Chris Cummiskey

Chris Cummiskey

Advisory Board Member | Chief Executive Officer, Cummiskey Strategic Solutions, LLC

Chris Cummiskey is the Chief Executive Officer of Cummiskey Strategic Solutions, LLC, a firm that specializes in cyber, homeland security, government technology and acquisition consulting. Based in Washington DC, Cummiskey serves as a strategic advisor to Federal agencies, state governments, private sector companies and boards of directors. Cummiskey has 24 years of government experience in senior leadership positions at both the Federal and state levels.

Cummiskey served in senior leadership at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for six years (2009 – 2014), with his last position in the number three role at the department as Under Secretary for Management (acting). During his tenure as Under Secretary (a) and Deputy Under Secretary, he had department-wide oversight and responsibility for budget/finance, cyber/IT, procurement/contracting, human capital, security, facilities and enterprise support. He also served as the department's Chief Acquisition Officer, overseeing $19 billion in annual spending.

While at DHS, Cummiskey also co-led all the major cyber committees at the department including the Executive Steering Committee on the National Cybersecurity Protection System (Einstein), the Executive Steering Committee on Cyber Strategy, the Acquisition Review Board on government-wide Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) and the Executive Steering Committee on Cyber Hiring.

Cummiskey serves as a Senior Fellow & Adjunct Faculty with Virginia Tech’s Center for National Security and Technology and as a Senior Fellow at the Auburn University Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security. Cummiskey also serves on numerous boards including: The Homeland Security and Defense Business Council, as a Senior Advisor to Government Executives (SAGE) with the Partnership for Public Service and as a cyber expert with the Washington Post.

In 2003, Cummiskey was appointed by the Governor of Arizona to serve as the state’s Chief Information Officer and Director of the Government Information Technology Agency. During his six-year tenure, he received the Distinguished Service to State Government award from the National Governor’s Association for his work in government innovation. He was also credited with creating the state's first cybersecurity plan and establishing the Arizona Cyber Information Security Office.

Prior to serving in the Governor’s cabinet, Cummiskey was elected to six terms in the Arizona State Legislature (1991-2003). As a State Senator, he held numerous leadership positions and was credited with developing technology solutions to improve government service delivery.