The Front Line Reaches the Boardroom: Navigating America’s New National Security Landscape

Reflections from Davos 2026 on Governance, Geopolitics, and the Dual-Use Technology Challenge

By Jesús Mantas, Board Director, Biogen, IFF, and NACD; Council Member, Council on Global Competition and Innovation – CGCI; Former Global Managing Partner, IBM

This January, as in prior years, I joined nearly 3,000 leaders from government, business, and civil society in Davos under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue.” Yet amid the conversations about cooperation and growth, and the obvious focus on Artificial Intelligence, one message quietly raised new questions with particular urgency: national security has become as much a business priority as a political matter, because economic security is national security.

For those of us who serve on corporate boards, this is not an abstraction. It is our new reality. We may sit far from the traditional front lines of warfare and once assumed government provided “national security as a service” while we focused on long-term stakeholder value creation. That assumption no longer holds.  The front lines have shifted. Modern conflict now blends policy, information and cyber domains. What once involved kinetic warfare against military targets increasingly includes cognitive attacks, misinformation campaigns, and cyber intrusions aimed at commercial, civilian, and critical infrastructure systems. The organizations we govern—and the assets we are entrusted to protect—have become direct targets in this new security landscape.

A New Era of Policy Volatility

Consider the environment we now navigate. U.S. tariff rates have reached levels not seen since 1946, generating $187 billion in additional revenue in 2025 alone. The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act and the COINS Act have expanded outbound investment controls well beyond China to include a wide range of “countries of concern.” CFIUS reviews now place heightened emphasis on technology control plans, data segregation, and ongoing monitoring obligations. Meanwhile, export control regimes under ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EAR (Export Administration Regulations) are being enforced more aggressively than at any point in recent memory.

The posture towards American businesses is also quickly shifting in response to these policy changes–even among allies. We are being forced to reset the norms and behaviors we had accepted for two decades as board members of American companies operating globally. I have not felt this level of change since traveling to Europe in 2002, in the middle of the Iraq war, and the shift today is even more acute.

The implication for boards is clear: legal and compliance considerations tied to national security are no longer episodic. They are structural. The globalization assumptions that drove board decisions for decades must now be adjusted in a context of rising sovereign demands by traditional allies, with direct implications for demand, supply chains, and capital allocation decisions.

When Commercial Technology Becomes a Target

Companies build and maintain many aspects of the critical infrastructure that modern societies depend upon. Economic Security is national security. The distinction between “commercial” and “defense” technology has now blurred irreversibly.

Bad actors understand this well. Nation-states organized criminal networks, and opportunistic hackers now target corporate systems as proxies for geopolitical advantage. The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 underscores that AI and geopolitical fragmentation are amplifying these threats at an unprecedented pace.

The data confirms what many of us feel intuitively. According to NACD’s 2025 survey, 77% of directors now discuss the material and financial implications of cyber incidents—a remarkable 25-point increase in just three years. It is not only our companies at risk. Research shows that board members and executives carry the highest risk of successful phishing attacks. We have become high-value targets ourselves.

Governance Excellence as Strategic Imperative

At its best, capitalism is a force for positive transformation—lifting communities, driving innovation, and expanding opportunity. But this promise can only be realized when it is anchored in trust. In today’s environment, corporate governance must be the ultimate custodian of trust: it is the foundation upon which economic security and national resilience are built.

Governance excellence rests on three interdependent pillars. Trust is earned through ethical conduct and transparent decision-making. Confidence is established when boards demonstrate competence, foresight, and integrity in uncertain environments. Accountability aligns actions with organizational values and the broader expectations of society. Together, these pillars create the ecosystem that enables organizations to withstand shocks, adapt to disruption, and advance both prosperity and security.

Four Imperatives for Board Leadership

To meet this moment, boards must adjust their playbook. First, integrate geopolitical risk into enterprise risk management. Map your technology development, data governance, supply chains, and foreign exposure. Use scenario planning to anticipate tariff volatility and policy shifts, and assess how these dynamics affect earnings and shareholder returns.

Second, include a national security lens into capital allocation. Consider strategic vulnerabilities: supply chain dependencies, dual-use technology risks, and adversarial capital flows. Embrace what the Council on Global Competition and Innovation – CGCI calls “GCI investing”—market-led strategies that channel capital toward assets of strategic importance to national security and economic resilience.

Third, elevate cybersecurity from IT risk to a broader strategic enterprise risk. Align with maturity frameworks like NIST and ISO—73% of Fortune 100 companies now disclose such alignment. Conduct tabletop exercises that include national security implications and threats, and actively manage the personal digital footprints of management and board members.

Fourth, build board competency for this new era. Strengthen board skills in technology and national security. Commit to continuous education on geopolitical trends and emerging technologies. Ask the question that separates resilient organizations from vulnerable ones: “Are we prepared for the ‘unknown unknown’—the risks we cannot yet imagine?”

A Call to Leadership

The path forward demands courage, humility, and relentless self-assessment. It requires us to see ourselves not merely as fiduciaries of shareholder value, but as stewards of a system whose stability underpins the prosperity and security of society itself.

The pursuit of profit and the protection of economic security—which is national security—must become mutually reinforcing pillars. This is not a constraint on business; it is an opportunity to transform governance from a compliance exercise into a source of enduring strategic advantage.

