Speakers

Laura Galante is a Principal at WestExec, where she advises AI, technology, and infrastructure companies on digital risk and public sector strategy. She works with boards and capital allocators on digital and critical infrastructure resilience, integrating threat intelligence into operational, policy, and investment decisions.

From 2022 to 2025, she served as the U.S. Intelligence Community’s Cyber Executive, reporting to the Director of National Intelligence, where she coordinated the 18 intelligence agencies’ response to adversary cyber operations against energy and transportation infrastructure, telecommunications networks, and health care systems.

Earlier, she led the global intelligence business at cybersecurity company Mandiant and directed an international task force on hybrid threats supporting Ukraine and European partners.

She also serves on OpenAI’s Frontier Risk Council and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

WestExec Advisors

WestExec Advisors, a Teneo company, is a strategic advisory firm founded by former senior U.S. government officials. The firm helps companies navigate geopolitical risk, government engagement, and market strategy in sectors where technology, security, and public policy shape competitive outcomes.

WestExec advises leading firms in defense, cybersecurity, AI, energy, and critical infrastructure, supporting growth strategy, regulatory positioning, and global market expansion. The firm works closely with boards and executive teams on risk governance, resilience planning, and engagement with U.S. and allied governments.

Its principals bring senior experience from the Pentagon, the intelligence community, and the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State, providing insight into how industrial policy, sanctions, export controls, and national security priorities influence markets and capital flows.

For investors and infrastructure operators, the firm offers perspective on regulatory risk and long-term positioning in a security-driven global economy.