As Fortinet continues to be a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security, the collective ability of all organizations to enable digital acceleration has never been more important. Yet in recent years, cybercriminals have increased attacks across the globe, in volume and sophistication, and across all sectors and industries threatening our customers’ business growth and stability.
The Fortinet Strategic Advisory Council (FSAC) and its combined expertise helps steer and advise Fortinet and our customers through the evolving security challenges and technology needed to address the expanding landscape. With global experience across industries and segments, FSAC members work directly with the business and key customers to counsel them through the cybersecurity landscape to build a resilient strategy that meets specific objectives, enables digital transformation, and meets compliance and regulations guidelines.
The FSAC includes highly esteemed global leaders, including Rachelle Chong, Peter Jennings, Rob Scott, Sir Richard Shirreff, and Suzanne Spaulding. The members have excelled in a variety of roles and understand firsthand the critical importance of cybersecurity to today’s business success.
Fortinet Strategic Advisory Council Members
Rachelle Chong
FSAC Member
Rachelle Chong is a nationally recognized California regulatory lawyer and technology strategist who assists innovative clients before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Rachelle is proud to be the first Asian American Commissioner of both the FCC and the CPUC, serving under President Clinton and Governor Schwarzenegger.
Ms. Chong is a deep regulatory expert on telecommunications, broadband, spectrum, cable, broadcast, transportation network companies, electric vehicles, smart grid, microgrid, and autonomous vehicle regulation. She works to inspire companies and communities to bridge the Digital Divide, to adopt advanced technologies for grid modernization, cybersecurity and disaster recovery, and to explain the intersection of communications and energy transformation during an era of climate change escalation.
In addition to her eight years of federal and state public service, she has held roles that include as a law partner at two international law firms (Graham & James and Coudert Brothers), General Counsel for two start-ups Broadband Office and Sidecar, Vice President of Government Affairs for a national cable company, Special Counsel for the California Emerging Technology Fund, and senior policy counsel for the California Technology Agency (the CIO office of the state). She founded her solo law and lobbying practice in 2013, and also serves as CEO of R36 Solutions, LLC, a national strategic consulting company. Ms. Chong is a seasoned corporate board and advisory board member, serving at present on the advisory board of the Electric Power Research Institute, Anterix, Prologis, and the T-Mobile External Diversity and Inclusion Council.
Ms. Chong holds a law degree from UC Hastings College of the Law, and dual B.S. degrees from UC Berkeley.
Peter Jennings
FSAC Member
Peter Jennings was most recently the Executive Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI - Australia’s leading think-tank on national security). He worked in senior roles in the Australian Public Service on defense and national security, serving previously as the Deputy Secretary for Strategy in the Defense Department (2009-12); Chief of Staff to the Minister for Defense (1996-98) and Senior Adviser for Strategic Policy to the Prime Minister (2002-03). Before that, Mr. Jennings held several senior executive service positions in defense including First Assistant Secretary International Policy and First Assistant Secretary Coordination and Public Affairs, Deputy Director of the Defense Imagery and Geospatial Organization, and Head of the Strategic Policy Branch.
Mr. Jennings studied at the London Business School as a Sloan Fellow and was awarded an M.S. with Distinction. He has an M.A. in International Relations from the Australian National University and a Fulbright Fellow at M.I.T..
Rob Scott
FSAC Member
Rob is the CEO of Cygilant Inc., a Cybersecurity-as-a-Service company that combines its SOC and cybersecurity experts to provide customers affordable cloud-based security monitoring that hunts for threats, responds to incidents, patches systems and supplies audit artifacts for compliance mandates.
A 30-year technology industry veteran, Rob was named by Ernst & Young as its Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. He started his career as a Formula 1 race car driver, which inspired his passion for building high potential companies at a rapid pace. Rob launched his first start-up at age 25 and has since helped grow seven start-up companies and lead two corporate restarts in his career, most recently as CEO of Bradford Networks, which was acquired by Fortinet.
In addition to Bradford Networks, Rob has served in leadership positions for several technology companies including as CEO of Clique Intelligence, a software platform for data sharing and collaboration technologies. In 2008, Rob was appointed Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at HP ProCurve Networking through its 2008 acquisition of Colubris Networks, where he helped the company ascend to a prominent position in the wireless LAN industry as President and CEO.
General Sir Richard Shirreff
FSAC Member
General Sir Richard Shirreff began a 37-year career of service with the British Army, where he commanded soldiers on operations at every level. This included combat in the Gulf War as a tank squadron leader and again in Iraq as a divisional commander. In addition, he had extensive staff experience at brigade, Army headquarters, and in the Ministry of Defence. He commanded NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. His final military assignment was as NATO’s 4 Star Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR).
In February 2016 Sir Richard Shirreff co-founded Strategia Worldwide Ltd, a global risk advisory company serving clients across different industrial sectors and was recently acquired by Sigma7 Global Risk Outcomes, of which he is also Executive Vice President. He was educated in England, and graduated from Exeter College, Oxford where he is also an honorary fellow.
Suzanne Spaulding
FSAC Member
Suzanne Spaulding serves as a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and is also senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Previously, Ms. Spaulding served as undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she led the National Protection and Programs Directorate, which has transitioned to become the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In that role, she managed a $3 billion budget and a workforce of 18,000 charged with strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election infrastructure. Ms. Spaulding has worked in the executive branch in Republican and Democratic administrations and on both sides of the aisle in Congress. She was general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and minority staff director for the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also spent six years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she was assistant general counsel and the legal adviser to the director’s Nonproliferation Center. Following the attacks of 9/11, Ms. Spaulding worked with key critical infrastructure sectors as they reviewed their security posture and advised the CEOs of the Business Roundtable.
Ms. Spaulding earned both her law degree and undergraduate degree at the University of Virginia.