years as chief of risk management and information security programs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, then led cybersecurity programs for SAIC, managed IT risk as a VP at JPMorgan Chase, and directed information security at Dana Incorporated. As CISO and global cybersecurity leader at SUEZ Water Technologies and Solutions, formerly GE Water, he moved into the water sector. After a 2019 sabbatical to spend time with family and research and write, Caslow became CISO of HRSD in May 2020, protecting critical water and wastewater infrastructure for the regional utility against both cyber and physical threats, with a strategy built on insider threat detection and third-party risk management. He has served on the WaterISAC Board of Managers since 2022.
Christopher Payne – CISO, Greystone
Christopher Payne has spent more than 23 years at Greystone. Before joining, he rolled out a company-wide email system as a network administrator at Traber & Vreeland Insurance and managed government communications accounts at WorldCom, where he helped complete one of the largest telecommunications transitions. Payne joined Greystone in 2003 as a network engineer providing last-line support for hardware, software, and network issues. In 2011 he became IT audit and compliance director, building the company’s internal IT audit framework and leading its annual IT risk assessments, quarterly audits, disaster recovery testing, and SOC 1 engagements. He became CISO in April 2022, overseeing the information security program, security vendor management, internal IT audit, and business resiliency.
Cliff MacEachron – CISO, Defense Acquisition University
Cliff MacEachron has more than two decades in federal information security. He started as a systems administrator at Northrop Grumman Information Technology in 2003 and spent five years as manager of information security at General Dynamics IT. He then worked as an information assurance vulnerability manager, spent more than seven years as a senior information assurance engineer at SMS Data Products Group, and served as a cybersecurity analyst at Oasis Systems. MacEachron became CISO of the Defense Acquisition University in October 2023.
Rich Anderson – Former VP & CISO, Old Point National Bank
Rich Anderson started his career in physical security, spending seven years at Fairfax Security as a private investigator, training officer, and senior field supervisor overseeing more than 50 security officers. He moved into technology at America Online and Feld Entertainment, then spent seven years at ATCC, rising to IT operations manager and information security officer over a 12-person team. Over 16 years at Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, he served as information security officer and business continuity coordinator and acted as liaison to the World Bank Group’s emergency management team. From 2023 to February 2026 he was VP and CISO of Old Point National Bank, also serving as business continuity coordinator and incident response manager, and received the bank’s Chairman’s Award. Anderson has served on the advisory board of the Centre for Strategic Cyberspace + Security Science since 2012, previously led the DC Metro chapter of the Credit Union Information Security Professional Association, and is a repeat featured speaker for the U.S. Secret Service Washington Metro Electronic Crimes Task Force.
Adam Dye – CISO, T-Solutions
Adam Dye spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologic technician and electronic warfare leader on warships, submarines, and national intelligence centers, retiring as a chief. He led the integration of a $15 million electronic warfare system across fleet platforms and turned the NSA/CSS Maritime Analysis Support Team into a 24/7 operation. After the Navy he developed information warfare doctrine, served as an information systems security officer supporting a 2,000-user environment for the U.S. Fleet Forces Maritime Operations Center, and worked on naval electronic warfare programs. At Westinghouse Electric Company he spent four and a half years leading cybersecurity governance and risk for more than 13,000 users across 17 countries in nuclear energy, guiding the organization through three independent NIST assessments. Dye returned to T-Solutions as CISO in March 2026. In his home lab, he builds deliberately vulnerable AI agents and RAG applications, attacks them, adds controls, and reruns every attack to measure the risk reduction.
Joseph Blanchette – Director of Information Security, Titan America
Joseph Blanchette spent 21 years at Maersk Line, Limited in Norfolk. He joined as a senior network analyst in 2004, became general manager of information security and IT infrastructure in 2008, and served as head of cybersecurity from 2010 to 2025. In that role he secured both corporate and vessel environments, advised the board of directors, chaired the information security steering committee, and served as the company’s principal information security liaison with the Department of Defense, U.S. government agencies, and federal law enforcement. Blanchette became director of information security at Titan America in December 2025. He holds C|CISO, CISM, CISSP, and CEH certifications and is an ISO/IEC 27001 Senior Lead Auditor.
Shaped by Service and Staying Power
Virginia Beach’s security leaders reflect the region around them. Caslow and Dye carried Navy and intelligence experience into critical infrastructure and defense technology. MacEachron built his career entirely in federal and defense information assurance, and Anderson brought a physical security background into two decades of financial sector protection. Payne and Blanchette each spent more than 20 years at one organization, growing from network roles into security leadership. In a region defined by the military and the port, these leaders protect the water systems, defense work, and businesses that keep Hampton Roads running.
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.