Bruce McConnell leads EWI’s relationship-building with government and businesses around the world. He also manages the institute’s Cooperation in Cyberspace Initiative.
In January 2016, he opened EWI’s San Francisco center, reflecting the institute’s increasing emphasis on addressing security risks from emerging technology and on the Asia-Pacific region.
Beginning in 2009, McConnell was a leader of the cybersecurity mission at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He became Deputy Under Secretary for Cybersecurity in 2013, and responsible for ensuring the cybersecurity of all federal civilian agencies and for helping the owners and operators of the most critical U.S. infrastructure protect themselves from growing cyber threats. During his tenure, McConnell was instrumental in building the national and international credibility of DHS as a trustworthy partner that relies on transparency and collaboration to protect privacy and enhance security.
Before DHS, McConnell served on the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, working on open government and technology issues. From 2000-2008, he created, built, and sold McConnell International and Government Futures, consultancies that provided strategic and tactical advice to clients in technology, business and government markets. From 2005-2008, he served on the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency.
From 1999-2000, McConnell was Director of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, sponsored by the United Nations and the World Bank, where he coordinated regional and global preparations of governments and critical private sector organizations to successfully defeat the Y2K bug. McConnell was Chief of Information Policy and Technology in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget from 1993-1999. From 1995-1999, McConnell co-chaired the White House interagency working group encryption policy, working with law enforcement and intelligence, Congress, and the U.S. technology industry to relax U.S. export controls on strong encryption products.
McConnell is also a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He received a Master of Public Administration from the Evans School for Public Policy at the University of Washington, where he maintains a faculty affiliation, and a Bachelor of Sciences from Stanford University.