Michigan’s Dan Lohrmann leaving for private sector

Michigan Chief Security Officer Dan Lohrmann will leave public service Friday to take a job as the chief strategist and chief security officer for California-based Security Mentor.

Lohrmann has worked for the state of Michigan since 1997 in a variety of roles, including chief information officer of the state’s department of management and budget and state chief technology officer.

Before that, Lohrmann worked for the National Security Agency in Washington, D.C., and in the private sector for Lockheed Martin and ManTech International.

“I am very excited to be joining Security Mentor, because they are the gold standard for outstanding security awareness training for end users in both the government and the private sector,” Lohrmann said in a statement. “Security Mentor delivers training that is a win for security teams by making the most visible security program in organizations highly successful. I am passionate about helping solve these end user problems and building new options for executives to secure their enterprises.”

Lohrmann has served as one of the state technology community’s most public and passionate voices when it comes to information security, writing a number of articles and papers on security, infrastructure, customer service, cloud computing, bring your own device to work and social media.

Last year, he published the book “Virtual Integrity: Faithfully Navigating the Brave New Web.”

“Dan brings the ideal mix of extensive leadership experience, deep knowledge of the cyber security space, and a critical understanding of the role people play in protecting organizations,” said Marie White, CEO and co-founder of Security Mentor, a company that specializes in cyber security training. “He has been at the forefront of cyber security for a number of years, including leading the development of Michigan’s globally-recognized security program.”

In his new role, Lohrmann will lead efforts to define and develop key strategic initiatives for the company’s security awareness training offerings, including new programs for executives.

Lohrmann recently joined StateScoopTV for an interview during which he discussed, among other things, a paper Michigan posted on how it would respond to a cyber attack, something that got national attention in the cybersecurity community.