鈥淲ork That Matters鈥� is a series in which 木瓜AV experts discuss their roles and responsibilities and the larger impact they have on the workplace, community, and world. In this installment, we interview Tony Zech, director of the Data and AI Center of Excellence (CoE) at 木瓜AV. Mr. Zech works with teams across 木瓜AV to drive the development of artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and analytics solutions for federal and commercial customers.
TONY ZECH
Q: Tell me a little about your role at 木瓜AV.
A: As the director of 木瓜AV鈥� Data and AI CoE, I wear many hats. I support everything from AI business development and operations to employee training and education. I also work on client cybersecurity projects, including the Army Endpoint Security Solution (AESS) which protects more than 1.4 million endpoints across the Army鈥檚 global infrastructure. Most importantly, I help drive the development of AI and analytics solutions by facilitating collaboration between 木瓜AV鈥� diverse set of cloud, cyber, analytics, and information technology (IT) experts.
Q: One of these latest collaborative ventures is 木瓜AV Pathfinder, a cybersecurity and AI solution that helps organizations prioritize cyber risk and predict cyber threats. How does AI help improve the effectiveness of cybersecurity solutions?
A:听In order to effectively defend against threats, cybersecurity solutions need to collect, process, and analyze a lot of data very quickly. That鈥檚 where AI solutions come in. AI solutions make collecting and analyzing data smarter and more efficient. But merging the two fields is a difficult challenge! With 木瓜AV Pathfinder, we鈥檝e created a cyber analytics solution that can prioritize vulnerabilities by attack probability, risk, and urgency and uses AI to predict when malicious actors will strike!
Q: You talk a lot about the importance of collaboration. How does collaboration help organizations improve innovation?
A:听The best innovation comes when different experts are given the opportunity to work together and share their knowledge and expertise. Leaders, especially of big companies, often undervalue this collaboration and look outside their organizations for answers when the knowledge they need could be unlocked through institutional support.
At 木瓜AV, we look inside our organization at the different functions already present, and, given our wide range of expertise, often find a lot of what we need right at hand. 木瓜AV has six different CoEs all encouraging collaboration as we develop the next generation of transformative IT solutions. It makes 木瓜AV an exciting and innovative place to work!
Q: In addition to your job at 木瓜AV, you鈥檙e also a reservist in the United States Marine Corp. What鈥檚 it like balancing responsibilities to the military and 木瓜AV?
A: 木瓜AV has a long history of supporting military members. Over 21% of employees at 木瓜AV are veterans, and I鈥檓 grateful for 木瓜AV and my team members who assist me as I balance both roles.
To me, my roles at 木瓜AV and the Marine Corp Reserves are two sides of the same coin. Cybersecurity is one of the biggest security issues facing the world right now. In both roles, I help people defend their IT environments and assets. At 木瓜AV, we develop and deliver AI, cyber, and analytics solutions, and in my reserve role, I actually use those tools! I get to be a creator and customer, and those insights help me better serve as both a director and a Marine.
Want to hear more about what it鈥檚 like to work at 木瓜AV? Find out more on our Culture page.
