Global Cyber Innovation Summit
February 25-26, 2026
The Sagamore Pendry Hotel, Baltimore, MD
**The proceedings are under Chatham House Rule**
About The Global Cyber Innovation Summit
Renowned as the “Davos of Cybersecurity”, the Global Cyber Innovation Summit (GCIS) fosters rich dialogue around cybersecurity policy, practice and professionalism. Governed by a prestigious steering committee and providing exclusive vehicles of information exchange, GCIS offers a privileged cybersecurity venue for top-tier intellectual discourse and collaboration amongst peers.
Seniority of Audience – Participant Profile
Continuing the tradition as an invitation-only event, the 2026 Global Cyber Innovation Summit will unite an unprecedented gathering of global CISOs, best of breed cybersecurity CEOs, leading cyber researchers, policy makers, and cybersecurity innovation investors.
2026 Chairman:
- Bob Ackerman, Founder and Chairman of Global Cyber Innovation Summit
- Phil Venables, CISO of Google Cloud and Partner, Ballistic Ventures
2026 Advisory Board:
Michael Elmore, CISO, GSK
Rich Baich, CISO, AT&T
Jason Clinton, Deputy CISO, Anthropic
Katie Gray, Senior Partner, In-Q-Tel
Rob Joyce, Former Cyber Director NSA / Advisor, DataTribe
Jennifer Link, CISO, CIA
Gabe Green, CISO, Koch Industries
Peeyush Patel, CISO, NextEra
Oliver Newbury, Former CISO, Barclays
Deborah Wheeler, CISO, Delta Airlines
Adam Fletcher, CISO, Blackstone
Mike Janke, Co-Founder, DataTribe
Wednesday, February 25, 2026 – Day 1
8:00 – 9:00 am
Conference Registration & Networking
9:00 – 9:10 am
Opening Remarks
Cybersecurity – The New Frontier
Bob Ackerman
Chairman
GCIS
9:10 – 9:30 am
Homefront Special Welcome
Ground Zero for Cyber: Maryland - The home of Offense
Secretary Harry Coker
State of Maryland - Department of Commerce
9:30 – 10:00 am
Keynote CISO Panel Discussion
The Face of Boom - Cyber Resillience (CISO Reflection)
10:00 – 10:30 am
Keynote Fireside Chat
Cyber & The Position of Protection
Kirsten Davies
Chief Information Officer
US Department of War
10:30 – 11:10 am
Keynote Panel
The Raace to Respond in the World of Offensive Cyber
John Keefe, Former Senior Advisor to the Director of the National Security
Morgan Adamski, Former Director, NSA; US Cyber & Risk Leader, PwC
Sandra Joyce, Google Threat Intelligence, Google
11:10 – 11:30 am
Keynote Discussion
Cyber Play by Play in 2026
Katie Gray
Senior Partner, In-Q-Tel
Andy Boyd
Former Director of the Center for Cyber Intelligence
11:30 – 12:00 pm
Keynote Panel
The Typhoon: How, Where & Why..and the Response
Kate Kuehn
Vice President, Global Cyber Advocacy, WWT
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Networking Luncheon Reception
Hosted By: PwC
1:00 – 1:25 pm
Keynote Panel
Offensive AI - The Incoming Wave
Rob Joyce
Former Cyber Director, NSA / Advisor, DataTribe
1:25 – 1:45 pm
Keynote Discussion
Interstellar: Space & Cyber
Dave Luber
Former Cyber Director, NSA
1:45 – 2:15 pm
Keynote Discussion
Cyber Leadership Masterclass:
The CISO & The Board
Bob Zukis, Digital Directors Network
Nick Ryan, Ryan Leadership - TBD
2:15 – 2:45 pm
Keynote Panel
Identity Failure Layer
2:45 - 3:10 pm
Keynote Presentation
Checkmate: Dealing with Conflict & Crisis in Cyber
Timothy Neslony
Cyber Strategist & Retiring Air Force Leader
3:10 - 3:30 pm
Spotlight Presentation
Four Domains Converging with Quantum (McKinsey)
3:30 – 5:00 pm
Disrupt 6 Innovator’s Showcase – TED Talks
“TED Talks” from Early Stage Disruptors (No Sales Pitches)
Qrypt
Artiphishell
Root Evidence
ArmsCyber
Remote
IQT
5:00 - 5:15 pm
Closing Comentary
5:15 – 6:15 pm
Cocktail Reception
Hosted By: Cisco
6:15 – 8:00 pm
Strolling Dinner Reception
Hosted By: The State of Maryland
Thursday, February 26, 2026
8:00 – 8:45 am
Continental Breakfast & Networking
Hosted by: WWT
8:00 – 8:55 am
GCIS - Day 2 Greeting
Bob Ackerman
Chairman
GCIS
8:55 – 9:15 am
Opening Keynote Commentary
Truth, Fiction & Reality - The Hype around AI
Phil Venables, Senior Security Advisor
Google Cloud & Partner, Ballistic Ventures
Jason Clinton
Deputy CISO, Anthropic
9:25 – 9:45 am
Keynote Fireside Chat
Offense to Defense in 2026
Jason Kaplan
CEO
SixMap
Jason Clinton
Deputy CISO
Anthrpic
9:45 – 10:05 am
Keynote Presentation
Cyber in a Post AI World: Computing in Data Centers
Tom Gillis
Senior Vice President & General Manager of Infrastructure & Security
Cisco
10:05 – 10:35 am
Keynote Panel
A World of Deep Fakes (CISO Driven Dialogue)
Innovation leaders to discuss the landscape of deep fakes and it's impact on Cyber
Ben Coleman - CEO, Reality Defender
Matt Moynahan - CEO, Get Real
Kurt Beyer - CEO, Resemble.ai
10:35 – 11:00 am
Keynote Fireside Chat
What do Critical Infrastructure Threats Look Like in Conflict
Rob Lee
Co-Founder, Dragos
11:00 – 11:30 am
Keynote Panel
Securing Critical Infrastructure
Tom Fanning
Former CEO, Southern Company
11:30 – 11:50 am
Keynote Fireside Chat
Kate Kuehn
Vice President Cyber
WWT
Tim Brown
11:50 - 12:15 pm
Keynote Presentation
Preparing for the Breach
Jennifer Link
CISO, CIA
12:10 - 12:30 pm
Keynote Presentation
Delivering on Zero Trust. Or Alternative.
Bill Elmore (TBD)
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Luncheon Reception
1:30 – 2:00 pm
Keynote Presentation
Anatomy of a Takedown - Tales from the FBI
Brett Leatherman
FBI
2:00 - 2:30 pm
Keynote Panel
Failsafe's Achillie's Heel - The Electrical Grid
Brian Harrell
Vice President & CSO, Avangrid
Mark Weatherford
Head of Cybersecurity Policy & Strategic Engagement, NVIDIA
2:30 - 2:55 pm
Keynote Presentation
CISA. The Approach for Government + Industry Collaboration
2:55 - 3:30 pm
Closing Case Study Presentation
Anatomy of a Breach (Case Study)
3:30 - 3:40 pm
Closing Remarks
Recap of Key points and takeaways. Announcing the dates and location for next Summit.
3:40 - 4:30 pm
Happy Hour Reception
Hosted by: McKinsey
