Insights on Energy
Watch Caitlin Durkovich, Puesh Kumar, Tom Fanning, and Bill Fehrman discuss insights on energy as part of the Cybersecurity Summit 2021 Day Two presentations. This video is a recording of the livestream held on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.
The National Cybersecurity Summit is an annual event that brings together cybersecurity and critical infrastructure stakeholders from around the world to hold meaningful conversations and collaborate on how we can protect our physical and cyber infrastructure.
About the Speakers
Moderator: Caitlin Durkovich, Senior Director for Resilience and Response, National Security Council (NSC)
Caitlin Durkovich is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Resilience and Response at the White House National Security Council (NSC). As the Senior Director, Ms. Durkovich is responsible for the advancement of national
policies and programs that enhances the resilience of the United States, and strengthens the U.S. posture to physical and cyber threats to the nation’s critical infrastructure.
Ms. Durkovich served as the presidentially appointed Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under the Obama Administration from 2012 to 2017.
Prior to joining the NSC, Ms. Durkovich was a Director at Toffler Associates and served as a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council. She co-authored the development of a Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Report on The Future of DHS (August 2020), and has authored multiple documents including the "Critical Infrastructure" chapter in Beyond 9/11: Homeland Security for the Twenty-First Century (MIT Press, August 2020).
Tom Fanning, CEO, Southern Company
With more than 35 years of experience at Southern Company, Tom also serves as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and holds senior positions in a number of business and public policy organizations. Tom is an internationally respected voice on topics that range from energy innovation and economic growth, to cybersecurity.
From leading the Nation's new nuclear initiative with two state-of-the-art units in Georgia to adding more than 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy since 2012, and exploring beyond-the-meter customer solutions through PowerSecure and our partnership with Silicon Valley's Bloom Energy, Southern Company is the only U.S. energy provider investing in an all-of-the-above approach to America's energy future.
Puesh Kumar, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. DOE Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER), Department of Energy (DOE)
Kumar leads DOE's mission to address cyber, physical, and natural hazards and threats to the U.S. energy infrastructure. Kumar has over 15 years of experience in grid modernization, cybersecurity, and emergency response within the energy sector.
Most recently, Kumar was the principal manager for cybersecurity engineering and risk management at Southern California Edison. There, he led a team that addressed cyber threats to critical infrastructure at one of the largest electric utilities in the United States.
Kumar previously served as director of preparedness and exercises for CESER's Infrastructure Security and Energy Restoration division and as senior advisor for policy and strategy at CESER. In those capacities, he led the development of national-level policies, strategies, and programs related to energy sector hazards and threats.
Kumar has also held industry positions at the American Public Power Association as director of engineering and operations and at Memphis Light, Gas, and Water as a power systems engineer.
Bill Fehrman, President and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Energy
William J. Fehrman has been a senior executive within the Berkshire Hathaway Energy family of companies since 2006. During this time, he held executive roles for PacifiCorp Energy, MidAmerican Energy and BHE Renewables, managed Berkshire Hathaway Energy's cross-business cyber and physical security strategies, and served as the lead executive of Berkshire Hathaway Energy's supply chain and procurement initiatives.
Fehrman serves as Chair, Chief Executive Officer and Director of PacifiCorp, as Chair and Director of HomeServices of America, Inc., Northern Natural Gas Company, Northern Powergrid Holdings Company and NV Energy, Inc., and as Director of AltaLink Management Ltd.
Fehrman graduated in 1984 from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. In 1998, he earned a master’s degree in business administration from Regis University, Denver, Colorado. He also completed the Reactor Technology Program for utility executives from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and National Academy for Nuclear Training as well as the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations Senior Nuclear Plant Management Course. Fehrman is a former member of the National Nuclear Accrediting Board.
Fehrman is one of 18 chief executive officers chosen to represent the electric industry on the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council (ESCC). He also is a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) and serves as vice chair of the Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) Member Executive Committee.