Zan Vautrinot
President, Kilovolt Consulting; Director, Wells Fargo, ECOLAB, CSX, Parsons, Battelle Memorial Institute & City of Hope
Suzanne “Zan” Vautrinot is President of Kilovolt Consulting Inc. and currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Wells Fargo, ECOLAB, CSX, Parsons, Battelle Memorial Institute and City of Hope. Previously, Zan achieved the rank of Major General in the U.S. Air Force where she accumulated over three decades of experience in space and cyber operations. She began her career in development and operations of national security satellite systems in the National Reconnaissance Office just as the nation was establishing both U.S. and Air Force Space Command (now the Space Force). Zan went on to lead multiple space units; Commanding the Joint Space Operations Center, and the 50th Space Wing, responsible for flying over 150 satellites as well as operations of the nation’s global satellite telemetry, tracking, control & communications network. Her space and network expertise were leveraged into emerging cyberspace operations as Deputy for Network Warfare. Before retiring from active duty, Zan served as the commander of all Air Force cyber forces and network operations. She was instrumental in establishment and early operation of U.S. Cyber Command with responsibility for offensive and defensive cyber activities for the Department of Defense.
Zan is universally respected as a motivational leader, speaker and change agent. As a cyber subject matter expert, she has addressed technical, business and university forums, guided key task forces, and provided testimony before Congress. She currently advises industry, academia as well as government agencies and laboratories on cybersecurity strategy, technology, innovation and workforce development. Zan has received a number of prestigious awards, including National Defense citations, the Symantec Cyber Award, Women in Aerospace Leadership Award, AFA Aerospace Citation of Honor, “Women Worth Watching” in Diversity Journal, the Presidential Award for Training, Cyberscoop’s Top “Women in Cybersecurity”, and “50 Politicos to Watch.” She was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2017.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree as one of the earliest female graduates the U.S. Air Force Academy, has a Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California, and was a National Security Fellow at Harvard University. She is also a graduate of the United States Air Force’s Air Command and Staff and Air War Colleges, as well as the Harvard Black Sea and International and National Security Programs