Former CIA CTO Gus Hunt to lead Accenture Federal Services’ cybersecurity practice

Ira “Gus” Hunt, former chief technology officer for the CIA, has joined Arlington, VA-based Accenture Federal Services (AFS) to lead its cybersecurity practice, which offers its clients a portfolio of key cyber capabilities including strategic consulting, data-centric security technologies, secure transition to the cloud, and operational security such as cyber hunt and incident response.

Hunt retired from the CIA in 2013 after a 28-year career. As CTO, he set the CIA’s information technology strategic direction, accelerated adoption of new technology and led the agency’s implementation of the Amazon cloud.

“We are excited that Gus has joined our team, as his expertise can help our federal clients identify new approaches to better safeguard their agencies,” said David Moskovitz, chief executive for Accenture Federal Services. “He brings the experience, vision and passion to help our clients better understand their highest-value assets, address their threats and vulnerabilities, and effectively protect themselves within their budget and technology constraints.”

Hunt is the second high-level cybersecurity expert to join Accenture recently, following the June hiring of Kelly Bissell to head Accenture Security.

“Gus is a forward-thinking executive with vast knowledge and experience identifying up-and-coming technology innovations,” Bissell said. “Tapping into our industry-specific security solutions and global resources, he will help our federal clients build resilience from the inside-out so they can operate confidently in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. We welcome Gus to Accenture and look forward to his valuable contributions.”

Hunt said, “I look forward to helping federal agencies meet their cyber needs, whether they are trying to secure data on their legacy systems or moving key operations to the cloud. Accenture is uniquely positioned to help federal agencies plan, design, deliver and operate these systems more securely.”

Hunt most recently served as chief architect for Bridgewater Associates, a hedge fund located in Westport, Connecticut, where he was responsible for establishing the company’s enterprise architecture processes and building an enterprise technology strategy approach to shape its technology future. Prior to joining Bridgewater Associates, Hunt was president and chief executive officer of Hunt Technology LLC, a private consulting practice focused on strategic IT planning, cyber and data-centric security, big data analytics and cloud computing.

Source: Accenture