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Meet Rachel Wilson
Rachel Wilson
Chief Data Officer, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
- Spent 15 years at the National Security Agency (NSA) holding several key senior executive-level leadership positions running counterterrorism operations and leading a global enterprise in detecting and disrupting terrorist plots against the United States and its allies
- As a renowned cyber expert, she brings decades of public and private expertise to advise individuals, corporations and institutions on cybersecurity best practices and strategies
- Aside from cybersecurity, Rachel shares usable, tactical wisdom about how anyone – and women in particular – can build a resonant and powerful voice in the workplace
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Rachel Wilson spent the first 15 years of her career at the National Security Agency (NSA). Over the course of her NSA career, she held several key senior executive-level leadership positions. Between 2008 and 2010, she ran NSA’s counterterrorism operations and led a global enterprise in detecting and disrupting terrorist plotting against the United States and its allies. Between 2010 and 2012, Rachel served as NSA’s Chief of Operations in the UK working out of the US Embassy in London. In this role, she worked with UK intelligence services to counter terrorist and cyber threats to the 2012 Olympics. Returning to the US in 2012, Rachel spent nearly five years leading NSA’s cyber exploitation operations within NSA’s Tailored Access Operations. In this capacity, she led the planning and execution of thousands of cyber exploitation operations against a wide array of foreign intelligence, military, and cyber targets and served as the committing official for many of NSA’s highest risk and most important intelligence-gathering activities.
In April of 2017, Rachel became the first Head of Cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Investment Technology. She is responsible for protecting the cybersecurity of Wealth Management, Investment Management, and Prime Brokerage systems and the integrity and confidentiality of Firm and client data. Additionally, Rachel advises the leadership of Wealth Management, Investment Management, and Prime Brokerage on cybersecurity issues, including secure code development standards, secure network architecture, vendor relationships, advanced persistent threat (APT) detection, and mobile security. She also leads field and client education and communication on cyber risk, threats, and mitigations. She and her team drive innovation for new cybersecurity and authentication technology. Rachel was recognized by Morgan Stanley Wealth Management as part of the 2019 MAKERS Class, a program that honors women who serve as groundbreakers, innovators, and advocates. She was also named one of the Top Women in WealthTech 2020 by ThinkAdvisor.
In her private capacity, Rachel advises individuals, corporations, and institutions on cybersecurity best practices and strategies. She serves on the Advisory Board of WATSCO Inc (NYSE: WSO) and on the CISO Advisory Board of Amgen Inc (NASDAQ: AMGN). Rachel is a sought-after speaker for technology, financial, and professional forums and has recently keynoted the Barron’s Top 100, the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA) 401k Annual Summit, the Portfolio Management Institute (PMI) Annual Conference, the Association of Professional Investment Consultants (APIC) Annual Conference, and the National Association of Stock Plan Professionals Annual Conference. Rachel is a leading thinker on protecting children and teenagers from cyber threats and loves educating young people and their parents on how to be safe citizens on the internet. Rachel holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MA from the University of Chicago. Rachel and her husband live in New York City with their two children.
Speaker Video
Pathway to Safer Online Browsing at Barron's Top Women Advisors Summit
The New Cyberthreat Landscape: How your Business is impacted and How to Be Prepared
Rachel Wilson spent 15 years at the National Security Agency (NSA) where she ran counterterrorism operations, worked cybersecurity threats to the 2012 summer Olympics in London, and spent five years leading NSA’s cyber exploitation operations mission. As the senior committing official for NSA’s hacking mission, she oversaw the planning and execution of thousands of cyber operations against America’s adversaries. In the spring of 2017, Rachel became the first Head of Cybersecurity for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. In this role, she leverages her experience in attacking and defending high consequence systems to protect Morgan Stanley and its clients from cyber actors.
In her riveting keynote, Rachel will describe the many current cybersecurity threats facing your organization and industry from nation states like North Korea and Iran, from cyber organized crime syndicates, and from individual hackers looking to make money or create mayhem. With advanced hacking tools now widely available, Rachel will show how cyber actors target companies, institutions and individuals in an opportunistic way and then work to monetize their access. Drawing from her experience at the NSA and in the financial sector, she will discuss what everyone can do to be prepared for and respond to the risks in the current cyber risk environment.
From the Dark Web to Wall Street: A Career Journey
Rachel discusses her career at the NSA where she became the youngest person in NSA history to be elevated to the Senior Executive ranks all while raising a young family at home. She describes her decision to leave government and pursue a career on Wall Street as Morgan Stanley's first ever Head of Cybersecurity. In this talk, Rachel balances humor and candid stories with career advice and tales of caution and the challenges she faced on her journey.
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