Andy Ellis is the author of 1% Leadership. He is the Advisory CISO at Orca Security and the Operating Partner at YL Ventures, and is an advisor to several cyber security startups, including Vulcan, Uptycs, Grip, Perygee, Vendict, Valence, Piiano, and Eureka. He is the founder and CEO of Duha, a leadership development consultancy that brings training to people earlier in their careers.
Andy Ellis is a seasoned technology and business executive with deep expertise in security, managing risk, and leading an inclusive culture. In his twenty-year tenure at Akamai, Andy led the information security organization from a single individual to a 90+ person team, over 40% of whom were women. Andy designed systems, governed risk management, implemented policy, and supported go-to-market functions. 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.
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 (for The Arlington Inn), and was the winner of the Sherman Oaks Galleria Spelling Bee. He was inducted into the CSO Hall of Fame in 2021.
He currently serves on Harvard University’s Visiting Committee to IT. 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.
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For speaking appearances, please contact Leading Authorities.
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 a more diverse lineup than generally seen at conferences. At a minimum, this means that a panel I’m on needs to have at least one visibly diverse candidate, but preferably more. 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
Andy Ellis is a seasoned technology and business executive with deep expertise in security, managing risk, and leading an inclusive culture. He is the author of 1% Leadership, Advisory CISO at Orca Security, and Operating Partner at YL Ventures. He was the first CSO at Akamai, where he led the information security organization 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.
He currently serves on Harvard University’s Visiting Committee to IT.