Thank you.

Today is my last day at MITRE and as?the founding?Director of the?Center for Threat-Informed Defense. When I joined MITRE four and half years ago,?I set out to create a whole new way for leading organizations from around the world to collaborate on research and development in the public interest.?I was inspired by the challenges I faced building the STIX and TAXII CTI sharing standards movement while I was at DHS and wanted to find a way to enable?people and organizations to work together, not just occasionally but on a regular basis.?Even more,?I wanted to empower the people closest to the problems to work together to solve those problems. As I often joked,?it seemed like most corporate collaborations were hatched on the golf course by people far removed from the realities the staff in the trenches were facing.?

Working side by side with?my dear friend and?Center co-founder Jon Baker,? we?designed,? built and launched the Center with 13 founding members. Now,?a little over?two years?later, we’ve grown to?30 of the most sophisticated and innovative security teams from around the world and have published 13 R&D projects that are freely available to all.?I?am so proud of what the Center and our members have accomplished in such a short?time,?and I am confident that the best days for the Center lie ahead.?I can’t wait to see what Jon and his team, working with an amazing group of members, create for all to use.?

Having achieved everything that we set out to accomplish and more, I decided that it?was?time for me to pursue my next big thing.?You’ll?be hearing more about that?on Monday?but today?I want to focus on saying thank you.?It’s?always a challenge to thank specific individuals as you run the risk of omitting someone?but hopefully, they already know how thankful I am for their support and?assistance. So, here goes.??

Thank you to the people within MITRE at all levels of the organization that believed in our vision in the early days?– without your support and encouragement, we wouldn’t be here today.?Leslie Anderson,?Charlie?Benway,?Julie Bowen,? Eric?Clopper,? Sebastian?Forgues,? Dave Penny, Evan Rolfe,?Maeghan?Welford?and?Marcus Wyler?played?pivotal?roles?in those early days.?Irv?Lachow?was a great sounding board who was generous with his time and his insights?and introduced me to so many wonderful people.??Duane Blackburn gave us the seed funding to develop what became the?tremendously successful?ATT&CK Navigator.? Barbara Grewe was my guru on all things Japan and international.? John?Kreger?was the rock I counted on for the first year after the Center launched and I’ll always be grateful for his?mentorship.?Pete Sherlock made it?all?possible by providing the?internal?seed funding for Jon and I to develop the?Center – without Pete there wouldn’t be a Center, period.? Nancy?Steelberg?– MITRE's guru of strategic communications is a friend and a mentor who helped me see the value of social media and has been a trusted?advisor and sounding board – the Center is so much better because of Nancy.?I wouldn’t have come to MITRE?in the first place?and thrived had it not been for the faith and efforts of Bobbie?Stempfley, Marnie Salisbury and Mark Mayberry.?My dear friends Margie?Zuk?and Penny Chase made coming to MITRE?all the more?enjoyable.?

A list of?thank-yous?related to?MITRE and cybersecurity?must?include the?ATT&CK team.?I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the intellectual honesty and adherence to principle demonstrated by the members of the?ATT&CK team throughout my time at MITRE. Blake?Strom?was the lead of?ATT&CK when I joined MITRE and?Blake’s?quiet demeanor belied a forceful advocate for what he believed. The fact that Katie Nickels was going to be a?rock star?in this community was evident from very early on and I’m?honored?that I had a chance to work with her. Jamie Williams combines deep technical chops with an easygoing style?making him someone people clamor to work with. While Cat Self is relatively new to MITRE, she has quickly established herself as a key member of the team. Finally, Adam Pennington, the current lead for?ATT&CK is as thoughtful and fair as they come. Adam and I didn’t always agree but I always knew that Adam’s?viewpoints were based on?the facts?and informed by a?deeply held?belief in MITRE’s public interest mission.?Their work is crucial for the cybersecurity?community?and they deserve our support and encouragement.?

