Paul Connelly, NACD.DC, is a distinguished chief information security officer (CISO) who built the first two cybersecurity programs at two of the world’s highest risk organizations: the White House and HCA Healthcare.

Connelly began his career as an information security analyst at the National Security Agency and then spent nine years as the information security officer at the White House, where he also served as a presidential communication officer for three US Presidents.

His expertise in creating robust security frameworks continued at HCA Healthcare, where he served as CISO for more than 20 years. Connelly led cybersecurity, privacy, information governance, and physical security programs protecting 187 hospitals and 2,000 outpatient clinics serving 32 million patient encounters per year.

Connelly has also been a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, known as PwC, where he led a cybersecurity audit and consulting practice.