Managing cybersecurity risk is what Payton knows and does best. Before overseeing IT operations as CIO for President George W. Bush and his administration, she held executive roles in banking technology for two of the country’s top financial institutions. After serving in the White House, she founded Fortalice Solutions, a world-class cybersecurity consulting firm ranked on the Global Security 500 list, named to the 150 hottest global security companies, and Top 10 hottest security companies to watch the summer of 2020.

She graduated from the McIntire school with her M.S. in MIS 1990 and spent 16 years in the financial services industry running large, global teams and delivering cutting edge technology to banking customers. She, her husband, three kids, and 2 rescue Great Pyrenees live in Charlotte, NC