Accelerating Tech Adoption: Leading the Conversation on Emerging Technology
At the May 2025 American Council for Technology (ACT) and Industry Advisory Council (IAC) Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference, Leidos’ Digital Modernization Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Senior Vice President Eric Moore and Enterprise Digital Experience Practice Vice President Tim Gilday took center stage. They sparked dynamic conversation on AI-driven defense, innovation, and the transformative future of technology in government, highlighting the conference’s theme, Using Technology to Drive Efficiency.
This premier event united top minds from government and industry to explore bold strategies for leveraging emerging technologies to drive efficiency and productivity — all while navigating the complexities of recent executive orders.
'Defending More with Less: Cybersecurity, Responsible AI, and Threat Evolution'
Moore moderated a powerhouse panel of government experts in a discussion titled “Defending More with Less: Cybersecurity, Responsible AI, and Threat Evolution.” The panel included:
- Mike Padro, Deputy Assistant Director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations
- Dr. Justin Ubert, Chief of Cyber & Operations, U.S. Department of Transportation
- Nathaniel D. Bastian, Program Manger, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Paul Blahusch, former Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), U.S. Department of Labor
The panel shared actionable insights and thought-provoking perspectives on how organizations can maintain an edge over adversaries while navigating resource constraints, such as:
- Proactive Risk Management: Red teaming and prioritizing cyber hygiene are critical to identifying vulnerabilities and addressing foundational gaps, ensuring organizations are prepared to mitigate risks effectively.
- Education and Collaboration: Cybersecurity teams must educate stakeholders, foster collaboration, and ask the right questions to responsibly leverage technologies, like Gen-AI, while navigating complex interagency partnerships.
- Guardrails and Decision-Making: Balancing innovation with risk requires knowing when to say “no” to ensure proper safeguards, particularly in sensitive areas like child protection, while maintaining alignment with mission outcomes.
- Training and Responsible AI Adoption: Training remains the cornerstone of cyber readiness, while AI’s transformative potential must be harnessed responsibly to mitigate risks and maximize its societal impact.
Fireside Chat with Navy CTO on Overcoming Barriers and Successful Adoption of Emerging Tech
On the final day of the conference, Gilday led a compelling fireside chat with Michael Frank, Deputy CTO of the Department of the Navy, following Frank's keynote speech. Referencing the Atlantic Council Commission on Defense Innovation Adoptions 2024 report, Frank made sure to highlight an important finding: "We found that the United States does not have an innovation problem, but rather an innovation adoption problem.”
This insight inspired the creation of the Innovation Adoption Kit, a joint Navy and Marine Corps initiative designed to equip program managers with actionable strategies and enablers to navigate the complexities of technology adoption and deliver impactful results.
Together, Gilday and Frank explored how to empower DoD program managers to overcome barriers and successfully adopt emerging technologies to drive mission outcomes. The key points the pair hit on included:
- Culture, Metrics, and Mindset: Successful innovation adoption requires shifting culture, intent, and mindset. Teams must embrace world-class alignment metrics (WAMs) to measure progress and transition from a requirement-centric approach to a capability-centric mindset, enabling flexible solutions that meet mission needs. Success hinges on WAMs to measure progress and adjusting culture to better support program managers, allowing them to take risks with the confidence that leadership will back them.
- Resource-Constrained Innovation: In environments with limited resources, teams must identify what can be “turned off” to make room for new capabilities, ensuring efficient allocation while driving impactful progress.
Innovation Toolkit in Action: The Innovation Toolkit has demonstrated success in pilots, such as the Secure Mobile Network Carrier (OCONUS) to enhance infrastructure resiliency and the Dragos Zero Trust Pilot to advance cybersecurity with cutting-edge capabilities.
Securing What Matters, Together
From leveraging responsible AI to enhancing cybersecurity strategies, Moore and Gilday explored bold approaches to innovation and resilience, especially at the intersection of cybersecurity and AI. The conversations underscored Leidos’ commitment to empowering mission success through innovation, collaboration, and the practical application of emerging technologies. Leidos Trusted Mission AI is designed with security at its core — minimizing cyber risk while leveraging human-AI partnership for real-time threat detection and response. Countering AI-enabled adversaries requires equally intelligent defenses. That’s why Leidos cyber solutions are built to simulate threats, giving agencies a proactive edge.
As highlighted at the conference, innovation isn’t just about adapting – it’s about leading. That leadership depends on trusted collaboration. By partnering with Leidos, agencies gain confidence that their data, systems, and operations are secure – today and in the future. With a full-spectrum of cyber solutions, including defensive, offensive, and proactive measures, Zero Trust architectures, AI-driven defenses, Crypto-Agility, and identity management, agencies are equipped not just to adapt, but to actively shape it with smarter, mission-ready cyber resilience available now.
