Renata Spinks has officially stepped down from public service, leaving her post as deputy chief information officer (CIO) for information, command, control, communications, and computers (IC4) at the U.S. Marines Corps (USMC) after serving in the role for over two years.
Spinks left Federal service at the end of September, after more than two decades of government service. She is now the chief executive officer of CyberSec International, a consulting firm she founded, where she leads a global team of cybersecurity experts who provide cutting-edge solutions and services to enhance the cyber resilience of its clients.
In late August of 2021, Spinks was promoted to deputy CIO for IC4, where her duties included information security management, aiding in the Corps IT strategy, and oversight of the service’s cybersecurity risk management.
In a previous interview with MeriTalk, Spinks referred to her role as deputy CIO as an opportunity to show how cybersecurity “is part of the DNA of warfighting for the Marine Corps,” and how the use of technology drives the service branch’s mission.
Since 2018, Spinks has served in various positions at the USMC having served as the acting chief information security officer from January to May 2021, and cyber technology officer for the Corps’ Forces Cyberspace Command from 2018 to August 2021, according to her LinkedIn page.
In these roles, she led an extensive portfolio focused on information technology, policy, investments, defensive and offensive cyber operations, and organizational leadership for the Marine Corps Network and Information Enterprise.
In addition, she has led the Corps mobile and remote workforce operations design and architecture buildout with cybersecurity as a foundational guide. She also worked to enable cyber and intel-focused computing and storing, collaboration, access control and identity management, data encryption, and governance.
She has also supported the USMC’s risk management framework modernization efforts and created opportunities for emerging technology needed for connected and disconnected environments.
Before joining the USMC, Spinks was an executive with the IRS from 2016 to 2018, special assistant to the director at the Treasury Department from 2012 to 2016, and program manager at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from 2008 to 2012. Her time in public service began in November 1999 when she served as a medical specialist for the U.S. Army.