There are also some key individuals outside of MITRE who deserve a special mention. Jenny?Menna?has been?a tremendous advocate going back to when I worked for her at?DHS,?when?she threw her?support?behind the nascent STIX and TAXII work. Since?then,?she has continued to?be there when I needed her help.?Sounil?Yu?was one of the earliest champions of the Center?and it meant so much to us to have him on our side.?To say Carl Wright has been an outstanding advocate and partner?from before the?inception?of the Center risks understating the case.?Ryusuke?Masuoka?is a friend from the STIX/TAXII days who saw the potential of the Center before most.?Dr. Thomas?Schreck?introduced me to Hans?Wallinger?and Hans has been a great collaborator in the Center?ever since then. Dan?Bernholz?played a key role early on - helping us understand how important?ATT&CK was becoming to?enterprises,?and he hung around and became a?true champion of the Center.?Alex Pinto?brought his intellect and sense of humor to every engagement. And when Michael Daniel agreed?for CTA to join the Center, I knew we were doing something right!?Ultimately,?I?am grateful to?all?the individuals and organizations that took a chance on us?-?especially in the early days?-?and for the sense of mission?that permeates all of what the Center does.?It has been an honor to work with?all?the talented individuals from our member organizations.?

Finally, and most?personally, I want to thank my team.?Denise Davenport, the Center’s Director of Member Services is in many ways the soul of the Center.?I am in awe of?Denise’s commitment to our members and our mission. Mary Wheeler, who leads the Center’s business operations?cheerfully?makes the magic happen behind the scenes. Mark Davidson, who in his first tour of duty at MITRE developed the TAXII v1 specification returned early last year to serve as the Center’s Chief Engineer. It is hard to imagine a more thoughtful? technical leader?than Mark. John?Wunder, who played such a big role in the development of STIX v2 was the Center’s Innovation Lead for?all of?last year and before his promotion to Department Manager at MITRE he ensured that the Center had a steady stream of innovative ideas for the Center and its members to consider.??

More recently, Steve Luke has joined as the Center’s new Innovation Lead and brings?his deep technical knowledge and keen sense of humor to this critical role.? Suneel?Sundar,? Dr.?Dez?Beck?and Mike Cunningham?are the Center’s principal Project?Leaders,?and?all three?bring a quiet?mastery of?the technical?domain combined with an?even more important?understanding of how to work with people. Ingrid Skoog is the Center’s most recent addition, joining this?past?Fall as the Center’s Assistant Director of R&D. In just?a short time, Ingrid has made a real difference in the Center’s R&D program.?Which brings us to?Jon. Jon Baker has done an outstanding?job as the Center’s?Founding?Director of R&D?and?will serve as the Interim Director of the Center.?I’ve?spoken with Jon?basically every?workday?(and many weekends) for about four years now and?I’m?really going to miss?working with him.?He’s?put up with my shortcomings and foibles without complaint and has always managed to make whatever we do together better than I imagined.?I’ll?even miss his?dad?jokes.?

Last, but not least, a few words about a word.?People?talk about “leadership”,?but that word?doesn’t?always convey what I consider to be?perhaps the?most important quality?of individuals who have been fortunate enough to be trusted to lead organizations, especially those in the public and non-profit sectors. To me, “stewardship” is more resonant as it conveys the?sense that the organizations that we are entrusted with?must?be tended and nurtured?and protected?- they are not?ours?but?rather?our?responsibility.?Good stewards believe?that the mission of the organization?and the people who make that mission possible? must?be?our?highest priority. Sustaining the people and the mission?must outweigh? individual interests or egos.?I’ve?had the pleasure of working with?leaders?at MITRE?who truly embody stewardship?and I can only hope that I lived up to that standard?more often than not.?

After 11 years in the public and non-profit sectors,?I am now returning to my roots as an entrepreneur?and I’m incredibly excited about what’s?next.??I hope you’ll stay tuned.?

Thanks for everything,

Rich?