The Gate 15 Interview: Brian Harrell on Energy & Infrastructure Security, plus baseball, boating & burgers!

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In this episode of The Gate 15 Interview, Andy Jabbour visits with Brian Harrell, Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at AVANGRID. Brian currently serves as the Vice President and Chief Security Officer (CSO) at AVANGRID, an energy company with assets and operations in 24 states. He is responsible for the company’s cybersecurity, privacy, physical security, threat management, and business continuity. 

In 2018, Brian was appointed by the President of the United States to serve as the sixth Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He was also the first Assistant Director for Infrastructure Security at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). He has spent time during his career in the US Marine Corps and various private sector agencies with the goal of protecting the United States from security threats. Brian is a Board Member and Strategic Advisor to many great companies. 

In the discussion we address:

  • Brian’s background and path from law enforcement to infrastructure, CISA to AVANGRID
  • Information Sharing
  • Preparedness and Best Practices
  • Evolving threats to energy and infrastructure, including hostile events, insider threats,  cyberattacks and nation state threats, 3rd party risk and more
  • We talk baseball, burgers, and boating, plus shoutouts to some valued friends and partners, like security expert Jim Rosenbluth and Space ISAC Executive Director, Erin Miller!

A few references mentioned in or relevant to our discussion include:

The Gate 15 Interview is a monthly interview between Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour and guests from throughout the homeland security risk management community addressing a wide range of all-hazards topics and issues. Read more about Gate 15’s full podcast menu at our Podcast page. You can subscribe and enjoy all the Gate 15 Podcasts on AnchorAppleSpotifyGoogle, as well as other locations accessible from the Anchor link. Week-to-week, you can hear and learn more about our all-hazards threats, risks, mitigation and other issues impacting homeland security risk management from our team as well as our regular and special guests. The full podcast menu includes:

  • The Risk Roundtable, is a recurring monthly discussion among our team and occasional guests as we explore the all-hazards threats and risks impacting the United States and internationally.
  • The Cybersecurity Evangelist, with Jennifer Lyn Walker, is a cybersecurity-focused discussion with Jen and invited guests.
  • Nerd Out! Security Panel Discussion, moderated by Dave Pounder, focuses on physical security topics including terrorism, extremism, hostile events, and other pertinent topics.
  • The Gate 15 Interview, is a monthly interview between Gate 15’s founder and Managing Director, Andy Jabbour and guests from throughout the homeland security risk management community addressing a wide range of all-hazards topics and issues.

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