Enterprise Finalists

Born and raised in Va Beach area of Va. I entered the US Marines at 17 yrs old and went to basic training at Parris Island, SC 10days after I graduated high school. I took training in technology and after 21 years excelled to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. I retired from USMC and came to work at CaroMont 2 weeks later, June 2002 and have been here since.

May 2017, CaroMont Health receive a new CEO. When I first met with him, he asked me how many employees did I have dedicated to the Information Security and Cybersecurity. I began to respond with which employee had a focus for this but also had to worry about that and he said to me, "That sounds like none". He then proceeded to tell me to build a team, find what/who you need, you have a blank check." That team has been the greatest success so far as we have kept the company safe up to today.

John Hoyt is the Assistant Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Clemson University, where he leads information security strategy and operations. He has more than 18 years of cybersecurity experience and over two decades in information technology, with roles spanning technical support, systems administration, security engineering, SOC leadership, and executive security leadership. John is also a published author, speaker, and podcast host focused on cybersecurity leadership, workforce development, mentorship, and hands-on learning.

I began my Clemson journey in 2007 as a security engineer and incident responder on a small team with limited tools and resources. In 2016, I took on the challenge of helping launch one of the first student-run security operations centers. With no formal roadmap, we learned by doing, and I mentored students through real security work. That decision became one of the most meaningful of my career, because it strengthened both the students and Clemson’s security program. I later grew into engineering and operations leadership and, in 2021, became Clemson’s fourth Chief Information Security Officer.

Michael Irwin is CISO and VP of IT at Odyssey Logistics, where he has led the most comprehensive technology and cybersecurity transformation in the company's history — unifying 16 acquired environments, modernizing infrastructure, and establishing enterprise-wide security programs that strengthen resilience and enable growth. With over 16 years of experience across logistics, media, and private-equity-backed environments, including senior roles at POLITICO Media Group, he is known for building high-performing teams and delivering results.

When I joined Odyssey in 2022, the company had grown through 16 acquisitions — each with its own technology stack, security posture, and network architecture. Over three years, I built Odyssey's first unified cybersecurity program, consolidated infrastructure across 80+ locations, and migrated to a Tier 4 data center with fewer than 24 hours of downtime. We grew cyber insurance coverage from 500K to 15 million while reducing premiums. When the 2024 CrowdStrike outage affected millions of systems globally, our team restored critical systems within 24 hours. Together, we delivered $1M+ in annual savings and helped secure $40M in new investments.

Arun is a technology executive with extensive experience leading enterprise security, risk management, and technology resilience programs across the the financial sector including Bank of America and Experian prior to LendingTree. He partners with business and technology leaders to strengthen security posture, drive innovation, and enable strategic growth. Known for building high-performing teams and aligning cybersecurity with business objectives, Arun is committed to advancing security leadership and operational excellence.

As the inaugural CISO for LendingTree , it has been my privilege to work with world class talent, across the company and within the team, to build out our Security. When I joined the company 8 years ago, our late founder Doug Lebda asked that any Security program we build be employee enabling to foster creativity and innovation and partner very closely with the business to balance growth with risk. I am proud to say that we are well on our way and look forward to the next chapter!

Sophie Street is an award-winning cybersecurity leader at SECU with expertise in information security, risk management, and fraud prevention. Guided by a mission to protect and care for people, she is dedicated to strengthening security while fostering trust and resilience for members, employees, and communities. Outside of work, Sophie is an avid reader and ultramarathon runner who embraces challenges both professionally and personally.

One of our greatest successes together was enhancing traditional security training with a people-first "Frontline Champion" model. By partnering security engineers with frontline employees, we transformed our security posture into a shared mission.This approach boosted operational resilience and team unity. Involving employees in early deployments with security turned them into active aware defenders against social engineering, sparking organization-wide conversations. It also fostered empathy. Security Engineers witnessed user friction firsthand, inspiring them to design more seamless controls.In an AI-dominated era, this strategy humanized our defense, uniting technology and people so employees felt part of our success and our mission.