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Steve Earley

Guest

Steve Earley

Managing Partner · Valenta

A former Navy leader and CISO who wants innovation and governance built together.

Steve Earley is a Managing Partner at Valenta and a retired U.S. Navy Commander. Valenta's profile documents his work across cybersecurity, consulting, public accounting, government and financial services, including prior CISO roles. His conversation with Bob Hansen connects executive leadership and mentorship with AI automation, security, data governance and quantum-era preparation.

LinkedIn

The conversation

Bob Hansen speaks with Valenta Managing Partner Steve Earley about leadership lessons from military and civilian technology roles, mentorship and career growth, AI automation that frees people for higher-impact work, and the need to build data governance and cybersecurity alongside innovation. Shadow AI and post-quantum preparation are also on the table.

Lessons from this leader

  • Trust specialists and remove obstacles instead of pretending a leader must have every answer.
  • Use automation to free people for higher-impact work, and communicate what changes.
  • Make security a partner in innovation early, before unapproved tools become Shadow AI.
  • Set clear rules for what data can enter an AI tool and prepare for post-quantum cryptography.

Appearances