Sean Plankey

Senior Advisor to the Homeland Security Secretary for the Coast Guard,

Department of Homeland Security

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Sean Plankey has exemplified strategic leadership in cybersecurity and national security throughout his career. He began his service in the U.S. Coast Guard, where his expertise in cybersecurity led to assignments at U.S. Cyber Command and a deployment to Afghanistan. There, he became the first Coast Guard officer to conduct offensive cyber operations, working with the special operations community across 16 bases.  Sean was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan.

 

Following his service in the Coast Guard, Sean joined the U.S. Navy as Deputy Chief Information Officer, where he oversaw the Maritime Domain Awareness portfolio. He was then appointed to the National Security Council as Director of Cybersecurity and later to the U.S. Department of Energy as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response during the first Trump Administration, where he was instrumental in modernizing, securing, and strengthening the resilience of the nation’s energy ecosystem and co-authored the landmark National Maritime Cybersecurity Plan.

 

Now, in the second Trump Administration, Sean continues to serve the nation as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security for the Coast Guard, where he is driving modernization efforts across the Service. Mr. Plankey is also President Trump’s nominee to lead the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

 

For these remarkable accomplishments and his enduring contributions to the field, ICIT is proud to present Sean Plankey with this year’s Pinnacle Award.