Mike Nicols is a decorated cybersecurity veteran and one of a select few who know what’s more exhilarating: thwarting a major cyber threat or jumping from a C-130 Hercules at 800 feet. His 20-plus-year career was born on the battlefield as a military intelligence sergeant and paratrooper in the U.S. Army, where his analysis kept troops safe during complex combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mike was also a cybersecurity instructor at Georgetown University, and is now the General Manager of Security at Elastic.