Speakers

Brigadier General Paul G. Craft, a native of Piqua, Ohio, entered the Army in 1993 as a Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps.

His key leadership and staff assignments include: Platoon Leader, 69th Cable and Wire Co., Task Force Thunderbird, 86th Signal Battalion; Platoon Leader and Executive Officer, 209th Tactical Satellite Company, Battalion S-6, 3d Military Intelligence Battalion (Aerial Exploitation), Korea; Company Commander, Alpha Company, 304th Tactical Signal Battalion, Korea; Signal Integration Officer, Rapid Equipping Force, Combined Task Force-82, Bagram, Afghanistan Signa lCombat Developer, Chief of Staff of the Army’s ‘Task Force Network’, U.S. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia; Battalion S-3, 30th Signal Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Brigade S-3,516th Theater Strategic Signal Brigade, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Major’s Assignment Officer, Signal Branch, Human Resources Command, Alexandria, Virginia. He also served as the Department of the Army CIO/G-6’s Chief of the Strategic Initiatives Group in Washington, D.C.

Brigadier General Craft currently serves as the Commandant and Chief of Cyber at the U.S. Army Cyber School located at Fort Gordon, Georgia. He commanded 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, AZ, and deployed the unit to Afghanistan. He also commanded the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Global Operations Command (DGOC) at Scott Air Force Base, IL.

He has a Bachelor of Science in American Political Science from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York. He later earned a Master of Science in Information Management and a Master of Business Administration (dual degree) from Arizona State University. He also earned a Master of Science in National Security and Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National Defense University.

He has been married for 27 years and has one daughter.

Major General Maria B. Barrett, a Massachusetts native, graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Relations and was commissioned through the Army ROTC program as a Second Lieutenant in 1988.

MG Barrett’s previous assignments include: Deputy Director of Current Operations, J-3, United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), Deputy Commanding General for the Joint Force (Headquarters—Cyber (JFHQ-C) with United States Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER), and Deputy Commander (Operations) for Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), USCYBERCOM.

MG Barrett’s command assignments include serving as Commander, 160th Signal Brigade, Third United States Army. She has commanded at the company, battalion, and brigade level.

MG Barrett’s joint assignments include service as a Chief Information Officer/Director, J-6 with United States Southern Command at Doral, Florida and Director, J-3 with White House Communications Agency at Washington, DC. She has served in Army assignments in the United States, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. MG Barrett is a veteran of Operations New Dawn/Enduring Freedom and Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

MG Barrett holds a Master of Science Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (Eisenhower School), and a Master of Arts Degree in Telecommunications Management from Webster University.

MG Barrett's awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, and the Signal Regiment’s Bronze Order of Mercury.

She is married to LTC (Ret) Brian T. Barrett, a former Signal Corps Officer and fellow Massachusetts native.

Lieutenant General John B. Morrison, Jr. assumed duties as
Deputy Chief of Staff, G-6, on 4 August 2020. In this capacity, he
is the principal military advisor to the Chief of Staff of the Army for
planning, strategy, and implementation of Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Information Technology
(C5IT) for worldwide Army operations. Most recently, he served
as Chief of Staff, United States Cyber Command.
Lieutenant General Morrison, an Army brat, was commissioned a
Signal Officer through ROTC in 1986 at James Madison
University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business
Administration degree, majoring in marketing. He also holds a
Master of Science degree in Telecommunications Management
from Webster University and a Master of Strategic Resourcing
from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Lieutenant General Morrison’s military education includes the Signal Officer Basic and
Advanced Courses, the Tactical Signal Officer’s Staff Course, and the Advanced Airborne
(Jumpmaster) School. In addition to ICAF, he is a graduate of both the Command and General
Staff College and the Joint Forces Staff College.
Lieutenant General Morrison’s early career included an assignment in Germany and
deployments to Saudi Arabia in support of the Persian Gulf War, to Florida in support of
Hurricane Andrew relief efforts, to Bosnia-Herzegovina in support of peacekeeping operations,
and to Iraq in support of Task Force Baghdad. He later commanded the globally-deployed Joint Communications Support Element (Airborne) from 2007-2009. At the Pentagon, he was the Executive Officer, Army CIO/G-6 from 2009-2010, and LandWarNet/Mission Command Director in the Dept. of the Army G-3/5/7 from 2010 to 2012. Between 2012-2019, Lieutenant General Morrison served as Commanding General, 7th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Gordon, GA, followed by Commanding General, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) at Fort Huachuca, AZ, and, later, Commanding General, U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, GA. Lieutenant General Morrison is married to the former Ann Graves, and they have four daughters – Christine, Kate, Colleen, and Kelly – three sons-in-law, and a granddaughter, Kaitlyn.

