Top 25 Cyber Execs to Watch in 2020

Juliana Vida, Chief Technical Adviser for Public Sector, Splunk

In the spring of 2019, Juliana Vida became Splunk’s first-ever chief technical adviser, a position created to leverage her extensive military and government career and skills as a communicator and storyteller.

Splunk has long been a key player in helping public sector agencies turn their data into doing, and Vida proved the perfect person to help bring massive data transformation to the company’s mission. Vida personifies agility, as evident in her shift from helicopter pilot to technology executive. Her curiosity and drive to learn from everyone around her propelled her career, from 24 years as a naval officer to eight years as a senior IT policy leader at the Pentagon, ultimately leading to her position as the U.S. Navy deputy chief information officer.

Vida’s experience and inquisitive nature drove her to truly understand the difference Splunk brings to government and higher education institutions. Splunk’s Data-to-Everything Platform empowers agencies to leverage all of their data to accelerate mission outcomes. Over 19,000 organizations use Splunk to solve their toughest business challenges with data, allowing them to turn data into action across IT, security, application development and the business.

Feeling firsthand the pain of tools and products that did little to help overcome the real challenges the  government faces, Vida showcases how the Splunk platform can be a force multiplier for a federal, state or local agency or higher-education institution, delivering value in the form of improved security and productivity, modernized citizen/employee experiences and lower costs.

The government’s journey toward better leveraging data is long and involves cultural changes that won’t happen overnight. But Vida continues to push forward, as the dividends are a more efficient, inspired and vibrant government ready to tackle new challenges. She helps inspire, motivate and empower fellow women and veterans through the local industry organization Women in Technology, the Naval Academy’s mentorship program and also internally at Splunk. She is also a special adviser to the Washington Cyber Roundtable and a member of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association standing Cyber Committee.

Why Watch:

In 2020, Vida is focusing even more on being agile in today’s changing workplace landscape. New workplace behaviors are taking root, so added security, technology adoption and behavior change around expanded remote work, distance learning and telehealth will be a driving force. Vida and Splunk are ready to pivot on a dime.