Cromtec Advisory Board | Cromteccyber

Troy Cromwell

Founder & CEO

Troy is the Founder and CEO of the company. He created the vision for Cromtec Cyber Solutions to simplify cyber security for our clients by focusing on what's the most important protection our clients need. He has brought together a talented team of Strategic Advisors, teammates and partners to deliver on that mission, to create a supply chain of Cybersecurity and infrastructure support services which could be planned, designed and delivered by a single company.

Prior to Cromtec Cyber Solutions, Troy spent 25+ years in different executive and management capacities with visionary companies including: Verizon, Experian, Accenture, TeleTech, MCI and most recently, a start-up, Centennial Technologies. Troy is a two-time graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, and MBA with a dual concentration in Marketing and Finance. In 2019, he completed the "Cybersecurity for the Information Age" certificate program from Harvard University. He currently sits on Penn State’s Smeal Board of Visitors. Troy played football at Penn State and was a member of the 1986 National Championship team. Troy is a volunteer board member for the DC area Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Ryan Kerrigan Charity Golf classic.

Chris Thorpe

Chief Operating Officer

Chris Thorpe is an accomplished and results-driven sales and sales management professional with an established 20-year track record of delivering profitable results. He possesses core competency in B2B sales, sales management, business development, inside sales management, operations, and client acquisition/retention. Chris has the ability to interface with all levels of customer employees, ranging from IT to C-level management. His strong team leadership and interpersonal skills enable him to effectively work across and manage complex internal and external organizations.

In his professional experience, Chris served as a Founding Partner at Germsweep USA, where his diverse management skills and abilities contributed to the success of the growing company. He was focused on setting high expectations and raising service standards while enhancing profitability and customer service. With over 25 years of experience managing high-volume, consistently successful businesses, Chris has a proven track record in decision-making, process improvement, strategic planning, verbal communication, customer focus, management proficiency, and managing profitability. He has strong knowledge of the HVAC and IAQ industry and extensive background in staff management skills.

As a Managing Partner at CMG Media Ventures, Chris established and managed the formal procurement department, developed international supply relationships, and successfully introduced new products. He led strategic procurement efforts, conducted negotiations with primary and secondary source vendors, and managed an annual operating expense of $5.2 million. Chris also played a key role in developing and managing channel partnerships with VARs and B2B alliances with national companies, resulting in significant revenue growth through grassroots marketing programs.

Chris holds a BA in Telecommunication from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.

Joe Mastrogiorgio

VP of Marketing & Business Development

Joe joins Cromtec Cyber Solutions as EVP of Marketing and Strategy from Client Partner Management Group LLC (CPMG), an industry and start-up advisory firm where is he Managing Partner. Prior to starting CPMG, he held the position of Vice President/General Manager for Avaya Inc’s US East, its largest area globally. Earlier in his career, Joe gained extensive experience in sales with cyber security solutions and other high value technology solution as well as marketing, strategy development and corporate development experience with start-ups and industry leaders across a variety of markets and verticals.

Joe has an MBA with high honors in Information and Communication Systems from Fordham University where he received the William G. McGowan Award for Academic Excellence. Joe is a past president of American Legion Post 78’s baseball program. More recently, he has been a frequent guest speaker at the MCCA, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Danbury, CT providing families his perspective on supporting a loved one with an addition problem. In his spare time Joe enjoys country road rides on his Harley, learning how to garden, studying Tai Chai Chuan, cooking and host of other activities that pique his interest.

Heather Engel

Strategic Advisor Governance Risk Compliance

Heather Engel is a strategic advisor to government and industry clients on risk management, cyber planning, and security program development; and is an author and a keynote speaker at industry events around the country. In addition to her role as Strategic Advisor and Head of Cyber Risk, She is the founder and Managing Partner at Strategic Cyber Partners, LLC and a recognized subject matter expert in NIST frameworks, FedRAMP, and Payment Card Industry security standards. She has over 18 years of experience in information technology and security and is experienced in both the private and government sectors.

Ms. Engel graduated from the Pennsylvania State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology. She is a governor-appointed member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, where she chairs the Legislative and Policy Committee. Volunteer work includes Mary Baldwin University’s Cyber Security Program Advisory Committee and the Coastal Virginia CCI Leadership Council as subject matter expert on cybersecurity. She is also a member of the CIVIC Leadership Institute Class of 2020.

She holds numerous industry certifications including:

Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA)
Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor (PCI QSA)

Teri Takai

Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government

Teri Takai is the Executive Director of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors.

A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards.

Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

CJ Brunet

Strategic Advisor - Cybersecurity, Privacy, and Technology Visionary

Craig “CJ” Brunet is an accomplished senior executive having served as an executive of Fortune 50 companies. CJ started his career with AT&T following college completion and service in Vietnam with the US Army. Over his 15-year career with AT&T CJ rose to be Director of Strategic Planning handling strategic product, pricing and technology commercialization on a global basis for the Corporation.

CJ became Executive Vice President of Entergy Corporation in 1988 where he was Responsible for Entergy Enterprise Marketing and Strategic Planning. He was also an officer of Entergy Corporation, Arkansas Power and Light, Mississippi Power & Light, New Orleans Public Service and Louisiana Power & Light. He was a Board Member of ELECTEC, Entergy’s unregulated subsidiary responsible for strategic investments in emerging technologies related to the Power Market. While at Entergy he also served as Chairman of the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California.

In 1993 CJ was elected Chairman and CEO of First Pacific Networks an international broadband communications company doing voice, data and video over hybrid fiber coax and successfully led the Company through its IPO and formed Strategic Partnerships with Cable Labs, TCI and US West for the introduction of the first high speed cable modem technology in the US and abroad. In the same year Mr. Brunet formed The Brunet Group which is focused on global strategic technology consulting with specific expertise in Cyber Security patent analysis, preparation, filing, valuation, acquisition and commercialization. The Brunet Group includes published authors, federal security policy contributors, patent holders, open source developers, and industry thought leaders.

In 2001, CJ became Executive Vice President and CIO, CTO and CISO of Newtek Business Services Corp. where he was responsible for Enterprise technology strategy, technical software and hardware decisions, application development, implementation, management and security for all Divisions of Newtek Business Services, Inc. He guided Newtek thru its early development and served as both Board Member and Executive Vice President of the public entity and as an executive and Board Member of all owned entities of Newtek in the Financial Services, Business Services and Technology Sectors. After 15 years, CJ retired from Newtek (NASDAQ: NEWT) on December 31st, 2015.

CJ is also founder and Managing Partner of Cyber Labs International a privately held Cyber Security research firm with offices in New York, London and Singapore.