RH-ISAC Announces Keynote Speakers for 2026 Cybersecurity Summit

Speakers from Target and Walmart, along with notable industry leaders, will headline the April event in Austin.

VIENNA, Va., Feb. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) has announced the keynote speakers for its annual Cybersecurity Summit, taking place 13-15 April 2026, in Austin, Texas. This annual event brings together cybersecurity professionals from the retail and hospitality sectors to discuss the current security landscape.

2026 Keynote Speakers

Tim Pappa, Incident Response Engineer, Walmart Global Tech
Tim Pappa is an Incident Response Engineer - Cyber Deception Strategy, Content Development, and Marketing, Cyber Deception Operations, Walmart Global Tech.  Before Walmart, Tim was a Supervisory Special Agent and profiler with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), where he specialized in cyber deception and online influence.  Tim has held fellow roles at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Aspen Institute, and he is the author of the book Influencing the Influencers: Applying Whaley's Communication and Deception Frameworks to Terrorism and Insurgent Narratives.

Jodie Kautt, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Security Officer, Target
Jodie Kautt, SVP and CISO at Target, leads the company's global cybersecurity organization, which protects Target, its team members, and consumers from cyber threats and fraud. Her team includes the 24x7 Cyber Fusion Center, which integrates threat intelligence, advanced analytics, and state-of-the-art technology to mitigate risks. In addition to cybersecurity, Jodie oversees engineering and development teams that build tools and technologies supporting Target's Assets Protection organization. She also chairs the NRF's Fraud Prevention Professionals Working Group, is a member of the Aspen Cybersecurity Group, and she serves as the executive sponsor for Target's Women's Belonging Community.

Bilyana Lilly, Associate Director, Accenture
Dr. Bilyana Lilly specializes in security management, information warfare, cyber risk, and business engagement, and she advises organizations on strategies to strengthen resilience in cyberspace. She is the author of Russian Information Warfare and Digital Mindhunters, and serves as an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). Bilyana is also on the advisory boards of NightDragon and RunSafe Security, and she chairs the Democratic Resilience Track of the Warsaw Security Forum. She also leads The Shadow Writers, a community of intelligence professionals.

Allison Nixon, Senior Leader at Unit 221B & May Chen-Contino, CEO of Unit 221B
Allison Nixon specializes in modern threat intelligence, with a focus on youth-driven cybercrime ecosystems and The Com. Her work involves translating criminal network activity into actionable intelligence for investigations. She has served as an expert for the media and policymakers, appearing in outlets such as 60 Minutes, The New York Times, and the HBO documentary Teen Hacker. May Chen-Contino leads Unit 221B, a threat disruption company providing cybersecurity solutions for enterprises and law enforcement. Her background includes leadership roles at PayPal, eBay, and Forter. She has a professional history of driving growth across technology sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, and mental-health technology.

About RH-ISAC

The Retail & Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) is the trusted community for sharing sector-specific cybersecurity information and intelligence. The RH-ISAC connects information security teams at the strategic, operational, and tactical levels to work together on issues and challenges, to share practices and insights, and to benchmark among each other – all with the goal of building better security for consumer-facing industries through collaboration. RH-ISAC serves businesses including retailers, restaurants, hotels, gaming casinos, food retailers, consumer products, and other consumer-facing companies. For more information, visit rhisac.org.

Media Contact:
Annie Chambliss
703-848-9294
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SOURCE Retail & Hospitality ISAC