Ken Hughes
Lorton,VA
Summary
A retired military officer / senior federal civilian employee with diverse and advanced leadership experience that spans over 34 years within the federal government. Over 22 years of synergizing personnel, managing various programs, guiding strategies, improving operations, and providing solutions for numerous technical and operational processes. Utilizes emerging technologies, fundamental pillars of project management, and military leadership principles to drive results, often in fiscally constrained environments. Demonstrates a knack for ensuring bottom-up tasks and goals align with top-down strategies and objectives. A proven, combat-tested leader who thrives under pressure and balances the need to achieve organizational and strategic goals while ensuring the welfare of employees.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
Work History
Branch Chief
Joint Service Provider (JSP) / DISA
Arlington, VA
02.2022 - Current
- Utilizes leadership, team building, and critical thinking skills to manage, integrate, synergize, and develop the talents of over 40 government civilians, military members, and contractors across five teams, providing endpoint security, data management, and network boundary security to the Pentagon, National Capitol Region (NCR), and agency affiliates
- Applies expert analytical and critical thinking skills to develop strategies for plans, implementation of tasks, and the delivery actions of data that directly support JSP’s organizational goals
- Applies qualitative and quantitative methods to develop plans, identify solutions, and offer recommendations via written and oral communications – often to JSP’s senior leaders – to improve operational functionality and, by extension, enhance the DOD’s cybersecurity posture
- Led an effort to redesign the system architecture for network scanning that led to a stark improvement in the identification and enumeration of endpoint assets within the JSP network environment
- Provided input and oversight to develop a more concise method for ingesting data that led to more efficient and effective data discovery and substantial cost avoidance
- Established reputation for a branch that provides solutions; often sought after by other directorates and agencies to directly support high-echelon projects such as Thunder Dome (zero trust architecture), Microsoft Defender for Endpoints (endpoint security), and data analytics.
Division Chief (Acting)
Joint Service Provider (JSP) / Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
Arlington, VA
02.2023 - 03.2024
- Provides direct management and mentorship to three Cybersecurity Branches: Cyber Workforce, Endpoint Security Operations, and Identity Management
- Drives results by synergizing the talents of a team of over 60 personnel, including federal employees, military members, and contractors, to plan, design, and implement system strategies to meet and improve organizational goals
- Known for challenging conventional thinking, repeatedly asked to attend senior and executive meetings to provide unique perspectives to achieve and exceed goals
- Clearly articulates ideas via oral and written presentations and correspondence to subordinates, peers, seniors, and executive levels
- Remains abreast of and provides direct support for new and emerging technologies that positively impact DISA’s cybersecurity missions
- Served in a dual role capacity as the acting Division Chief (GG-15) and the actual Branch Chief (GG-14) with no failure in any missions, tasks, or initiatives
- Key accomplishments include: Successful implementation of the DISA J6 Cyber Awareness Forum resulted in greater collaboration between public and private agencies to advance the latest cyber technologies and support DISA’s organizational goals
- Redesign of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) database, resulting in a stabler, more secure backend management system that ensures personnel can use their certificates securely, effectively, and efficiently
- Use of endpoint security services to impact the Pentagon Force Protection Agency’s successful Cyber Command Readiness Inspection
DCO Special Projects Manager
U.S. Army Cyber Command
Fort Gordon, GA
05.2021 - 02.2022
- Often functioned as a bridge among various departments to synthesize their strengths and expertise, maximizing the operational effectiveness and efficiencies of their combined efforts supporting DCO and other organizational goals and objectives
- Addressed significant and complex requirements to develop strategic plans, streamlined operational processes, and project roadmaps to optimize functional efficiencies for deliberate and hasty defensive cyberspace operations
- Maintained ongoing oral and written communications with key stakeholders at echelons up to the Congressional levels
- Co-wrote the first Army-wide defensive cybersecurity operations (DCO) framework for prioritizing, shaping, and executing defensive cyberspace operations
- Although attempted many times in the organization’s 10-year history, this complex effort never came to fruition until then
- Directly supported the design and development of short-term and long-term plans and goals, directly influencing the success of ARCYBER’s organizational cyber defense objectives in multiple echelons
- Primary author of Army Cyber Command’s first-ever Congressional correspondence paper on cybersecurity operations.
