DC Power Moves: Cybersecurity firm’s new Microsoft partnership, Howard University’s new VP

Forcepoint Federal has now become Everfox

Forcepoint Federal, the 25-year-old Herndon, Virginia cybersecurity firm, has announced that it changed its name to Everfox. The change came on the heels of other developments, including the building up of an expanded executive leadership team, industry awards and a new partnership with Microsoft.

“Everfox will continue to protect government, critical infrastructure and regulated industries against the most complex cyber challenges across the globe,” said CEO Sean Berg in a statement.

When the Microsoft partnership was announced last December, Berg said the collaboration “will realize expanded capabilities from cloud to tactical edge.”

Through the partnership, Everfox expects to integrate cross-domain solution technology into Azure’s cloud services offerings for the US government. Together, Everfox and Microsoft hope to expand the development and deployment of new cloud offerings for federal agencies while delivering on-demand, multi-level cloud desktop services.

Cyber Defense Magazine recently named Everfox’s Zero Trust Content Disarm and Reconstruction solution as the “Most Innovative Content Disarm and Reconstruction Solution” in its Top InfoSec Innovators awards. The company also won “Best Zero Trust Cyber Solution” in American Security Today’s 2023 ASTORS awards.

Everfox operates out of its Herndon headquarters, as well as four other locations in Champaign, Illinois; Richardson, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Malvern, United Kingdom.

Sam Hill joins Future Kings board

Dr. Sam Hill, former provost of the Woodbridge Campus of Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), has joined the board of the STEM advocacy nonprofit  Future Kings. The Dumfries, Virginia-based organization helps young men of color prepare for lucrative careers in the STEM professions through a multi-year education program.

Sam Hill. (Courtesy)

Hill was provost from 2005 until his retirement in 2022. He had worked previously with Future Kings by offering NVCC classroom space for some of its programs, as well as in a senior advisor role. He earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Texas Tech University, a master’s degree from Gallaudet University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Edward’s University.

“My relationship with Future Kings goes back at least 10 years,” Hill said. “It was an honor to be asked [to join the board]. I’m hoping I can be an influencer in that the connections I’ve developed as provost can create support from the business community, especially businesses that are looking for talent.”

McLean, Virginia T. Rowe Price exec to head new retirement programs team

Michael Davis, formerly part of the Baltimore investment firm’s institutional sector, will now head T. Rowe Price’s new Global Retirement Strategy Team. The Global Retirement Strategy Team is charged with deepening the firm’s engagement with retirement clients and leading an enterprise-level strategy that coordinates retirement initiatives, research and global expertise. Additionally, the group will help develop new products and services, seeking to amplify T. Rowe Price’s positions in public policy discussions on legislative and regulatory proposals.

In a written press statement, Davis said, “The formation of this team will allow us to better coordinate the work we conduct firm-wide on behalf of our clients, and it’s particularly significant given the rapid evolution of the industry due to technological innovation, shifting demographics, and changing market conditions.”

Davis’ superior, T. Rowe Price Head of Global Distribution Dee Sawyer, added, “We are excited that Michael will leverage his proven track record as a visible industry leader and a champion for the needs of workers and retirees in this new way.”

Approximately two-thirds of T. Rowe Price’s assets under management are in retirement and retirement-related accounts, the firm noted in the statement.

T.Rowe Price added a specialist to its office in late 2022 whose role has been to consult on retirement public policy issues through the firm’s government affairs team. Last April, it acquired retirement income fintech firm, Retiree Inc.

Davis was formerly a deputy assistant secretary in the US Department of Labor. He is currently also on the executive committee for the DC Institutional Investment Association and the advisory board for the Aspen Institute Forum on Retirement Savings.

More power moves:

• Howard University has appointed Lydia Sermons its new vice president and chief communications officer. Sermons was formerly with Spelman College in Atlanta, where she helped build the communications office into an entire division. She also created a new monthly campus magazine and established relationships with national media outlets.
  • “I look forward to joining with President Vinson, his administration, faculty, staff, students, and the entire Howard University community to further amplify the voices and shape the narratives that will continue to elevate this historic university to new heights of relevance, impact, and service at home and around the world,” Sermons added in a statement to The Dig.
• Amazon, which is still building its HQ2 out in Arlington, Virginia, has announced that it is laying off about 5% of its Buy with Prime unit. According to a Reuters source, the layoff means around 30 employees will lose their jobs. At least some of those laid off may be offered different positions within the company, the source said. In January, Amazon announced layoffs of several hundred employees from its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions would be laid off. Amazon laid off upwards of 27,000 employees in 2023 throughout multiple divisions of the company.
• General Dynamics announced Kim Kuryea will be its new chief financial officer as of 2024. Kuryea has been employed as senior vice president of human resources and administration for the defense contractor. CEO Phebe Novakovic reported that Kuryea had already been “CFO of one of the company’s business units, head of the company’s internal audit function and the company’s controller.” General Dynamics is an aerospace and defense contractor headquartered in Reston, Virginia with over 100,000 employees in 65 countries.
• Julius Maina is joining 1863 Ventures as its head of community. He has experience in VC and government, according to this post on LinkedIn. He was formerly an investment associate at Techstars DC powered by J.P. Morgan.
• Melissa Malzkuhn, director of the Motion Light Lab at Gallaudet University, was named one of 10 Elevate Prize winners this year. The lab works on immersive media and other projects to support deaf individuals.
• ALIVE Podcast Network CEO Angel Livas told Technical.ly via email that she and her cofounder Yusuf Henriques (whose IndyGeneUS was a RealLIST Startups honoree) have gotten engaged.
• Halcyon has named eight startup founders from across the country to its latest Future Builders cohort. This program focuses on Black women entrepreneurs working on innovations to address pressing issues across industries. Fellow Nina Taylor, the founder of digital health company MErald.io, is based in DC.
• Kanika Tolver announced on X that she is now the leader of the DC chapter of Blacks in Technology, an international organization dedicated to serving and supporting Black technologists and associated professionals.

_

Technical.ly Editor Sameer Rao and Baltimore Lead Reporter Alanah Nichole Davis contributed to this report.