Essye Miller
Acting CIO and Chief Information Security Officer, DOD
For a while now, Essye Miller has been the Pentagon’s point person on cybersecurity policy. And for most of the past year, Miller has been the acting CIO of the Defense Department, commanding an office with a budget well over $40 billion. Of late, she’s helped lead the department’s efforts to move to the commercial cloud and boost its cybersecurity stature through the DOD Cyber Scorecard. Miller gave great advice meant for women starting careers in technology: “I would tell them to be comfortable bringing a different mindset to the field; to learn their craft very well; to take their time and establish their credibility. Once you have that reputation and that credibility people will recognize you for the work that you do.”