The finalists for WashingtonExec’s 2023 Pinnacle Awards were announced Sept. 25, and we’ll be highlighting some of them until the event takes place live, in-person Nov. 16.
Next is John DeSimone, president of Cybersecurity, Intelligence and Services for Raytheon, an RTX business, and finalist in the Cybersecurity Executive of the Year, Public Company category. Here, he shares how he’s helping shape the next generation of leaders and professional risks he’s taken.
How do you help shape the next generation of government leaders/industry leaders?
An ongoing challenge in the cybersecurity industry is the skills gap. In response, I have taken the lead in fostering a business initiative called Raytheon Offensive Labs. Offensive Labs has a mission to cultivate engineering talent and retain elite vulnerability researchers. This training program prepares engineers from adjacent disciplines, as well as entry-level engineering talent, for the offensive cyber-mission space. As candidates progress through the program, they get a personalized curriculum to help them be ready for their specific missions.
The Lab involves recruitment of individuals with software engineering, computer science, or other relevant backgrounds to go through an intensive, customized training to fill specific gaps needed to be an offensive cyber expert in 6-12 weeks. The program is modeled around the philosophy that the best defense is having a good offense. In 2022, Offensive Lab’s inaugural year, 60 students completed the training course, exceeding the program’s goal of 50 graduates.
What’s the biggest professional risk you’ve ever taken?
Over the years, I have worked for many different companies and along the way I had to make some difficult decisions about the trajectory of my career. Back in 2007, I was in my seventh year working for Motorola in Scottsdale, Arizona and I was offered a promotion. I worked in their national software business, so I was flying more than 100,000 domestic miles plus international travel, but I had two young kids at home. I had a revelation that I was missing out on important family moments and decided I needed to spend more time at home and less time on an airplane.
Luckily, a good friend of mine came to me with an opportunity to come and work in Washington D.C., promising me there would be much less travel required. I ended up passing on the promotion at Motorola and accepting this offer in D.C., which was actually a demotion and also a completely different career path. I was going one direction in my career and ended up turning around just to go backwards. Although this was a major risk and not the typical career move for a young professional, I am grateful to this day for making that decision to prioritize my quality of life. That move opened new doors for me and ultimately contributed to where I am today, personally and professionally.