Our Team
Michele Guido
Michele L. Guido is the Strategic Security Policy Director for Southern Company, the parent company of Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Southern Nuclear, Mississippi Power, and additional subsidiaries. She has been with Southern Company since 2004. Michele brings 35 years of experience in crisis and consequence management, enterprise risk, business continuity, disaster recovery, and emergency response across critical infrastructure. Her background includes roles at IBM, BellSouth, and Federated Systems Group, giving her a comprehensive perspective across the public-private landscape on national security, cybersecurity, physical security, natural hazards, and emerging threats. In her current role, Michele provides strategic guidance to Southern Company executives on national security, reliability, and resilience. She leads company and industry efforts on all hazards strategies, effects analysis, and methodology development. She also collaborates extensively with energy sector partners, critical infrastructure owners and operators, and government agencies focused on safeguarding critical infrastructure. Michele holds a B.S. in Computer and Information Systems and an A.S. in Business Administration from King’s College, along with graduate studies in Emergency Preparedness and Planning from UC Berkeley. She earned her Certified Business Continuity Professional designation in 1995. In 2024, Michele received the NERC EISAC Michael J. Assante Award for her work across the energy industry. She serves as a Senior Fellow at the McCrary Institute and a Senior Advisor to CSC (Cyberspace Solarium Commission) 2.0.
Executive Director
Ben Flatgard
Ben Flatgard is an Executive Director with JPMorgan Chase & Co. He leads public policy development and advocacy, as well as partnership initiatives, to improve the cybersecurity of the firm, its customers and clients, and the broader digital ecosystem. Ben previously served in the Obama Administration from 2009-2017. In his most recent post as Director for Cybersecurity Policy on the National Security Council, Ben was responsible for leading cybersecurity policy development related to protection of critical infrastructure and emerging technologies. Before joining the National Security Council, Ben served as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions. Prior to his time at Treasury, Ben held positions at the Department of Commerce and the White House. Ben graduated from the University of Edinburgh. He has held fellowships at the Atlantic Council and the University of Sydney.
Chairman
Tom Fanning
Thomas A. (Tom) Fanning is the retired chairman, president and CEO of Southern Company, America’s premiere energy company serving 9 million customers nationwide. Fanning worked for Southern Company for more than four decades and held 15 different positions in eight different business units, including numerous officer positions in the areas of finance, strategy, international business development and technology. For nearly a decade, Fanning served as co-chair of the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, the principal liaison between the federal government and the electric power sector to protect the electric grid from national security threats, including cyber and physical terrorism as well as natural disasters. Recognized as a leading authority in cybersecurity, he served both on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and as chair of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Cybersecurity Advisory Committee providing recommendations on the development and refinement of the nation’s cybersecurity programs and policies. Fanning sits on the advisory board of the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, the board of trustees of the Georgia Tech Foundation and chairs the board of directors of the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. He also serves on the board of directors of Vulcan Materials Company. Fanning also is a member of the international advisory board of the Atlantic Council and the American Energy Innovation Council. Fanning previously served on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and is a past chairman. He is also a past chairman of the Conference of Chairs of the Federal Reserve Banks and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). Fanning earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from Georgia Tech. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, Sarah, and has four children.
Chairman, Executive Committee
Jeff Baumgartner
Jeffrey Baumgartner has more than 20 years of Federal, state, and private industry experience in the energy sector. Now the Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Jeff leads the company's enterprise security strategy to drive global cyber, physical, and operational resilience. Berkshire Hathaway Energy owns a family of locally managed energy businesses that operate electric utilities, natural gas pipelines and generation assets that support more than 13 million customers in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. Previously, he served as Senior Advisor at DOE, where he became a nationally recognized expert in emergency response and critical infrastructure protection. Jeff’s career has been focused on developing and implementing programs and policies that strengthen national security by addressing all threats and hazards.
Treasurer
Chris Boyer
Chris Boyer is Vice President of Global Security and Technology Policy at AT&T Services, Inc. Mr. Boyer works closely with the AT&T Chief Security Office (CSO) and AT&T Technology and Operations (ATO) to address policy issues impacting emerging technology, cybersecurity, and national security. Mr. Boyer also serves in several external roles: He is the founder and Chairman of the Open RAN Policy Coalition (ORPC). Represents AT&T with the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council (NSTAC), a Federal Advisory board reporting to the President to address strategic policy issues impacting National Security and Emergency Preparedness. The former Chairman of the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB), a Federal advisory committee at NIST responsible for identifying emerging issues related to information security and privacy for Federal agencies. Mr. Boyer is also a member of the Executive Committee and former Vice Chair of the Communications Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC) which conducts joint planning on behalf of the communications industry with DHS. Finally, Mr. Boyer is a former director and chairman of the board of the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA). In his over 25-year career with AT&T, Mr. Boyer has performed a variety of roles. Prior to his current assignment Mr. Boyer was AT&T's policy lead working with the high-tech community in Silicon Valley and he has held positions in the company's corporate public policy, network planning and engineering, product marketing and network services departments.