SUPV IT SPEC (INFO SEC)CHIEF, ENTERPRISE SERVICES
U.S. Army Cyber Command
Fort Gordon, GA
06.2020 - 05.2021
JSP’sJSP’s
- Provided direct input in developing and implementing policies that improved the acquisition, criteria, strategies, processes, and project roadmaps for Army-level cybersecurity operations
- Analyzed the benefits, risks, and operational impacts of the DA networks' information security designs, endpoint configurations, and data delivery architectures
- Directly affected programs, budgets, and obligated funds needed to support C4 systems
- Provided a wide range of substantive oral and written presentations and reports to senior officials
- Provided operational, strategic, and technical leadership to a Branch of over 45 multi-disciplined subordinates in support of U.S
- Army Cyber Command’s (ARCYBER’s) organizational goals and the goals of higher headquarters
- Aided in establishing operational IT requirements, cybersecurity objectives, and IT service management goals, and as required, represented ARCYBER on joint, inter-service, Department of Defense (DoD) and external agency collaborations concerning continuing and ad hoc cybersecurity and IT matters
- Frequently provided written correspondence to taskers issued from higher echelon organizations.
SUPV IT DEPUTY BRANCH CHIEF OF ENTERPRISE SERVICES
U.S. Army Cyber Command
Fort Belvoir, VA
12.2017 - 06.2020
- Assisted the Enterprise Services Branch Chief with all administrative, managerial, and technical duties to complete all objectives
- Provided administrative and technical supervision to a Branch of over 50 multi-disciplined subordinates (civilian, military, and contractor) to successfully achieve organizational goals and objectives
- Use critical and analytical thinking to help shape strategies addressing enterprise-level decisions regarding endpoint security, endpoint management, cloud computing, and platform standardization
- Integrated C4 concepts, policies, plans, and programs to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks associated with evolving solutions within DA computer networks
- Provided a wide range of substantive oral and written presentations and reports that influenced Senior Leaders’ decisions about information assurance, IT/cybersecurity policies, and operational implementations
- Developed strategic plans, operational processes, and project roadmaps for Army-wide operations that support data delivery, data security, and endpoint security
- As required, represented ARCYBER during joint, inter-service, DoD, and external agency collaborations that supported developing, adapting, and using emerging solutions, technologies, policies, and issues
- Served as part of a three-way leadership team (Dept
- Of the Army, ARCYBER, and NETCOM) to upgrade all Army systems to Windows 10, resulting in 100% compliance within the target time limit
- Led efforts to develop an endpoint management tool that resulted in an automated, efficient, cost-effective method to monitor endpoints and provide Army-wide collaboration and proactivity for administration and security.
SENIOR NETWORK DESIGN ENGINEER
Technica Corporation
Alexandria, VA
10.2017 - 12.2017
- Led a special project to develop a framework to upgrade the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) telecommunications infrastructure to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution
- Collaborated directly with the director of the Telecommunications Division to include the operational requirements within the network design
- Developed a project schedule to clearly depict a phased approach for achieving the network upgrade and identify resources required to succeed.
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER, SYSTEMS
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
Alexandria, VA
03.2017 - 10.2017
- Used project management, critical thinking, and technical expertise to develop a strategy to enable the U.S
- Intelligence & Security Command (INSCOM) to comply with the Army’s directive to consolidate, modernize, and optimize its NCR data centers
- This resulted in the development of the System Design Plan (SDP) to consolidate multiple area-wide data centers into one Enterprise Data Center, potentially increasing the organization’s operational efficiency while decreasing its fiscal burden
- Served as the site lead and primary architect in support of the effort, providing technical support, subject matter expertise, and project planning daily to government civilians in support of the unit’s program manager.
SENIOR NETWORK ENGINEER / PROJECT MANAGER
U.S. Army Cyber Command
Fort Belvoir, VA
01.2014 - 01.2017
- Provided leadership, technical expertise, and project management skills to help shape strategic solutions
- Wrote and analyzed policy, guidance, goals, and objectives from the DOD, HQDA, and other military agencies for impacts and implications on DA networks
- Conducted inter-agency coordination in researching, analyzing, and developing current and forthcoming technologies that directly impacted Army-wide network / cyber security readiness
- Often provided executive representation for ARCYBER & Second Army on joint, inter-agency, and DOD discussions regarding the strategic, functional, and operational designs and implementations of projects such as the Joint Information Environment (JIE), Joint Regional Security Stacks (JRSS), Network Modernization (NETMOD) and Cloud Computing
- Communicated short- and long-term strategic plans to senior leaders up to the General Officer and Senior Executive Services (SES) levels
- Served on behalf of ARCYBER and, at times, the Army, as the representative for supporting the JRSS implementation
- Served as a liaison to the Navy on behalf of the Army for supporting their JRSS implementation
- Provided direct support to the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) for developing tests for validating the functionality of JRSS and the JIE.
