TAMPA, FLORIDA, (February 9, 2023) – The newly-created Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida is pleased to announce the creation of its inaugural Board of Advisors, a group of eight highly successful individuals from a diverse group of industries and disciplines, including academia, cybersecurity, finance and global consultancies.
“Traditionally, the military comes to mind when you think about global and national security, but that’s an obsolete point of view,” said General (Ret) Frank McKenzie, Executive Director of GNSI. “21st century security challenges involve whole-of-society problems that are complex and globalized; they require a robust and interdisciplinary expertise and approach. This group of advisors understands that the need for organizations like GNSI has never been more paramount.”
Rick Knop, leading investment banker and investor in the government/defense industry, was previously announced as the Chairman of the Board of Advisors in January. Joining Knop on the Board of Advisors will be:
• Frank Cilluffo – currently serves as the Director of Auburn University’s McCrary Institute for Cyber
& Critical Infrastructure Security
• Chris Galvin – Co-Founder and Chairman of Gore Creek Asset Management LLC and former Chairman
and CEO of Motorola
• General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret) – currently the president of Jones Group International and former National Security
Advisor to President Obama
• Cathy Lanier – currently the Senior Vice-President of Security for the NFL and formerly was Chief
of Police in Washington, D.C.
• Kirstjen Nielsen – served as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security under President Trump and also served
as his principal White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• Lieutenant General Vince Stewart, USMC (Ret) – Founder and CEO of Stewart Global Solutions and formerly Director of the Defense
Intelligence Agency, as well as Deputy Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command
• Chip Walter – currently the Managing Director of Marlinspike Disruptive Technology Fund 1 and
spent over 30 years serving the U.S. Navy and federal government
This group of eight people will help chart the future for GNSI, which was created last summer as a way for USF to capitalize on the university’s tremendous academic talent and research, as well as leverage deep relationships with the two United States military combatant commands located in Tampa: U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). GNSI is also going to work in conjunction with the Florida Institute for Cybersecurity (Cyber Florida), which is housed at USF, along with the university’s Institute for Applied Engineering, which is already producing work for the Department of Defense.
In its short existence, a central mission for GNSI has evolved: to operate and flourish at the intersection of science and technology, cybersecurity, and human dynamics and social behavior.
“General McKenzie’s vision is for GNSI to operate at the boundary of technology and policy, while connecting academia, government and industry,” said Knop, who has deep educational experience as a longtime member of the Board of Trustees of The George Washington University and chairman of The George Washington University Center for Cyber & Homeland Security. “It’s a unique and interdisciplinary approach that this new group has embraced, recognizing it’s the best way to help our civic, academic, military and government leaders to overcome challenges they may never have encountered before.”
Knop is also a current member of the Board of Advisors of the McCrary Institute for Cybersecurity & Critical Infrastructure as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of Cyber Florida, for which McKenzie also serves as Executive Director.
GNSI has already created a new platform to host events, the GNSI Tampa Summit, which will continue to feature the Great Power Competition Conference series, and will incorporate other events, as well. In addition to the bi-annual Summit, GNSI has an expansive lineup of other events to tackle non-military issues that still have a connection to global and national security; issues like hunger, refugees, violent extremism and climate change.