Episode 118: Decision-Making and Deep Tech with Laura Thomas: Insights from a Former CIA Officer
Release Date: 05/31/2024
Episode 121: Dr. Bilyana Lilly on Russian Information Warfare and Navigating Future Risks
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In this OODAcast, Matt interviews Dr. Bilyana Lilly who is an expert on Russian information warfare and geo-political risk. Bilyana is also the author of the book Russian Information Warfare and the novel Digital Mindhunters. Dr. Lilly shares her fascinating origin story and how she emerged as one of the premiere experts on Russian information warfare and geopolitical dynamics. Bilyana has worked tracking international arms and weapons supply chains, conflict zones, and other geo-political dynamics in academia, the private sector, and at internationally renowned think tanks. She shares...
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Episode 118: Decision-Making and Deep Tech with Laura Thomas: Insights from a Former CIA Officer
OODAcast
In this episode of OODAcast, Bob Gourley interviews Laura Thomas, a deep tech consultant and former CIA officer. Laura discusses her journey from a small town in North Carolina to a career in the CIA, where she served as a case officer. She emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and decision-making under uncertainty, and how these skills have translated to her work in deep tech. Laura also highlights the potential of quantum computing and fusion energy, stressing the need for innovation and strategic investment in these transformative technologies. Laura’s refreshing comments...
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Episode 117: Leading Cyber Change: Allan Friedman on the Revolution of SBOM & Future Cybersecurity Initiatives
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Allan Friedman is a senior strategist at CISA (the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency) where he coordinates all of their cross-sector activities on the topic of SBOM: The Software Bill of Materials. Allan is widely known as a change agent in both the public and private sector. In government he led initiatives that created positive change in major community-wide initiatives around vulnerability disclosure and vulnerability management. He also championed efforts that made dramatic improvements in the ability to reduce risk due to the proliferation of Internet of Things devices...
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Episode 116: Joe Sullivan on Managing Complex Security Challenges
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Joe Sullivan has been at the forefront of managing security risk in rapidly growing high tech companies over the past 20 years serving as the Chief Security Officer at Facebook from early start-up through the IPO, CSO of Uber and CloudFlare, and as a security leader at eBay/PayPal. Joe was also involved in a landmark legal case for a breach at Uber which resulted in a criminal conviction that serves as a precedent for executive liability in cybersecurity going forward. In this OODAcast we discuss: Joe's early career and how he got interested and involved in technology and started his...
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Episode 115: Joe Tranquillo on the Revolution in Biological Science
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Joe Tranquillo is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Bucknell University and a provost at the school. He is also and author and speaker with a knack for helping make new and at times complex subjects understandable. In this OODAcast we discuss many aspects of the revolution in biological sciences with Joe including topics like: New ways of delivering medicines that target specific tissues Discovery of the structure of almost every human protein Methods to synthesize biomolecules, which can result in ways to manufacture a wide range of materials like therapeutics, flavors, fabrics, food,...
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Episode 114: MITRE Futurist Charles Clancy on our Quantum Enabled Future
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Charles Clancy has successfully led technology efforts in government, industry, academia and continues to lead and innovate in his current position as Senior Vice President and GM of MITRE Labs. He is MITRE's Chief Futurist. His role in technology leadership and his tracking of tech across multiple domains made for an incredibly insightful OODAcast. We review Charles' insights into: Quantum Computing Quantum Security Artificial Intelligence Microelectronics and Friendshoring/Reshoring The March 2023 National Strategy for Cybersecurity Governance in the age of ubiquitous computing ...
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Episode 113: Mark McGrath: John Boyd Is Far More Than The OODA Loop
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Mark McGrath has applied the teachings of John Boyd to a career that began in the Marine Corps, included leadership positions in financial services firms and consulting with businesses with a need to learn to thrive in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environments. He co-founded the consultancy AGLX and serves as its Chief Learning Officer. He is the co-host of the popular podcast “No Way Out” which is dedicated to examining and advancing the use of the theories of John Boyd to help both individuals and businesses seeking to improve their capacity for free and independent...
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Episode 112: Serene - The Hacker Pianist Saving Cyberspace
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Serene is a hacker in the truest sense of the word. She's applied a hacker mindset to learn coding, piano, and blend art and engineering in fascinating ways. You'll find her collaborating on-stage with Grimes one night and coding censorship resistant technologies the next day. As a self-taught coder she was the first engineer hired into Google Ideas when she was just a teenager. At Google she pioneered work on WebRTC proxies that she continued as a fellow at the Open Tech Fund and was eventually released as a Tor-enabling tool called Snowflake. Serene took a hiatus from working as a...
info_outlineIn this episode of OODAcast, Bob Gourley interviews Laura Thomas, a deep tech consultant and former CIA officer. Laura discusses her journey from a small town in North Carolina to a career in the CIA, where she served as a case officer. She emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and decision-making under uncertainty, and how these skills have translated to her work in deep tech.
Laura also highlights the potential of quantum computing and fusion energy, stressing the need for innovation and strategic investment in these transformative technologies.
Laura’s refreshing comments underscore why healthy debate is absolutely critical to good organizational decisions. She says “Disagree with me, I want to hear it, and don’t hold back!”
She provides some frameworks that can help leaders seeking to assess the dynamic geopolitical world we live in today. Her advice: “Zoom out.” Look at the bigger picture. And think through multiple scenarios. She is a huge fan of scenario planning.
Anyone who claims they know the future, she says, is likely a charlatan. Be very careful when you hear someone trying to tell you they know exactly what comes next.
We talk about Deep Tech.
Laura publishes online at Lauraethomas.com. Her writings there include expert insights into topics like how to engage technical experts at US national labs, agencies and academia to land your next role, things to know about national security deep tech, unique insights into transitioning to the private sector, and fact based observations on espionage and sex.
Find Laura on linkedin at: Laura Thomas