The Most Influential People in Security 2016

Impacting enterprises, communities and nations, these 19 leaders are making a difference in the security industry.

September 1, 2016

Every year, Security magazine is pleased to honor top security executives and leaders who positively impact the security industry, their organization, their colleagues and peers, as well as the national and global security landscape. They have been nominated by their colleagues and associates, and were chosen based upon their leadership qualities and the overall positive impact that their security projects, programs or departments have had upon their shareholders, organizations, colleagues and the general public.

This year’s Most Influential is organized by four categories: Corporate Security Executives, Government, University/Think Tanks, and Cybersecurity. We also have four Special Recognition recipients.

Congratulations to the Class of 2016 Most Influential People in Security!

William Evanina, National Counterintelligence Executive (NCIX) and Director, National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC)
Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, Sheriff-Coroner Orange County, California, and President, Major County Sheriffs Association
James Weston, Chief, Research and Information Support Center, Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) at the U.S. Department of State
Kirstjen Nielsen, Chair of Global Agenda Council on Risk and Resilience at the World Economic Forum and Senior Fellow, Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University
Juan Zarate, Chairman, Center on Sanctions & Illicit Finance; Chairman, Financial Integrity Network
Gregory Touhill, Federal Chief Information Security Officer
Larry Wilson, Chief Information Security Officer, University of Massachusetts
Antonio Gaona, Head of Global Security, CEMEX
Florian Haacke, Chief Security Officer, RWE AG
Steven Harrold, Division Vice President, Global Security, Corning Incorporated
Kirsten Meskill, Director, Global Security, BASF
Chris Rackow, Senior Vice President/Chief Resilience Officer, AECOM
Ken Senser, Senior Vice President, Global Security, Aviation & Travel, Walmart Stores, Inc.
Jeff Young, Executive Director, Integrated Protection Services, Fraser Health
Richard Fenton, Vice President for Corporate Security, Safety & Investigations, Ilitch Holdings
David Burrill, Chief Executive Officer, Burrill Green
Alfred Grasso, President and Chief Executive Officer, The MITRE Corporation
General Michael Hayden (ret.), Principal, The Chertoff Group, Former Director of NSA and Former Director of CIA
Timothy Murphy, President, Thomson Reuters Special Services, LLC

To read more about these industry leaders, visit our Most Influential 2016 Photo Gallery.

Our special thanks goes to Lynn Mattice and Jerry Brennan, who were our project partners and who provided subject matter expertise and research.

For a listing of past Most Influential People in Security honorees, please visit www.SecurityMagazine.com/MostInfluential.

Diane Ritchey was former Editor, Communications and Content for Security magazine beginning in 2009. She has an experienced background in publishing, public relations, content creation and management, internal and external communications. Within her role at Security, Ritchey organized and executed the annual Security 500 conference, researched and wrote exclusive cover stories, managed social media, and authored the monthly Security Talk column.

Ransomware and the propulsion of the extortion economy has rapidly eclipsed into a national priority. Recently, we observed the catastrophic impact of a widescale ransomware attack impacting gas pipelines and raising national gas prices overnight.