Dr. Pierson to be Joined by Hazel Cerra, BlackCloak's Director of Digital Security Convergence and a U.S. Secret Service Veteran, in Enlightening Discussion About the Role of Digital Executive Protection in Bridging Essential Gaps in Corporate Security
ORLANDO, Fla., May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection (DEP) for corporate executives, boards of directors, and Family Offices, announces that its Founder and CEO Dr. Chris Pierson will present How Digital Footprints Can Lead to Attacks on Executives & Their Families at the upcoming Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit, held June 1-3, 2026, in National Harbor, MD.
Dr. Pierson will be joined by Hazel Cerra, BlackCloak Director of Digital Security Convergence. Together, they will address the convergence of physical and digital threats to leaders, the risks facing corporations stemming from executives' expansive digital footprints, and how a full-category DEP program bridges critical gaps in enterprise security.
A recent Gartner report, Navigate Executive Protection Solutions for Digital Threat Defense*, notes, "Adversaries are increasingly targeting executives in the cyber and physical realm, driving greater urgency for organizations to develop more robust cybersecurity strategies to protect their greatest asset — people."
"In our work with Fortune 500 companies, we see first-hand what numerous reports indicate: highly motivated threat actors know the personal lives of corporate executives represent a gap in enterprise security and are actively exploiting them and their family members at an unprecedented scale," said Dr. Pierson. "Business email compromise, financial fraud, and AI-powered threats were recently identified in the FBI Internet Crime and Complaint Center's annual report as the greatest contributors to the rising costs of cybercrime. A full-category Digital Executive Protection program can prevent such incidents from becoming risk and compliance nightmares and ensure that executives and their families are safeguarded. Hazel and I are excited to bring this topic to light to educate CISOs and CSOs on the need for DEP and actionable steps to take immediate preventive action."
"Protecting business leaders and their loved ones should be a mission-critical risk management priority for every enterprise, regardless of size, location, or industry," said Cerra. "The financial and reputational toll of cybercrime on organizations is rising as their executives are increasingly targeted as a way to bypass corporate perimeter defenses. DEP is about protecting people, brands, and the bottom line. Enterprise CISOs and CSOs can benefit greatly from understanding the required elements of a comprehensive DEP program that doesn't put an additional burden on internal resources. I am glad to contribute my perspective and experience to this important discussion."
About Dr. Chris Pierson
Dr. Chris Pierson is the Founder and CEO of BlackCloak, the pioneer in Digital Executive Protection for corporate executives, board members, and high-net-worth individuals and their families. Chris has been on the front lines of cybersecurity and privacy in both the public and private sectors for over 25 years. Previously at the Department of Homeland Security, he served for over a decade as a special government employee on the Cybersecurity and Privacy Committees. He also served as the Chief Privacy Officer for Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) U.S. Operations, as the Chief Information Security Officer for two prominent FinTech companies, and is a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.
About Hazel Cerra, MBA
In her role at BlackCloak, Hazel Cerra builds strategic partnerships with executive protection firms and with those who protect high-profile individuals and their families. She has more than 25 years of leadership experience with the U.S. Secret Service, where she led protection operations, intelligence investigations, and complex financial and cyber-enabled fraud investigations. She also held senior supervisory roles in the Philadelphia CyberFraud Investigative Squad and retired as the Resident Agent in Charge in the Atlantic City Resident Office. She is recognized for translating proven methodologies for protecting the U.S. President into modern cybersecurity strategies to safeguard executives, board members, and their families as digital and physical threats converge. She is a Certified Information Security Manager through ISACA.
BlackCloak is exhibiting in booth #742 at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit. For more information about its Digital Executive Protection solution, visit https://blackcloak.io/executives/.
About BlackCloak
BlackCloak secures the personal digital lives of corporate executives, board members, high-net-worth individuals, and their families from cybersecurity, privacy, financial, and other reputational risks. Used by Fortune 500 companies across all industries, the BlackCloak Digital Executive Protection Platform is a full-category solution backed by expert concierge support and incident response from a US-based SOC team. Learn more at www.blackcloak.io.
About the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit
Gartner analysts will present the latest insights for security and risk management leaders at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summits, taking place March 9-10 in Mumbai, March 16-17 in Sydney, June 1-3 in National Harbor, MD, July 22-24 in Tokyo, August 4-5 in Sao Paulo and September 22-24 in London. Follow news and updates from the conferences on X and LinkedIn using #GartnerSEC.
*Gartner - Navigate Executive Protection Solutions for Digital Threat Defense by By: Elizabeth Kim, Mitchell Schneider, November 3, 2025.
GARTNER is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.
Media Contact
Beth Trier, BlackCloak, 1 4156018104, [email protected], https://blackcloak.io/
SOURCE BlackCloak
Share this article