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Supporting the modern warfighter means operating in an environment shaped by persistent cyber threats, growing operational complexity, and rising expectations for speed, resilience, and accountability. The landscape is currently defined by a post-modernization phase where the focus has shifted from simply adopting new tech to securing and observing it at machine scale. As a result, the Pentagon is under pressure to secure distributed environments, move beyond legacy systems, and make faster, more confident decisions amid constant change. Zero trust mandates, cloud adoption, data governance, and mission assurance priorities are reshaping how the department approaches visibility, risk, and operational readiness. Today, success depends on turning massive volumes of data into real time insight, coordinated action, and measurable mission outcomes. So, what does it take to build a digital advantage that keeps the warfighter ahead in an increasingly contested world?
In this conversation, senior public sector leaders will share how they are building resilient, data driven organizations that can operate at mission speed while maintaining security, compliance, and trust. Leaders will discuss how they are strengthening cyber defense and zero trust implementation, improving visibility across users, devices, applications, data, and networks, and using automation and analytics to accelerate decision making and response. The discussion will highlight how organizations are improving situational awareness, managing risk, and operating with greater agility across hybrid and cloud environments.
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Speakers
Michael Frank
Deputy Chief Technology Officer
Department of the Navy
Michael Frank
Deputy Chief Technology Officer
Department of the Navy
Michael Frank currently serves as the Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the Department of the Navy, responsible for bridging the gap between government and industry to identify and assess emerging technology and transition capabilities to the warfighter. Prior to this role, Mr. Frank was a Principal with the Boston Consulting Group, helping senior leaders solve technology related problems. He worked with both public and private sector organizations including financial institutions, insurance companies, and healthcare providers. Mr. Frank is also an Officer in the Marine Reserves, currently leading the Cybersecurity Portfolio for the Marine Innovation Unit, working closely with Marine Forces Cyberspace Command to identify and close capability gaps for Marine cyber operators. Mr. Frank holds an MS in Information Security from Carnegie Mellon University, an MBA from the Darden School of Business, and a BA in Accounting from Washington and Jefferson College.
Melissa Andrews
Director, DoD Solutions Engineering Co-lead, AMER Chapter, Cisco Connected Black Professionals
Splunk, Inc., a CISCO company
Melissa Andrews
Director, DoD Solutions Engineering Co-lead, AMER Chapter, Cisco Connected Black Professionals
Splunk, Inc., a CISCO company
Melissa Andrews, a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience, leads the Department of Defense solutions engineering teams at Splunk Inc., a CISCO company. She is a career solutions engineer who entered the field through a training program at Oracle Corporation. She spent 18 years at Oracle as an SE supporting Army accounts, before leaving the world of relational data and moving to Splunk in 2015, where she has come to love machine data. She is a skilled technical presenter and facilitator, adept at working with customers to discover their pain points and helping them use technology to address them, as well as keeping them informed and trained about new advances.
Melissa moved into management at Splunk in 2020, and has quickly moved up the ranks, achieving the role of director in 2023. She partners with her sales leaders to develop enterprise strategies for their military customer base and helps her solutions engineers become valued partners in their accounts. She works to provide her teams with the tools they need for successful selling and has a reputation as a “problem solver.” She still takes every opportunity she can to meet with customers and get hands-on with Splunk products.
Prior to Cisco's acquisition of Splunk, Melissa served as co-lead of Splunk's Black employee resource group – BEAMS, where she collaborated with leadership and other ERG leaders to strengthen diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has since stepped into the role of co-lead for the AMER chapter of Cisco's Connected Black Professionals (CBP) inclusive community. In this new position, she's focused on facilitating a seamless integration of BEAMS members into CBP while advancing inclusion and equity efforts across Cisco's ecosystem.
Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, MD. She lives in Maryland, with her husband and two sons. She hails from Guyana in the Caribbean and enjoys beach vacations.