Secretary
Sharla Artz
Sharla Artz serves as the Security and Resilience Policy Area Vice President for Xcel Energy where she manages the company’s national security strategic partnerships with our federal and state government partners. In this role, she works with utilities, government partners, and industry stakeholders to develop strategies that enhance the resilience of critical infrastructures. Previously, she served as the Senior Vice President of Government & External Affairs at the Utilities Technology Council, where she focused on bringing attention to cross sector interdependencies in critical infrastructure protection efforts. Ms. Artz was formerly the Director of Government Affairs at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL), where she established close working relationships with government officials, contributed insight for sound policy decision making, and was an advocate on the role of technology in grid resilience. Prior to joining SEL, Ms. Artz was the vice president of legal and government affairs for Genscape, Inc., developing business relationships for the company with federal entities. Ms. Artz was the assistant general counsel for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, serving the 50 state utility commissioners on energy regulatory matters pending before the federal government. After receiving her juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, Ms. Artz spent four years on Capitol Hill, working on energy policy for a former member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Ms. Artz has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband and two children.
Board Member
Brett DeWitt
Brett DeWitt leads global public policy strategies that advance Mastercard's leadership on cybersecurity and other emerging security technologies. In this position, Brett represents Mastercard across key international trade associations and public private partnerships, serving as Co Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Cyber Working Group and Board Member of the Alliance for Critical Infrastructure (ACI). Previously, Brett served as Chief of Staff for the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), where he coordinated critical infrastructure initiatives in the United States and at the G7 level with financial services members and government partners. As a former Board Member of the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA), he provided guidance and strategic support to foster a safer and more resilient digital world. Brett spent over a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he helped lead the passage of legislation establishing the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Board Member
Matt Goard
Matt Goard serves as AIG's Director of Information Security for Governance, Readiness and Engagement. In this role, he is responsible for identifying and developing cyber risk standards, best practices, and strategies around technology and cybersecurity with the goal of improving underwriting efforts to enhance cybersecurity maturity for AIG clients, their stakeholders, and constituents. Reporting to AIG’s CISO, leading Information Security Operations governance and information management; audit action plans; readiness surrounding training, testing, and awareness; CISO communications; eDiscovery and cyber investigations; and stakeholder engagement amongst peers, across the sector and with our government partners with this role Matt continues to be deeply involved across the sector and leads various initiatives and committees. Prior to joining AIG, Matt spent six plus years as an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley responsible for their Global Cyber Partnerships and Government Engagement program. Before joining the private sector, Matt spent twenty plus years in federal law enforcement primarily with the FBI focusing on counterterrorism and cyber operations.
Board Member
Natnael Habtesion
Natnael (Nat) Habtesion is the Senior Vice President, Chief Security Officer at Lumen Technologies where he leads a converged cybersecurity and corporate security organization. In that capacity, he leads the company’s global security strategy and operations to protect Lumen’s information assets and technologies from threats, enable business growth, and ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Before joining Lumen, Nat spent over seven years at Discover Financial Services where he served as Senior Director of Cybersecurity. He led cybersecurity risk management, crisis management, third-party information security risk management, and the business continuity program. Prior to that, Nat served nearly 10 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a senior leader driving intelligence and operational strategy, and leading high-profile initiatives. Nat also previously worked as a consultant supporting federal agencies, as well as an engineer with both Corning, and DuPont. Nat holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, a Master of Business Administration from George Mason University, and a Chief Information Security Officer certification from Carnegie Mellon University. In his role at Lumen Technologies, Nat is committed to developing a security aware culture, business resiliency, business enablement, and ensuring the company remains at the forefront of security innovation and solutions.
Board Member
Tom Karakatsanis
Thomas Karakatsanis is Vice President of Emergency Preparedness at Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., a regulated utility providing electric, gas and steam service in New York. He oversees the corporate planning and execution of all storm-response and emergency action plans along with the coordination of mutual aid and retainer contracts related to overhead resources required for storm response and restoration. Karakatsanis is a seasoned utility operations leader with nearly four decades of experience directing complex electric, substation, and system operations, including oversight of the electric distribution systems capital programs, and a long record of managing largescale emergencies, infrastructure resiliency, and rapid response across New York’s most demanding service territories. He joined Con Edison in 1987 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College and a Master of Science in Business Administration from St. John’s University.
Board Member