Patrick Zweber
Lead Executive in Residence
Patrick Zweber is a cybersecurity and strategic operations leader with 10+ years of driving impact across the private and public sectors. As Founder of Z Strategic Solutions and former Chief of Staff to the CISO at UiPath, Patrick has built PMOs, matured global security capabilities, and delivered enterprise-wide risk reduction strategies. He is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Executive Development Certificate Program and co-creator of the Cybersecurity Leadership Program at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. He is also an active member of the Chief of Staff Association, ISSA, and PMI.
Yassir Abousselham
Yassir Abousselham is the Chief Information Security Officer at Calendly, and the founder of Silicon Valley Cyber (svc.ai). He has held CISO roles at UiPath, Splunk, Okta, and SoFi and built security programs at Google. He began his career at Ernst & Young, advising Fortune 500 companies on security and compliance. Yassir serves as a board member and advisor to cybersecurity startups and investment firms. He holds a BA in Business Administration, an MS in Computer Information Systems, and two U.S. patents in trusted network communication.
Ginger Armbruster
As the City of Seattle’s Chief Privacy Officer, Ginger is Seattle Information Technology’s Director of the Data Privacy, Accountability, and Compliance division, with responsibility for five citywide programs including the Privacy & Surveillance Compliance Program, the Citywide Public Records Act Program, the Open Data Program, the Compliance & Policy Program, and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Program. Prior to this role, she worked for Microsoft on an international team of privacy specialists, to resolve issues associated with multi-million-dollar marketing initiatives. She spent the first 20 years of her career working in sales and marketing for Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Johnson & Johnson, and several medical technology startup companies.
Ginger completed her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Barnard College, Columbia University. As a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Scholarship for Service Program (CyberCorps), she earned her master’s degree in Infrastructure Planning and Management from the University of Washington, focusing on critical infrastructure cyber resiliency.
Patrick Bettin
Dr. Patrick Bettin is an internationally respected consultant and educator in the field of leadership and management development. He is a Senior Lecturer at the Foster School of Business and has been an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington. He is a 43-time recipient of the Business School’s “Excellence in Teaching Award.” While on the faculty of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Bettin was responsible for leading, coordinating, and teaching the Leadership Electives program in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership.
Dr. Bettin has designed and delivered comprehensive leadership development programs for a variety of telecommunications, aerospace, engineering, manufacturing, health care, and service organizations, including PACCAR, Alaska Airlines, Bechtel, Boeing, Craig Hospital, CSM Truck, Kenworth Truck Company, Peterbilt Motors, the Murphy Hoffman Company, Worldwide Equipment, Catholic Health Initiatives, Providence Health System, Entergy, LG&E Energy, and Simpson Investments. Additionally, he has provided leadership development programs for a variety of government agencies, including Washington State’s Departments of Transportation, Labor and Industries, and Personnel, as well as the U.S. government’s Personnel Management for Executives Program. Dr. Bettin has delivered leadership programs in Japan, Australia, China, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Latin America, and the Middle East. He currently teaches the core leadership classes for the Pacific Coast Banking School.
A practicing leader-manager for most of his professional life, Dr. Bettin has been directly responsible for the performance of organizations ranging in size from 125 to 1,500 people. He has received recognition for his outstanding performance both as a leader and as a teacher of leadership. During his military career, he was the recipient of the William O. Darby Leadership Award as the Distinguished Honor Graduate of the Army’s prestigious Ranger School. He has been decorated for valor twice and was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds received in combat. At the conclusion of his military career, he was the youngest officer selected for promotion to Colonel.
Matias Brutti
Matias Brutti is a seasoned cybersecurity executive with over 20 years of experience, currently serving as a Security Architect within the Security CTO team at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. His experience includes product security, offensive security, security research, and security architecture. Prior to his role at Oracle, Matias built and led the Research & Exploitation organization at Okta and co-founded Section9Labs, a Seattle-area consultancy specializing in advanced security research and solutions.
Crystal Bulda
Crystal Bulda has over 20 years of cybersecurity leadership experience spanning military, enterprise, and academic environments, including Lululemon and Microsoft. She currently serves as a Senior Security Engineering Lead, overseeing strategic cybersecurity initiatives at Halo Studios. At the University of Washington, she brings real-world insight to the classroom, teaching graduate-level courses in cybersecurity governance, risk management, and compliance. Crystal is passionate about preparing the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through interactive, applied learning.
Umar (Chris) Carter
Chris Carter is a Cyber Risk Advisor and Certified Chief Information Security Officer. As a Risk Advisor, he advises executives on Cybersecurity domains.
Previously, he served as VP and Head of Cybersecurity at Captive Resources, Cyber Risk Advisor at Optiv, and Global Head of Cyber Analytics at Zurich Insurance where he led the development, coordination, and execution of complex information security programs. He has also held several CFO roles with MNCs. He also holds a Cyber Policy certification from Harvard, several industry certifications, a Bs in Finance and Economics, and an Ms. in Information-Systems.
He is a podcast host and board-chair at Inner-city Muslim Action Network (Chicago/Atlanta) and serves as an advisor for tech startups.
