Former FBI Cyber Leader Jerry Bessette Joins Booz Allen; Bill Phelps Quoted

Jerry Bessette, a former senior cybersecurity official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has joined Booz Allen Hamilton to lead its commercial business, Booz Allen announced on Tuesday. 

In his new role, Bessette will head the U.S. commercial group’s Incident Response team to help clients deploy cyber security and risk management solutions to defend against an array of domestic and international threats.

“It’s critical that organizations are equipped both with a modern defense and an advanced response when threat actors break through. Jerry’s unique background and law enforcement experience will be a vital asset for our commercial clients who, like the FBI, work every day to protect sensitive information and combat highly sophisticated actors,” said Bill Phelps, executive vice president and head of Booz Allen’s U.S. commercial business.

Most recently, Bessette served as a managing director at Ankura Consulting, where he was a leader in their cyber program and served as an outsourced CISO for several major corporations.

Bessette served the FBI for 24 years. He addressed some of the most high-profile cyber-attacks facing government agencies and companies, including the investigation into a damaging cyber-attack on Sony Pictures in 2014 and led the investigation into a significant data breach at the U.S. Postal Service. He also was responsible for the development and management of a national strategy to counter computer intrusions.

Bessette admitted that he was “drawn to Booz Allen because the team works on some of the toughest cyber challenges and brings a unique blend of experience that mirrors my own professional path. The Incident Response team helps organizations recover, remediate and build cyber resilience so they can withstand future disruption, and continue operating with little to no impact on the business.”

About Booz Allen Hamilton

For more than 100 years, business, government, and military leaders have turned to Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most complex problems. As a consulting firm with experts in analytics, digital, engineering and cyber, we help organizations transform. We are a key partner on some of the most innovative programs for governments worldwide and trusted by the most sensitive agencies. We work shoulder to shoulder with clients, using a mission-first approach to choose the right strategy and technology to help them realize their vision.