MITRE has named Wen Masters as vice president for cyber technologies, where she will lead corporate cybersecurity strategy beginning May 17, 2021. Masters will be responsible for developing a wide range of cyber capabilities and solutions, including programs that address key economic and national security challenges such as securing critical infrastructure against foreign exploitation and protecting American intellectual property from cyber theft by foreign adversaries.
Masters will be responsible for the strategic direction for cyber technologies at MITRE and will drive cybersecurity strategy through the firm’s sponsored and independent research and in partnership with academia and industry. She will lead MITRE’s innovation centers in cybersecurity, including over 600 world-class cybersecurity professionals in security automation, reverse engineering, and threat-informed defense, among other areas of expertise.
MITRE’s cybersecurity work includes industry platforms such as the MITRE ATT&CK® framework and the STIX™ and TAXII™ standards. Masters will also collaborate with the MITRE Accelerator and MITRE Engenuity, a foundation for public good, to drive the success of industry-facing cyber initiatives such as the Center for Threat-Informed Defense.
“Cybersecurity is one of MITRE’s most important, differentiated capabilities and touches on our work across customers, partners, and independent research,” said Charles Clancy, senior vice president, general manager of MITRE Labs, and chief futurist. “Wen’s demonstrated knowledge, abilities, and breadth of experience in government and academia make her the right fit to lead our existing cyber work and drive research and innovation to create new opportunities to strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity.”
Masters was most recently deputy director for research at Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), director of the Information and Cyber Sciences Directorate at GTRI, and a principal research scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, also known as Georgia Tech. She previously worked for the U.S. government for 23 years, including serving for more than a decade in the U.S. Senior Executive Service at the Office of Naval Research where she led the U.S. Navy’s integrated science and technology portfolio in Information, Cyber and Spectrum Superiority. Prior to her government service, Masters worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she was responsible for orbit determination for NASA’s deep space exploration missions, including Magellan, Galileo, and Cassini.
Masters serves on the U.S. Army Science Board and the National Academy of Sciences Naval Studies Board. She was honored with the Navy’s Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, Superior Civilian Service Medal, and Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. Masters earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of California, Irvine.
Read the announcement at MITRE
