Today Laura and Kevin chat with Tom Hurd the CEO & Co-Founder of Zeki Data. Tom first details his time overseeing intelligence and law enforcement operations serving as the senior Homeland Security Advisor to four British Home Secretaries. We learn about the importance of practicing your cybersecurity procedures. Tom talks about what really goes on in a cyber crime lab and dispels some of the myths around James Bond and MI6. We hear about his team's efforts to locate the COVID virus (and Laura's possible direct involvement 😬) and tracking the virus in the same way you can track cocaine. Tom gets into building big data projects around human excellence and finding people who "break the pattern." We learn about "Moneyball for Scientists and Engineers," and how Zeki Data uses AI to find the best talent. Finally Laura does a health check on Tom. This is a really interesting and entertaining episode!

Tom Hurd, the CEO and Co-Founder of Zeki Data, served as the senior Homeland Security Advisor to four British Home Secretaries, leading efforts against state Tom Hurd Horizontal threats, cybercrime, and terrorism, and overseeing intelligence and law enforcement operations. He played a key role in producing the Prime Minister’s Daily Intelligence Brief and was part of the UK’s Joint Intelligence Committee. Tom advocated for using science and technology to enhance operations, leading to his establishment of the UK’s Joint Biosecurity Centre to improve the accuracy of COVID-19 outbreak detection. He was honoured with an OBE in 2011 and a CB in 2020 for his contributions to national security. Tom has transitioned from government intelligence to co-founding a talent intelligence start-up.

At Zeki Data, they specialize in pinpointing the most advanced and innovative minds in science and engineering—individuals who are not just pushing the boundaries but are redefining them. These top deep tech innovators are driven to create groundbreaking solutions, refusing to settle for the status quo. Their sophisticated time series data empowers us to develop a comprehensive view of an individual’s record of innovation and accomplishments, allowing Zeki to accurately forecast their future potential. To identify this elite talent, Zeki meticulously crafted a dataset encompassing 10 million individuals employed at over 40,000 companies across 94 countries, spanning over a decade.

Today Laura and Kevin speak with Cybersecurity Expert Craig Petronella and founder of the Petronella Technology Group. They speak about cybersecurity and disaster recovery after events such as Milton and Helene and how you should test your cyber practice with table-top exercises. Craig shares some scary ransomware stories. He also gives tips on how to get into cybersecurity in 2024. We get into some of the overlooked compliance risks and new regulations. Craig is a true expert!

Craig and the Petronella Technology Group have helped 5,000+ businesses stay safe from network attacks and fully comply with their industries' regulations, including CMMC and NIST for defense industrial base contractors, HIPAA and HITECH for medical practices, GLBA for banking and finance, FTC compliance, Sarbanes Oxley and more. Craig is also the author of 8 cybersecurity and compliance books, including the Amazon #1 bestseller How HIPAA Can Crush Your Medical Practice.

With 30+ years of experience, Craig is well-known and highly regarded in the U.S. cybersecurity industry. He has served as a compliance consultant and conducted onsite risk assessments for over 500 medical practices, hospitals, and business associates, across the country, protecting them from hackers halfway around the world in places like Ukraine, Russia, and China. Craig holds MIT certifications in AI, blockchain, cybersecurity, and compliance.

With Laura out sick, today Kevin talks with Wyn Elder, the Managing Director of Global Public Sector at Box. They chat about Wyn's work and the difference between the public and private sectors. Wyn explains why he chose Box and what separates them from their competitors. We talk about DIUx, cloud cyber security, shadow IT and what keeps Wyn up at night. Lastly we talk modernization of government infrastructure and the TMF. Give this one a listen!

Wyn is responsible for revenue growth, strategy, business development, product roadmap, partnerships and channel distribution throughout this industry for Box.

Prior to Box, Wyn was at Deloitte Consulting where he led their Public Sector Innovation practice and helped Federal agencies transform their digital enterprises. Before Deloitte, Wyn worked at Apple where he served as the Director of Business Development, Partnerships, and Strategy for all of Apple’s Government & Public Sector business. He was responsible for crafting Apple’s government strategy and integrating associated changes into Apple's products, contracts, manufacturing, and distribution channels to support this innovative approach. Wyn also served as a Partner at the DoD’s premier Innovation Hub, Defense Innovation Unit (DIUx), helping transform the way the DOD works with advanced technology start-ups and accelerating the adoption of commercial technologies into the military services.

Prior to working at Apple, Wyn served 26 years as a pilot in the US Air Force and commanded at the Squadron, Group, and Wing levels and logged more than 3,000+ hours flying in the process. Wyn capped off his career by serving as the Senior Executive Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is a graduate of the National War College and holds an MBA from the University of Florida and a degree in Mathematics from the University of Virginia.