CHIEF OF NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE & ENGINEERING
Joint NETOPS Control Center Afghanistan (JNCC-A)
Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan
01.2013 - 01.2014
- Ensured objective success by providing subordinates with administrative, managerial, and technical direction
- Imparted clear leadership, mentoring, and direction to subordinates in their ongoing endeavors to improve efficiencies in the utilization and interoperability of the telecommunications / IT infrastructure of the U.S
- Army’s portion of the Afghanistan wide area network (WAN)
- Served as the senior authority for managing the Army’s multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) network
- Integrated the functionality of classified and unclassified network enclaves into a synergistic outcome, resulting in unfettered reliability of the entire portion of the U.S
- Army’s strategic WAN within the Afghanistan area of operation
- This integration positively impacted combat leaders’ abilities to exercise strategic command and control (C2) of their elements in a live warzone
- Directed the strategic planning and work priorities of two junior managers, two senior technical subject matter experts, and their teams to optimize their respective areas of telecommunications operations, including network management, network transport solutions, voice, video, and data optimization efforts, and transport media optimization solutions.
CHIEF OF NETWORK ENGINEERING BRANCH
III Armored Corps
Fort Hood, TX
01.2012 - 01.2014
- Integrated the talents and expertise of several junior executives, senior technicians, and their team members to achieve functional synergy supporting the organizational goals
- Led the branch in planning and engineering strategic and tactical solutions directly impacting the Commander’s ability to exercise command and control (C2) across classified and unclassified information networks
- Management and leadership led to project successes, which resulted in ensuring voice, video, and data capabilities operated at optimal efficiency, exceeding the 99.9% standard.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEER
62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion
Fort Hood, TX
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Provided operational support in developing the plan for implementing the largest tactical-to-strategic communications network drawdown in the Army’s history to support Operation New Dawn (OND) as the final US forces withdrew from Iraq to redeploy back to the United States and other allied countries
- This mission’s success facilitated Commanders’ abilities to meet all theater force withdrawal timelines across 29 sites supporting over 25,000 subscribers
- Served as the commanding officer of the organization’s remote headquarters element during the final phase of the Army’s withdrawal from Iraq, enabling the successful return of all personnel and equipment to the main body without incident
- Served as the telecommunications SME performing staff functions requiring expertise in quality assurance, information security, information assurance, spectrum management, and configuration management.
CHIEF, STRATEGIC NETWORK OPERATIONS
Multinational Forces – Baghdad
Camp Liberty, Iraq
01.2007 - 01.2009
- Provided leadership to multiple subsections supporting fiber optic commercialization, telephone communications operations (wired and wireless), MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) internet activities, and Official Post Office functions
- Redesigned the fiber optic topology on Camp Liberty, Iraq, resulting in increased reliability, robustness, and scalability
- Additionally, designed and developed new, more efficient maintenance holes in support of the fiber optic reengineering effort
- Developed a project management tracking system to track all commercialization projects from concept to completion, leading to more predictable and efficient project executions and completions
- Developed, resourced, coordinated, implemented, and managed a project to provide communications that allowed the Commander to move his combat headquarters closer to enemy activity while in contact with enemy forces
- Produced the department’s standard operating procedures, codifying routine procedures and processes for telephone communications operations, Official Post Office functions, and MWR activities.
