Nicole Darden Ford is an IT strategic leader with 20-plus years of success spanning the federal government and corporate venues. Nicole has extensive knowledge and application experience in cybersecurity, cyber forensics and homeland security practices. In her current role as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer for Carrier, she oversees global Information Security and Product (IoT) Cybersecurity. Prior to joining Carrier, Nicole was Vice President of Information Security and Chief Information Security Officer for Baxter International where she had global responsibility for Information Security, Information Governance and IT Quality Compliance. She was also Director of Information Security for Venable LLP, an AMLAW 100 law firm. She began her career in the U.S. military and federal government, including the Jt. Chiefs of Staff, where she handled security, network engineering and telecommunications. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix and a master’s degree in Management of Information Technology from the University of Virginia. She holds C|CISO, CISM, CEH and CISSP certifications. Nicole is an active corporate advocate for inclusion and diversity initiatives, women’s leadership and employee resource groups, including the Carrier Black Alliance. She currently serves on the boards of IT-ISAC, Tech Hub South Florida and the Lola Mercedes Parker Foundation. She is a past board member of H-ISAC, NTSC and Evanta. She is a charter member of the Stafford County Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.