Adam Ford
Chief Technology Officer | State & Local Government and Education at Zscaler
Springfield, Illinois, United States
About Adam Ford
Adam Ford is Chief Technology Officer | State & Local Government and Education at Zscaler. Location: Springfield, Illinois, United States.
➤ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: An innovative cybersecurity executive and strategist with expertise in transforming complex business operations by identifying, designing, and implementing protective technologies to deliver solutions that align with organizational goals. Highly adept at optimizing employee workflows to enhance the user experience while maintaining security across endpoints. A trusted leader, known for ensuring that information systems and data are protected and available to meet the needs of end-users, residents, and customers. ➤ LEADERSHIP IMPACT: • Operational Excellence: Established and implemented enterprise-wide information security policies, operations, and practices, including monitoring and protecting 60,000 endpoints, 4,500 servers, and thousands of office locations • User Experience: Built a statewide election cybersecurity program to bring cutting-edge monitoring services to 100+ election authorities across Illinois; selected nine technical experts and intentionally placed them across regions to support collaboration and enhance relationships with partners, rolling out security to endpoints across government • Cybersecurity Transformation: Led the creation of a statewide cybersecurity framework which provided services to 55,000 employees across 60+ agencies • 2023 Recognition: Awarded the State Scoop 50 State Leadership of the Year and earned the CDO Magazine Leading Midwest Cybersecurity Leaders ➤ CERTIFICATIONS: Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP) Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Cisco Certified Network Associate Routing and Switching (CCNA Routing and Switching) ➤ BOARD MEMBERSHIPS + LEADERSHIP POSITIONS: • Board Member | Illinois State University Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education • Board Member | Illinois Cybersecurity Commission • Board Member | Lincoln Land Community College Computer Science Advisory Committee • Chair | Cybersecurity sub-committee of the Illinois Homeland Security Advisory Council and • Chair | Illinois state and local Cybersecurity Grant Program Taskforce • Executive Committee Board Member | Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) ➤ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES: Digital Transformations | Cross-functional Team Leadership | Strategic Planning | Cloud Security Operations | Employee Experience | Stakeholder Engagement | Enterprise Change Management | Information Security Strategies | Vulnerability Management | Compliance | Project Leadership | Technical Process Optimization
Skills
Additional experience
Chief Information Security Officer
Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology (DoIT)
June 2018 – January 2024
Education
- Master of Science - MS, Western Governors University
- Bachelor of Arts - BA, Illinois College