Chris Cleary, chief information security officer at the Department of the Navy (DON), has been named DON’s principal cyber adviser. Cleary will oversee multiple functions relevant to the implementation of the Department of Defense’s Cyber Strategy across DON, DON said Wednesday.

He will provide advisory on multiple cyber-relevant topics such as cyber workforce building, cyber technology procurement and cybersecurity evaluations.

The executive will perform this advisory service for the secretary of the Navy, the chief of naval operations and other senior-level officers within DON. Cleary has been DON’s CISO over the past year and contributed 16 years of active-duty military service.

CAE has appointed Ben Nicholson as vice president of Washington Operations, effective December 14, 2020, the company reported on Thursday. He will bring experience in government and legislative relations as well as public policy. 

“He has an extensive background in government relations and a thorough understanding of national security businesses and will be an important addition to the CAE team," said Ray Duquette president and general manager of CAE. 

Nicholson will bring more than two decades of experience across the political and corporate environment. He has expertise in government operations, programs and contracting, including congressional operations, economic development and the federal appropriations process for national defense, aerospace, security and intelligence programs.

In his new role, Nicholson will serve as the senior executive for CAE's government relations in Washington, D.C., and will be responsible for representing the company with the U.S., Congress, federal agencies, foreign governments and industry associations. 

Nicholson will also guide U.S. government foreign policy and national priorities related to the defense and security, civil aviation and healthcare sectors, including their impact on CAE pursuits and objectives in the U.S. and international markets.

Prior to joining CAE, Nicholson served as  vice president of Global Government Relations for Honeywell International, where he led government relations efforts in aerospace, defense and other national security businesses. Nicholson also served as vice president of Government Affairs at L3 Technologies. 

"Nicholson will strengthen CAE's relationship with the U.S. government, Department of Defense and government agencies, as well as develop closer relationships with OEMs, suppliers and partners," Duquette added. 

Tsymmetry’s  Board of Directors has appointed Patricia Todaro Bolin, John Sutton and Amanda Brownfield to its inaugural Advisory Board to expand business growth and innovative solutions for the federal IT and private sectors, the company reported on Thursday.

“The individual contributions of our Advisory Board members to operational and IT deployments have led to transformative scalable innovations, pragmatic efficiencies, and stronger national security. Their alignment with our company’s vision will further expand Tsymmetry’s growth,” Tsymmetry chairman Philip Lowit said.

Todaro Bolin, founder of Innovation Consulting Services (ICS Advisory), provides B2B consulting services across mission, technology and operational services for law enforcement, tactical infrastructure, international/trade support and technology innovation/transformation. She also delivers B2B advisory services in business development and capture management.

“I am truly honored and proud to be connected with this maturing firm.  I look forward to working with Tsymmetry leadership and team members, in strengthening current client engagements; and, achieving further success in supporting new client growth and expansion,” said Todaro Bolin.

Sutton is an adjunct professor of Business at George Mason University and advisor to Quadrint Inc. He previously served across a variety of executive leadership positions, such as COO for KeyW, and general manager of QinetiQ NA and Global Crossing. In these roles, Sutton has led business operations and growth.

“I am very excited to join the Tsymmetry Advisory Board. The federal solution market is seeing unprecedented valuations and growth opportunities for technically-enabled, mission-focused firms like Tsymmetry.  I look forward to assisting Philip and his team in evolving their vision, strategy, and operations to growth and success,” said Sutton.

Brownfield currently serves as CEO of Geospark Analytics, a provider of transformational data analytics. She holds a deep knowledge of profit and loss (P&L) for privately held and publicly traded companies focused on National Intelligence, Defense and Law Enforcement.

“It’s a tremendous honor to join the Tsymmetry team. I look forward to working with the team to continue to build this amazing platform,” said Brownfield.