Colin Ahern
Director of Security and Intelligence, New York State
Colin Ahern was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul in June 2022 as the state’s first Chief Cyber Officer, overseeing all cyberthreat assessment, mitigation, and response efforts. Prior to joining state service Colin served as First Deputy Director of New York City Cyber Command and Acting Chief Information Security Officer of New York City and earlier as a security engineer in financial services. Colin enlisted in the Army reserves after 9/11 and later served on active duty as an Army officer, including two, year-long tours in Afghanistan. He was promoted to multiple leadership roles and ended his Army career as a company commander in the Army Cyber Brigade. His military decorations include the Bronze Star and the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three campaign stars.