Gus joined the Cisco team in 2016 as the Engineering Manager for the Army Enterprise
Team where he was responsible for the systems engineering support, customer
advocacy and technology adaptation to the U.S. Army in CONUS, Europe and South
West Asia for Active, Reserve and National Guard forces. In his new role as an
Account Manager, Gus is now focused on supporting the U.S. Army Office of the CIO,
G6, PEO-EIS, and NETCOM.
Gus has over 25 years of experience in the Systems Engineering and Information
Technology field. He joined Cisco after retiring from the U.S. Army after 18 years of
service. His culminating assignment was as the Senior Telecommunications Systems
Engineer for the 82d Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, NC. Prior to this assignment, he
served in multiple leadership positions throughout the US Army Signal Corps and
deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea and Bosnia. His military decorations
include the Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Combat
Action Badge.

Gus earned a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, a
Master of Science in Telecommunications Management from the University of Maryland
and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point.

Gus’ passion is in assisting fellow veterans in their transition to industry and leads
Cisco’s participation in the DoD Skillbridge and Army Career Skills Program.

Rick Piña serves as the Chief Technology Advisor (CTA) for the Public Sector at World Wide Technology (WWT). In this role, Rick leads the Public Sector Technology and Innovation Group. This team is comprised of Executive and Senior-Level leaders, including former CIOs/CTOs/CISOs/SVPs, who engage with customers on strategy, innovation, and overall transformation, focused on achieving tangible operational and business outcomes at enterprise scale. Piña has over 30 years of experience in the information technology field. He joined WWT in 2015, after serving in the United States Army for 25 years. His culminating assignment was serving as the United States Army Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Principal Technical Advisor to the Army Chief Information Officer (CIO). Piña also serves as an agent for change and thought leader, communicating WWT’s innovation in public-facing forums and venues, clearly articulating the connection between emerging technology and customer gaps and requirements. In 2020, Piña was recognized as one of FedScoop’s Best Bosses in Federal IT. The list of winners was comprised of senior leaders from Industry who play an instrumental role in working with federal agencies to provide the mission-critical commercial technologies they use. Also in 2020, Piña was recognized by HITEC as one of the 100 most influential Hispanic leaders in technology. Piña serves on the Board of Directors of the Fort Gordon Historical Museum Society, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the history of Army communications. He also leads a non-profit he co-founded with his wife (RIPMinistries), dedicated to serving the underprivileged, with a special emphasis in the Caribbean. Within WWT, Piña leads the Hispanic/Latinx Employee Resource Group, H.E.A.R.D. (Hispanics Embracing Awareness and Racial/Ethnic Diversity). Piña holds an M.B.A. and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Trident University. He is also a Distinguished Member of the U.S. Army Signal Regiment and a recipient of the Signal Corps Regimental Association’s Silver Order of Mercury award.

Retired Army Lieutenant General Robert S. (Bob) Ferrell serves as Vice President of Federal Strategy at World Wide Technology (WWT), a position he has held since October 2017. Ferrell joined the WWT Executive Team on January 1, 2020.

Ferrell retired from the United States Army in March 2017, following 38 years of distinguished service. Ferrell commanded at every level from platoon to Army major subordinate command, in addition to traditional company and field grade assignments.

Immediately prior to his retirement, Ferrell served as the Army CIO, reporting directly to the Secretary of the Army, setting strategic direction and objectives for the Army network, and supervising all Army C4 (command, control, communications, and computers) and IT functions.

Ferrell is highly regarded as a visionary leader who has led communications and IT missions in times of peace as well as war. As a member of WWT’s Federal leadership team, Ferrell’s role is pivotal to enhance the company’s culture of innovation, execution, and trust.

Ferrell comes from a family with a deep-rooted history in military service. Bob Ferrell’s father, Howard Ferrell, spent 23 year in the Signal Corps—the communications and information systems arm of the U.S. military—with a tour in the Korean War and two tours in Vietnam. Ferrell's mother, Georgian Ferrell, worked as a nurse while raising a growing family, as six of Howard and Georgian’s seven children went on to serve in the military.

Ferrell’s son, Michael—one of two sons with his wife Monique—followed his grandfather’s path to service, enlisting in the Signal Corps, where we served for six years before transitioning to the private sector just as his father has—joining WWT.

With his extensive experience to-date, coming from the other side of military contracts, he helps WWT identify serviceable gaps in order to develop innovative next-generation strategies to meet the needs of future customers in the changing cybersecurity field.

In June 2019, Ferrell was honored by the EagleForce Warrior Foundation with their Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his commitment to military service and supporting our nation’s veterans.

George Jackson, Director of Events, GovExec Media