William McCormick
Executive Mosaic is honored to announce that Rob Silvers, recently nominated undersecretary for Strategy, Policy and Plans for the Department of Homeland Security, has been named a recipient of a 2021 Wash100 Award for leading the efforts to defend our national security through cyber defense, policy and improve our nation’s cyber capabilities to address our national security needs.
This marks the first Wash100 Award for Silvers, the most prestigious honor in the government contracting (GovCon) industry. His first Wash100 win demonstrates the level of success he has accumulated over his federal career to receive his latest role in the current administration.
Following President Biden’s inauguration in Jan. 2021, it was reported that the administration would nominate Rob Silvers as the new CISA director to guide our nation’s cybersecurity strategy and oversee digital security and innovative efforts for our national security needs.
As the foremost senior official on cybersecurity policy in the federal government, Silvers is responsible for the U.S. government’s engagement on cyber defense with the private sector, its response during significant cyber incidents, and its pursuit of law enforcement cyber investigations.
His appointment for the role comes as a result of the experience serving significant senior roles across federal agencies, including a tenure as the assistant secretary of Cyber Policy for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during the Obama administration.
In addition, Silvers also served as senior counsel to fellow 2021 Wash100 Award winner and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Prior to that position, he’s also served as the deputy chief of staff for DHS where Silvers managed the day-to-day policy and operations for 240,000 employees across 22 agencies, including the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and many other significant federal agencies.
As a result of these roles, Silvers was given the firsthand experience of dealing with the negotiations with China involving the nation’s intellectual property theft through hacking as well as the probing of election infrastructure in the 2016 presidential election.
“Rob is extremely easy to work with,” said Ari Schwartz, a former senior cybersecurity official in the Obama administration who worked with Silvers. “He’s very thoughtful and listens to all sides of [cybersecurity] issues. He would ensure that CISA issues would remain top-tier issues at DHS.”
Most recently, Silvers has been a partner for Paul Hastings in its White Collar Investigations and Privacy and Cybersecurity practices. His focus for the company involved cybersecurity and data privacy, internal investigations and enforcement proceedings, government security review of foreign investments, and civil litigation at the intersection of law and national security.
Prior to entering government service, Mr. Silvers practiced at an international law firm, where he handled complex transnational disputes, white collar and investigative matters, and civil litigation for his clients. He also served as a law clerk to the Hon. Kim McLane Wardlaw of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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Executive Mosaic congrats to CISA and Rob Silvers for his Wash100 Award win. His experience and contributions to the cybersecurity field and development of its capabilities for our nation has earned him the most coveted award in GovCon and his current role to ensure cyber defense for our nation. That level of excellence can only be recognized by the annual Wash100 Award.
