Andy Ellis is a Hall of Fame CSO, former VC Partner, and the author of 1% Leadership. He is the editor of howtociso.com, a co-host of The CISO Series podcast, and is an experienced board member and advisor to numerous companies. A former Air Force officer and MIT graduate, Andy brings a renaissance approach to every engagement, with accolades including an
Air Force Commendation Medal, The Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, The Spirit of Disneyland Award, the CSO Compass Award, and the SANS/DMA Podcast of the Year.
He is the founder and CEO of Duha, a boutique advisory firm that provides a spark of genius at the intersection of security, leadership, product, and messaging.
Widely respected across the cybersecurity industry for his pragmatic approach to aligning security and business needs, Andy regularly speaks and writes on cybersecurity, leadership, diversity & inclusion, and decision-making. He previously served as the Chief Security Officer of Akamai Technologies, where he was responsible for the company’s cybersecurity strategy, including leading its initial forays into the cybersecurity market.
After receiving a degree in computer science from MIT, Andy served as an officer in the United States Air Force with the 609th Information Warfare Squadron and the Electronic Systems Center.
Speaker Resources
For speaking appearances, please email speakers@duha.co.
Headshots
Dietary Restrictions
I do not eat dairy, egg, pork, or shellfish. I eat a low-grain diet. The simplest way to satisfy my needs is to communicate those two sentences to the catering chef. I’m flexible, but a sample menu might be a breakfast of 4 ounces of smoked salmon and a banana; a lunch of a small salad and a piece of chicken; a dinner of a very rare steak with a side of vegetables.
Participation
If I’m part if your curated speaker lineup, I expect to see that the curated lineup is more diverse lineup than generally seen at conferences. At a minimum, this means that a panel I’m on needs to have visible, non-token diversity. The overall set of speaker demographics should aim for representation at least halfway between what the industry sees today, and where we hope to see the industry move to. If you’ve already committed to too many other white males, I’m happy to cede my spot to improve representation.
Short Bio (use for verbal introductions)
Andy Ellis is a Legendary CISO with deep expertise in security, leadership, products and messaging. He is the author of 1% Leadership, Co-Host of the CISO Series podcast, Editor of How to CISO, and Principal at Duha. He was the first CSO at Akamai, where he led cybersecurity for over 20 years.
Andy has received a wide variety of accolades, including the CSO Compass Award, Air Force Commendation Medal, Spirit of Disneyland Award, Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and was the winner of the Sherman Oaks Galleria Spelling Bee. He was inducted into the CSO Hall of Fame in 2021. He holds multiple patents in web and computer security.