Introducing Alison King, Forescout VP of Government Affairs
Forescout is excited to announce that Alison King has joined the company as Vice President of Government Affairs. Alison has been at the forefront of change initiatives that positioned organizations in the Department of the Navy, Congress, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to achieve key objectives. Her extensive experience successfully working across the executive and legislative branches makes her a valuable addition to our team.
We sat down with Alison to learn more about her career and how she thinks Forescout can best support the Federal Government.
You come to Forescout with an impressive public service background. How would you summarize it?
I have 15 years’ experience working in the U.S. executive and legislative branches. Over that time, I got to do some pretty interesting things that gave me the knowledge and skills to build a successful career in national security. Highlights as a civil servant include working for the STANDARD Missile Program Office as a Technical Project Manager, where I got to work with allies and partners in Japan and Korea; and working in the Pentagon as a Strategic Communications and Strategy Advisor for the Navy’s Resource Sponsor for Expeditionary Warfare (Major General, USMC), where we were focused on re-invigorating naval maneuver warfare by linking sea control and power projection to win current and future conflicts. I was also fortunate to be a 2019 DoD Legislative Fellow assigned to the office of Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-8). From there I was selected to be the Strategic Communications and Legislative Affairs Director for the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Most recently, I finished up my government service at CISA, where I led the management of legislative functions for their cybersecurity portfolio.
That’s quite a résumé! What are you most proud of in your career so far?
I’d say I’m most proud of the work I was able to do on the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a bipartisan, bicameral Congressional commission established to develop a strategy to defend the U.S. from cyberattacks of significant consequence. It was wonderful to work with some of the leading national security experts within the cybersecurity policy field. Solarium Commissioners and staff included members of Congress, the executive branch, think tanks and private industry. Our work culminated with the FY21 NDAA enacting 25 recommendations from the Commission’s report, including the establishment of the National Cyber Director.
What attracted you to Forescout?
As my career progressed, I wanted to balance my government service with a better understanding of private industry and how our partners operate. In 2019, when I was a fellow in Rep. Gallagher’s office, I met with two people from Forescout who briefed me on the DoD’s Comply-to-Connect (C2C) program, and I was impressed.
Now that you’ve been here for a few months, how has that impression changed?
As I learn more about what we are bringing forward, I am even more impressed. It was wonderful to go to our sales kickoff in January, meet so many people in person and gain a better understanding of our broader capabilities, including those based on recent acquisitions. I’m excited about pairing the telemetry from the Forescout Platform with all the rich data we’ll be pulling in from the cloud to find hidden and elusive threats. I think this new pairing is a game changer that puts us in the top tier of automated cybersecurity products that deliver better detection, faster response, and tailored compliance.
What stands out the most?
The strong leadership and incredible talent at every level here is awesome. Chairman Greg Clark and CEO Barry Mainz arevisionary leaders who are committed to making the investments in the business to ensure we reach the next level. Additionally, I’m excited to be working closely with our strong federal team led by Mike Walsh and Chad Keefer. Between the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program for federal civilian agencies and C2C program, Forescout provides the foundational capabilities required for the Federal Government to successfully execute a zero trust architecture now and into the future.