Education
Ph.D. - Information Assurance And Cybersecurity
Capella University
01-2023
Master of Science - Computer And Information Systems
Texas A&M University - Central Texas
Killeen, TXBachelor of Science - Computer Science
Augusta State University
Augusta, GASkills
Skills and Expertise: Leadership, Program Management, Network Engineering, Personnel Management, Planning, Oral and Written Communications
Provided operational support in developing the plan for implementing the largest tactical-to-strategic communications network drawdown in the Army’s history to support Operation New Dawn (OND) as the final US forces withdrew from Iraq to redeploy back to the United States and other allied countries This mission’s success facilitated Commanders’ abilities to meet all theater force withdrawal timelines across 29 sites supporting over 25,000 subscribers Served as the commanding officer of the organization’s remote headquarters element during the final phase of the Army’s withdrawal from Iraq, enabling the successful return of all personnel and equipment to the main body without incident Served as the telecommunications SME performing staff functions requiring expertise in quality assurance, information security, information assurance, spectrum management, and configuration management
Training
MANAGERIAL
▪ Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam Prep
• Certified Information Systems Manager (CISM) Exam Prep
• Fundamentals of Federal Finance
• Business Acumen
TECHNICAL
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) Exam Prep
• Project+ Exam Prep
• Security+ Exam Prep
• Systems and Network Security Introduction
• Cyber Security Risk Assessment & Management
• Defending the Perimeter from Cyber Attacks
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Exam Prep
• U.S. Army Telecommunications Systems Engineering Course (2006 - 2007)
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) (2012 -2015)
• Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA) (2012-2015)
LEADERSHIP
• U.S. Army Intermediate Leadership Education (ILE)
• U.S. Army Signal Officers’ Captain’ Career Course
• Primary Leadership Development Course
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
- CISSP ▪ CISM ▪ ITIL Foundations ▪ Security+ ▪ Certified Expert in Perimeter Security ▪ Certified Expert in Perimeter Security+ ▪Certified Specialist in Network Infrastructure Defense ▪ Certified Specialist in Cyber Security Management
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 ▪ Project Management Institute (PMI) ▪ Information Systems Auditing and Control Association (ISACA) ▪ National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS)
PUBLISHED WORKS
(2010) Building a contextual sensor network using automated bots. Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Information & Knowledge Engineering (pp. 349-355), Las Vegas, NV: CSREA Press.
(2022) Perceptions of how implementing an SDN impacts managing Army networks. ProQuest Publishing.
Timeline
Division Chief (Acting)
Joint Service Provider (JSP) / Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
02.2023 - 03.2024
Branch Chief
Joint Service Provider (JSP) / DISA
02.2022 - Current
DCO Special Projects Manager
U.S. Army Cyber Command
05.2021 - 02.2022
SUPV IT SPEC (INFO SEC)CHIEF, ENTERPRISE SERVICES
U.S. Army Cyber Command
06.2020 - 05.2021
SUPV IT DEPUTY BRANCH CHIEF OF ENTERPRISE SERVICES
U.S. Army Cyber Command
12.2017 - 06.2020
SENIOR NETWORK DESIGN ENGINEER
Technica Corporation
10.2017 - 12.2017
PRINCIPAL ENGINEER, SYSTEMS
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)
03.2017 - 10.2017
SENIOR NETWORK ENGINEER / PROJECT MANAGER
U.S. Army Cyber Command
01.2014 - 01.2017
CHIEF OF NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE & ENGINEERING
Joint NETOPS Control Center Afghanistan (JNCC-A)
01.2013 - 01.2014
CHIEF OF NETWORK ENGINEERING BRANCH
III Armored Corps
01.2012 - 01.2014
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ENGINEER
62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion
01.2011 - 01.2012
CHIEF, STRATEGIC NETWORK OPERATIONS
Multinational Forces – Baghdad
01.2007 - 01.2009
Ph.D. - Information Assurance And Cybersecurity
Capella University
Master of Science - Computer And Information Systems
Texas A&M University - Central Texas
Bachelor of Science - Computer Science
Augusta State University
Similar Profiles
Tiffany StanfieldTiffany Stanfield
PFPA LSB Service Desk-Help Desk Analyst at Empower AI-Joint Service ProviderPFPA LSB Service Desk-Help Desk Analyst at Empower AI-Joint Service Provider
Dionyssia VarthaliDionyssia Varthali
Advisor to the Governor at Hellenic Aviation Service Provider (HASP), Civil Service under the Ministry of Infrastructure and TransportAdvisor to the Governor at Hellenic Aviation Service Provider (HASP), Civil Service under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport
Mustafa TabaniMustafa Tabani
Systems Administrator at [Stimulus Technologies], Managed Service ProviderSystems Administrator at [Stimulus Technologies], Managed Service Provider
Natalie PerezNatalie Perez
Assistant at BMP Drywall Construction LLCAssistant at BMP Drywall Construction LLC
Kendrick CarterKendrick Carter
Armed Security Officer at Self EmployedArmed Security Officer at Self Employed