Guardians of Critical Infrastructure Honored for Vision and Innovation

Threats to America’s critical infrastructure are becoming increasingly complex, and the security professionals responsible for defending it are rising to meet unprecedented challenges. This year, those visionaries will be honored through a new distinction: the Critical Infrastructure Protection CSO-CISO Hall of Fame, launched by the Institute for Homeland Security (IHS) at Sam Houston State University (SHSU).

The Hall of Fame celebrates Chief Security Officers (CSOs) and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) who have made extraordinary contributions to protecting U.S. critical infrastructure through leadership, innovation, and measurable results in risk management. Its official debut will take place during the Critical Infrastructure Research Forum and Thought Leaders Conference on October 28, 2025, marking a milestone moment for both the university and the corporate security profession.

Welcome to the Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame’s establishment builds on the success of SHSU’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Thought Leaders Conference, now in its third year. The conference has attracted more than 170 private-sector security executives and senior U.S. government officials each year, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas on emerging threats. Last year’s event focused on how corporations can protect critical infrastructure from nation-state actors leveraging transnational crime groups for geopolitical aims.

This year’s conference theme, “Are corporate CSOs/CISOs really prepared to effectively protect critical infrastructure from increasingly complex risks and threats while supporting business objectives as well?”, serves as the foundation for the Hall of Fame’s creation.

“We decided there was no better way to answer that question than by identifying the top corporate CSOs and CISOs in the nation and having them address it directly,” says Scott McHugh, Executive Manager of Critical Infrastructure and Director of the Critical Infrastructure Research Forum at SHSU’s Institute for Homeland Security. “So, in 2025, we’re rolling out the first-ever university-developed Corporate Critical Infrastructure Protection CSO-CISO Hall of Fame as part of the Thought Leaders Conference.

“To achieve our goal,” McHugh continues, “we implemented a rigorous evaluation and selection process, identifying eight top-performing critical infrastructure protection CSO-CISOs whose leadership has been consistently transformative and innovative within their corporate sectors.”

This inaugural 2025 CSO-CISO Hall of Fame class includes:

• Dave Komendat (CSO, Boeing Inc., Ret.)
• Dr. William Wilkins (CSO, Valero Inc.)
• Mohit Chanana (CISO, Chevron Phillips, Inc.)
• Kirsten Meskill (CSO, Solventum–3M Healthcare Services Inc.)
• Kerry Kilker (CISO, Walmart Stores Inc., Ret.)
• Jerome Preston (CSO, McDonald’s Inc.)
• Scott Whelchel (CSO, DOW Inc.)
• James (Jim) Hutton (CSO, Procter & Gamble, Ret.)

“A surprising outcome from the selection process was discovering that 40% of the Hall of Fame class did not come from traditional law enforcement, military, or intelligence backgrounds,” says McHugh. “Instead, they developed their foundational skills within the private sector after college. That’s a significant shift from just 30 years ago, when nearly 90 percent of critical infrastructure protection leaders were recruited from government or military service. It’s a positive sign that business acumen has become a key driver of success for today’s corporate CSO-CISO.”

Following the induction ceremony, the Thought Leaders Conference will center around forward-looking discussions on the future of critical infrastructure protection, exploring new ways to strengthen public-private partnerships and enhance resilience against global, geopolitical, and cyber-physical threats.

“It will be a meaningful day of actionable, practical, and timely security management knowledge,” McHugh explains. “The Hall of Fame panels will deliver insights that attendees can immediately apply within their organizations.”

Taking a Look at The Conference

Conference sessions will explore how CSOs and CISOs are evolving from traditional defenders to business enablers, aligning security strategies with corporate goals. Discussions will also emphasize the importance of cross-functional collaboration, risk-balanced decision-making, and data-driven security metrics that translate effectively at the executive and board levels.

Among the most pressing questions that will be explored:

• Are security leaders empowering business growth or hindering it?
• How can organizations balance protection with performance?
• What metrics truly demonstrate security’s contribution to corporate success?
• How can security leaders better communicate risk in business language?

The conference will also challenge long-held assumptions about prevention-based security models.

“Traditional measures of security management, both physical and cyber, which depend on preventing incidents through layers of perimeter defenses, have failed corporate critical infrastructure protection,” says McHugh. “Modern organizations will be attacked and breached; it’s not a matter of if, but when.

“The solution,” he continues, “lies in containment, visibility, and resilience alongside enhanced private-public cooperation. We need shared accountability, intelligence integration, and a joint national resilience doctrine that ensures critical infrastructure can absorb attacks without being defeated by them.”

The Thought Leaders Conference operates under the umbrella of the Critical Infrastructure Research Forum (CIRF), a division of SHSU’s Institute for Homeland Security. CIRF is dedicated exclusively to the needs of corporate critical infrastructure protection, conducting applied research to develop Generally Accepted Practices and Procedures (GAPP) for both physical and cyber security management.

“CIRF was established 18 months ago to conduct disciplined, credible research that supports evidence-based decision-making for critical infrastructure protection,” McHugh says. “In partnership with 52 corporations on our Steering Committee, we’ve already completed over 85 research projects designed to build a dynamic library of data-driven standards security professionals can trust.”

McHugh adds that the annual Thought Leaders Conference serves as CIRF's public face.

“It’s where we share insights, attract innovative thinkers, and invite new corporate partners to join us in transforming how America protects its critical infrastructure—through science, collaboration, and leadership.”