Martin Choluj
Martin Choluj has over 15 years of experience as a leader in the cybersecurity field. He currently serves as the CISO at ClickHouse, an open-source, column-oriented OLAP database management system for real time analytics, machine learning, GenAI, observability and data warehousing. In this role, he leads the company’s security, privacy, IT operations and engineering productivity initiatives.
Before joining ClickHouse, Choluj was the CISO at Campaign Monitor, where he oversaw security functions across multiple MarTech SaaS brands. His prior experience includes roles at the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Central Bank of Ireland and Symantec.
Choluj holds a Master’s Degree in Security and Forensic Computing from Dublin City University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology. He has earned multiple certifications, including CISSP and GIAC GSE.
In addition to his professional roles, Choluj is an advisor to venture capital firms and an angel investor. He is also a member of Silicon Valley CISO Investments (SVCI), an invite-only community of cybersecurity leaders turned investors.
Clarence Foster
Clarence Foster is the Business Information Security Officer (BISO) at T-Mobile, ensuring digital security and advising on information security matters. With over 30 years of experience, Clarence has held key roles at NetMotion, Absolute Software, Attachmate Corp, and F5 Networks. Clarence built NetMotion’s IT security program, transitioned operations to the cloud, and established a robust security infrastructure. Additionally, Clarence has expertise as a CISO, cybersecurity leadership, GRC, cyber defense, and cyber threat hunting (CTH). Clarence currently is a member of the Gartner C-Level Communities in Seattle and speaker at chapters across the U.S.
Michael DeBolt serves as the Chief Intelligence Officer at Intel 471, where he leads a global team of cyber threat intelligence experts. Their mission is to track financially motivated threat actors and safeguard customers worldwide. Michael is also the founder and program lead for the Cyber Threat Intelligence Capability Maturity Model (CTI-CMM). His previous experience includes serving as the Head of Cybercrime Intelligence at INTERPOL and leading cyber national security operations and criminal investigations as a Special Agent with the U.S. NCIS. Additionally, Michael served combat tours as an infantry scout leader in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Thomas Gruver is a Communications Consultant, Executive Coach and Workshop Facilitator who partners with executives and teams to deliver programs and communications that cut through the noise. Tom has deep expertise in value proposition and product management, as well as marketing communications and storytelling at the executive level.
Chris is a cybersecurity executive and trusted advisor with a track record of leading enterprise security, insider risk, and threat intelligence programs across the public and private sectors. He has protected assets, people, and reputations for Fortune 50 companies and federal agencies including Cisco, CLEAR Secure, Dell, Nike, and the U.S. Intelligence Community. Known for building high-performing teams and transforming security cultures, he specializes in aligning cybersecurity strategies with business objectives to drive resilience and executive trust. A sought-after speaker and subject matter expert, Chris brings real-world insight, strategic vision, and a pragmatic approach to the evolving threat landscape.
Jason has been a security professional for nearly 20 years, the bulk of that as a US government intelligence officer designing and managing offensive cyber and technical operations around the world. Since government service Jason has been a security executive at software and hardware startups and in big tech, and currently serves as the CISO at Tricentis, a global software company. Jason also teaches at the University of California at Berkeley, sits on several non-profit boards, and advises defense tech and related startups on security program design and build. Jason holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and has spent the last 10 years “one class away” from completing a master’s degree.
Nicholas Muy is the Chief Information Security Officer at Scrut Automation, where he leads cybersecurity, data privacy, and GRC strategy. He spent the last 15+ years working to manage security risks across both public and private sectors, he held leadership and technical roles at organizations including Expedia Group, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and several high-growth startups. His roles spanned security engineering, product management, and corporate strategy/M&A.
Kirsten Smith is an Executive Coach, Consultant and Workshop Facilitator who works with leaders to expand their sphere of influence through a strong presence and powerful communication. She helps leaders develop their style and the courage to lead authentically.
Manny Thinakaran is an accomplished Information Security Leader with over 22 years of experience, adept at managing complex IT environments and developing successful security programs. He possesses a proven ability in CISO roles, overseeing operations, engineering, GRC, and privacy while guiding organizations in building robust security frameworks. His expertise encompasses comprehensive security architecture, regulatory compliance (SOX, GDPR, CCPA, PCI DSS), risk management, and incident response.
Erika Voss brings two decades of cybersecurity leadership experience from top-tier companies that include Capital One, Salesforce, Oracle Public Cloud, Microsoft Corporation and Amazon Web Services. She currently serves as Vice President of Information Security at DAT Freight & Analytics, a Fortune 500 supply chain logistics corporation. In this role, she leads comprehensive security strategy and execution across all organizational facets, including application security, access control, authentication, third party risk management, and intrusion detection.
Nick Yoo is a cybersecurity leader with over 30 years of experience and a proven track record; he held CISO roles at startups (Zero Hash, Butterfly Network, Noodle.ai) before joining Astera Labs. His background includes CSO at BMC Software and Chief Security Architect at McKesson. Earlier, he was VP of Software Engineering at Samsung SDS. Nick holds BBA, MS, CISM, CISSP, and Stanford Advanced Security Program credentials.