New England’s Leading Public-Private Cybersecurity Collaborative Elects Mahi Dontamsetti and Fred Kneip to its Board of Directors

The Advanced Cyber Security Center’s new directors bring technology risk and innovation perspectives from founding member State Street Corporation and Research Partner CyberGRX


BOSTON, July 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Advanced Cyber Security Center (ACSC), New England’s nonprofit, public-private collaborative advancing cyber defense for its members and the region, announced today that Mahi Dontamsetti, State Street Corporation Executive Vice President, Global Head of Non-Financial Risk and Chief Technology Risk Officer, and Fred Kneip, Chief Executive Officer of CyberGRX and former head of compliance and security at Bridgewater Associates, have been elected to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Dontamsetti and Mr. Kneip each bring deep perspectives on risk and technology to guide the ACSC’s unique cybersecurity partnership between major private sector firms in the region, Harvard and Northeastern Universities, defense nonprofits MITRE Corporation and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and public sector leadership at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“We are pleased to welcome Mahi and Fred as leaders in their fields to the ACSC Board to help us tap into the latest developments in cybersecurity innovation, risk and resilience,” said William Guenther, ACSC Executive Chairman. “They have already proved invaluable assets to the ACSC members through their ongoing collaborations and will bring new perspectives to our Board.”

Mr. Dontamsetti is responsible at State Street for oversight of non-financial risk (i.e., technology, cyber, operational, resilience and third-party risk) for the enterprise. Part of his responsibilities include owning the board level risk appetites, risk and reporting frameworks as well as driving risk remediation prioritization, across the firm, ultimately improving the firm’s global risk posture. Prior to State Street, he held executive leadership positions at DTCC, Barclays, Lockheed Martin and various startups. Mr. Dontamsetti is the author of three books on risk and technology. He also served on the board of advisors for the Center for Satellite and Hybrid Communication Networks, NASA Commercial Space Center Venture and OWASP. He is a champion of inclusion and diversity and participates in the State Street mentorship program.

Mr. Dontamsetti has a Master of Science degree in computer science and telecommunications from University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from India.

Mr. Kneip is responsible for the overall company direction of CyberGRX as CEO. Prior to joining the company, he served in several senior management roles at Bridgewater Associates including Head of Compliance and Head of Security. Mr. Kneip was previously an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Co., where he led the company’s Corporate Finance practice. He has also worked as an investor with two later-stage private equity investment firms. Mr. Kneip holds a B.S.E from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

The full list of Board Members and national Advisory Board Members can be found on the ACSC website.

About the ACSC
Launched in 2011 and led by member Chief Information Security Officers, the nonprofit Advanced Cyber Security Center is New England’s public-private cybersecurity leadership collaborative committed to strengthening member cyber defenses and preparing the region to respond to large scale cyber threats as national leaders in “Collaborative Defense.” The ACSC uniquely brings together national and global private sector firms, universities, defense nonprofits, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the leading regional partner with the Department of Homeland Security.

Covered by a robust non-disclosure agreement, trusted networks of member CISOs and their staff, legal counsels and risk officers share and benchmark effective cyber management strategies and board governance roles, engage in cyber range exercises and with communications staff, in joint annual tabletop simulations.

The ACSC is a 501(c)3 organization and was the model for Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs) when Presidential Executive Order 13691 was implemented in 2015. Currently, the ACSC has 21 members representing the financial services, healthcare, technology, and industrial sectors, along with founding members MITRE Corporation and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Harvard and Northeastern Universities, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

For press inquiries or further information please email press@acscenter.org