Dr. Derek A. Smith is a seasoned cybersecurity and AI executive with over 20 years of leadership experience spanning federal agencies, national security programs, and enterprise IT modernization. As the former Deputy Director of Cybersecurity Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he directed large-scale federal security initiatives, incident response operations, and multi-agency cyber defense strategies. His background as a federal agent specializing in cybercrime investigations provides him with a rare combination of frontline and executive-level insight into threat actor behavior and system vulnerabilities. He also served as a Release Manager at the IRS, leading complex IT modernization projects and enterprise-wide release management across mission-critical systems.

Throughout his career, Dr. Smith has held cybersecurity leadership roles with Booz Allen Hamilton, CSC, Inovalon, and Excelsior University, supporting security governance, risk management, and compliance for clients across agencies like Treasury, HHS, CMS, and DOD. Beginning his career in federal law enforcement as a Special Agent, he led cybercrime and counterintelligence investigations across multiple departments, including the U.S. Air Force and Department of Education. Today, he focuses on helping organizations integrate AI into their cybersecurity strategies — emphasizing responsible AI adoption, advanced threat detection, secure cloud architecture, and enterprise-wide cyber transformation.