Jennifer Doherty
Vice President & Chief Security Officer/Chief Information Officer, Draper
Jennifer Doherty’s biggest recent achievement is leading the development of Draper’s comprehensive 5-year security and IT strategy, ensuring alignment with the company’s corporate and mission objectives.
This initiative integrated strategic objectives from across the corporate security, cybersecurity and IT portfolios under a cohesive framework that balances resilience with innovation in support of national security. The strategy, while a massive undertaking to coordinate across the enterprise, advances a security-first culture across the organization and enhances Draper’s nationally recognized threat management program in addressing emerging threats.
Integrating all aspects of security and IT, traditionally two vast and disparate portfolios, into one unified strategy has allowed Doherty to eliminate redundancies within the organization, improve collaboration and establish a more cost-effective approach to safeguarding Draper’s people, networks and facilities.
In addition, she found that embedding dedicated program security managers directly into each business area has ensured faster decision-making, clearer communication and streamlined operations that reduce overhead while enabling mission success.
“Jen is a transformative leader who is instrumental in advancing Draper’s mission and elevating our Security and IT organization. As a strategic business partner, she is forward-thinking in helping to protect our company’s reputation and enabling our business growth,” said Jerry Wohletz, Draper president and CEO. “Jen consistently delivers with precision and urgency, turning complex challenges into opportunities. Additionally, her ability to align strategy, people, and execution makes her a trusted leader within the defense industrial base leading to DCSA superior ratings at several of our campuses across the nation.”
Why Watch
Doherty’s team is heavily focused on safeguarding the people, technologies and mission outcomes that underpin U.S. national security and ensuring Draper can innovate with confidence while protecting against rapidly evolving threats. In partnership with other teams across the organization, they’re focused on advancing AI governance, strengthening supply chain resilience and fully operationalizing Draper’s new 5-year integrated Security and IT strategy to align with corporate growth in 2025 and beyond.
“I feel fortunate to lead such a talented group of Security and IT professionals whose dedication to the national security mission allows our engineers to innovate safely and effectively,” Doherty said. “It’s deeply rewarding to be reminded each day that our tireless efforts serve something bigger than ourselves.”
Fun fact: With a demanding schedule and shifting priorities, Doherty spends much of the week indoors, so she takes every chance to be outside. In the summer, you’ll find her on the golf course, and in the cold New England winters, on the slopes snowboarding.