Ryan Benson is a visionary security leader with a passion for empowering businesses to achieve their full potential with solutions that fit their size and scale. He currently serves as Vice President of Security for CompassMSP, a technology Managed Service Provider, with office locations throughout the US.  Ryan has over fifteen years of operational and consulting experience in cyber security and IT operations with deep knowledge of security operations and security services management. Ryan began his career with the US Air Force, obtaining the rank of Captain, where he served as a Cyber Operations Officer and worked assignments across the United States with a deployment to Iraq in 2008 where he earned a Joint Service Commendation Medal. His final role was as the Director of Operations of the 5th Communications Squadron where he supported two thirds of the Air Force’s nuclear arsenal by ensuring smooth IT and cybersecurity operations. After leaving the Air Force, Ryan has held leadership roles with Stratascale, deepwatch, Trace3, and Presidio. In these roles Ryan was responsible for managed security services, security solution consulting, and building next generation security operations centers. In these roles Ryan drove extensive growth across SMB, mid-market, and enterprise clients. Ryan also spent time with Gartner as an Analyst where he advised clients on security operations technology and services, published in-demand research on security operations, and was a speaker at security conferences. Ryan is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute where he majored in Mathematics and played Division 1 Lacrosse.