CactusCon 11 Keynotes

Sherrod DeGrippo

Sherrod DeGrippo is a leader in the Threat Intelligence industry and keeping organizations safe from cyberattacks. With more than 16 years of information security experience, Sherrod has directed 24/7 teams to investigate advanced threats, release multiple daily security updates and create scalable threat intelligence solutions.

In those 16 years, she has been quoted in publications such was The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press and Ars Technica. Sherrod is a well known public speaker on topics such as the threat landscape, threat actor psychology and advanced attack techniques. She specializes in programs and topics around advanced persistent threat, and teaches organizations and executives how to best extract intelligence from existing solutions.

As a leader, Sherrod has led multiple teams as a Sr. Director, managing managers and running high performing organizations. She follows a "service leadership" philosophy with a focus on enablement and empathy, not creating barriers. Sherrod has years of experience around integrating acquired teams and companies into larger organizations, placing employee experience first during these transitions.

Paulo Shakarian

Paulo Shakarian, Ph.D. is a tenured Associate Professor at the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.  He specializes in artificial intelligence and machine learning – publishing numerous scientific books and papers.  Shakarian was named a “KDD Rising Star,” received the Air Force Young Investigator award, received multiple “best paper” awards and has been featured in major news media outlets such as CNN and The Economist.  Paulo has been funded by various organizations including IARPA (CAUSE, ICARUS), ARO (3x), ONR (4x), and AF/AFOSR (2x). 

Paulo also co-founded and led the startup company Cyber Reconnaissance, Inc. – which was the first commercial solution to use machine learning to predict future exploits.  The company raised over $8 million in venture capital, obtained over 80 customers.  The company was acquired in early 2022. 

Earlier in his career, Paulo was an officer in the U.S. Army where he served two combat tours in Iraq, earning a Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor.  During his military career, Paulo also served as a DARPA Fellow and as an advisor to IARPA.  He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.S. in computer science from West Point.