Ian Leatherman is a seasoned cybersecurity professional with extensive experience in Zero Trust strategies and federal government consulting. As a Zero Trust strategist at Microsoft - US Federal, Ian consults with Federal Government organizations to help them shift from a network boundary-based security methodology to a Zero Trust mindset. He has helped dozens of enterprises move to a more secure posture in a methodical manner that balances resources, risk, and compliance requirements. His supported organizations have detected and eradicated previously unknown adversaries through their Zero Trust maturation process.

Prior to his work at Microsoft, Ian served eleven years on active duty in the United States Navy, where he led their shift to a Zero Trust mindset as a plank-owner of the Flank Speed environment. He organized network and security operation center modernizations, assessment and accreditation process evolutions, and the overall shift to an agile deployment methodology. He remains a Navy Reservist as a Maritime Cyber Warfare Officer currently assigned to the Navy’s 10th Fleet Headquarters.

Ian is also a proud member and supporter of the Military Cyber Professionals Association (MCPA) where he serves as the current editor-in-chief of “CYBER” the magazine of the MCPA. He is a Gold Order of Thor medal recipient and is passionate about developing American military cyber professionals. 

George Jackson is the director of events at GovExec Media – the largest and most-influential media company in the public sector marketplace. George joined GovExec in October of 2020 to enhance the scale of their events and audience experiences.

He graduated from The Ohio State University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in English. In 2006, he earned his master’s in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland, College Park.

George spent the first five years of his journalism career at WJHL-TV in Johnson City Tenn. – beginning as an overnight producer for the station’s 6 a.m. broadcast. He advanced to lead on-air reporter for WJHL’s 11 p.m. newscast.

As a reporter, George examined the earnings of two non-profit hospital systems, felony charges filed against a local sheriff, predatory paving companies, a health benefits backlog for local veterans, and a series of cold-case murder investigations. He received an honorable mention for Best TV Reporter in the 2011 Tennessee AP Broadcast awards and won a Best Investigative Reporting award from Media General in 2010.

George joined DC’s ABC affiliate WJLA-TV in 2012 to produce Capital Insider, which won him an Emmy award. One year later, he developed and recorded the pilot episode of Government Matters– a program about the business of government. It debuted as a weekly show on Sunday, August 4th of 2013. George led Government Matters through September of 2020, expanded its reach to a daily worldwide audience, and produced its first feature-length documentary “The Dawn of Generation AI.”

George is from Toledo, Ohio. He lives with his wife, twin daughters, and a pair of rescue dogs in Northern Virginia.