Russ Smith

Russ Smith is an experienced cybersecurity leader currently serving as Field CTO and Technical Director at Zscaler since May 2022, and as a member of the AFCEA Cyber Committee from March 2023. Previous roles include Security Delivery Senior Manager at Accenture Federal Services, Program Director for Cybersecurity at ManTech, and Vice President of Cyber Practice at SAIC, where leadership was demonstrated in cyber technology development and solution architecture. Russ also directed a $1 million research project at the Institute for Defense Analyses and held significant positions at USSOCOM and the United States Air Force, where strategic planning and operational leadership were key focuses. Russ holds advanced degrees in military operational art and science as well as joint C4I systems from Naval Postgraduate School and USAF Air Command and Staff College, along with a bachelor's degree in computer information science from Bloomsburg University.