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Jesús Mantas

Jesús Mantas

Former Global Managing Partner, IBM
Board Director, Biogen, IFF, and National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

Jesús Mantas is the former Global Managing Partner responsible for Business Transformation Services in IBM. Prior to this, he led IBM Business Consulting, IBM Global Process Services, and IBM GBS Latin America. Before IBM, he was a Partner in the High Technology practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting, and worked at Procter & Gamble in Spain.

He serves as the Chair of Compensation and Management Development of the Board of Director of Biogen Inc.(NASDAQ: BIIB), as well as a Board Director of IFF (NYSE: IFF) and NACD. He was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global AI Council and serves on the Boards of HITEC and NACME, non-profits focused on leadership development of diversity in technology. He is the emeritus chair of IBM’s Hispanic Diversity Council.

Jesús holds degrees in Telecommunications, Software Engineering, and Business Administration, was a professor at University of California, Irvine Graduate School of Management, and served as an officer in the Air Force of Spain.

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Glen Dodson

Glen Dodson

Job Title, Cyberistics

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David Ulevitch Portrait2

David Ulevitch

General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz

David Ulevitch is an entrepreneur and investor. As a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, he leads the firm’s American Dynamism practice, which focuses on investing in companies advancing American interests — including supporting builders in areas such as defense, national security, public safety, nuclear and aerospace. David sits on the boards of Alloy Automation, Anduril, AnyRoad, Charthop, Firstbase, Flock Safety, Orderful, Rewatch, Skydio, Superhuman, Supermove, Vitally, and WorkBoard. David has written extensively on the role of technology in advancing American interests, including how nuclear technology can untether our military, the future of public safety and how the U.S. can rewire the Pentagon for a new era. David was previously the founder and CEO of OpenDNS, a cloud-delivered security service that was acquired by Cisco in 2015 for $635 million. While at Cisco, David was Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco Security — a $2.4 billion annual revenue business with more than 5,000 team members — where he oversaw the company’s global cybersecurity strategy, product portfolio, and business. Prior to OpenDNS, David founded EveryDNS, an authoritative DNS service, and grew it into the world’s largest free DNS service. He sold it to Dyn (now Oracle) in 2010.

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John M. B. O'Connor

John M. B. O’Connor

Chairman and CEO, J.H. Whitney Investment Management

John M. B. O’Connor is CEO of J.H. Whitney Investment Management, LLC. Previously, Mr. O’Connor was Chairman of JP Morgan Alternative Asset Management. Mr. O’Connor is also CEO of Whitney Strategic Services and Whitney Data Services. Mr. O’Connor serves on the Board of Directors of numerous companies including Oceus Networks, LLC., Sequoia Holdings, Inc., and Boon Logic, Inc.

Mr. O’Connor is a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he lectures on the Economics of National Security. He served as a member of the U.S. Department of War Business Board from 2005 to 2021 and as a Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for New York from 2014 to 2019. He is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the Air Force Distinguished Public Service Award and the Department of the Navy Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Mr. O’Connor earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tulane University and a Master’s in Business Administration degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

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Sherif Nahas

Sherif Nahas

Director of Private Equity, Ford Foundation

Sherif works at The Ford Foundation, where he manages approximately $7 billion in private investments, including venture capital, private equity, real estate, and natural resources. He previously managed private investments for the University of Virginia endowment, and before that worked at BankBoston and Sand Hill Capital. Sherif started his career as an engineer and product strategist at The Ford Motor Company. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. and M.E in Aerospace Engineering, and received an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan.

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Byron Loflin

Byron Loflin

Global Head of Board Advisory & Nasdaq Center for Board Excellence, Nasdaq

Byron Loflin is the Global Head of Board Advisory at Nasdaq where he leads the governance team in driving board and governance effectiveness. Byron founded the Center for Board Excellence (CBE) in 2010 and was CEO until it was acquired by Nasdaq in 2019.

Prior to CBE, Byron was the CEO and president for two private companies between 1992-2009. Along with speaking on and teaching corporate governance effectiveness, Byron is a graduate of James Madison University (BA) and Harvard Business School (OPM) and several HBS Executive Education Certificates including Havard’s Board Effectiveness program.

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Gen. David Stilwell

General David Stilwell

Ret. General USAF; Fmr Assistant Secretary of State (Asia)

Brig Gen (Ret) David Stilwell is the Fox Fellow for Future Pacing Threats at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Institute for Future Conflict. In this role, he educates cadets and faculty on the growing military threat presented by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including its use of political and information warfare to undermine democracies. His teachings help prepare future officers for the challenges they will face immediately after commissioning. Stilwell most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of EastAsian and Pacific Affairs from 2019 to 2021. Before that, he served in the U.S.Air Force for 35 years. Stilwell enlisted as a Korean linguist in 1980, served as a fighter pilot and commander for 25 years, and was later the Defense Attaché in Beijing. He retired in 2015 as the Asia advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He speaks Korean, Chinese, and some Japanese.
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Adam Segal

Ira A. Lipman Chair in Emerging Technologies and National Security, and Director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

Adam Segal is the Ira A. Lipman chair in emerging technologies and national security and director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on security issues, technology development, and Chinese domestic and foreign policy, Segal was the project director for the CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force reports Confronting Reality in Cyberspace, Innovation and National Security, Defending an Open, Global, Secure, and Resilient Internet, and Chinese Military Power. His book The Hacked World Order: How Nations Fight, Trade, Maneuver, and Manipulate in the Digital Age (PublicAffairs, 2016) describes the increasingly contentious geopolitics of cyberspace. His work has appeared in the Financial Times, the New York Times, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs, among others. From April 2023 to June 2024, Segal was a senior advisor in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, where he led the development of the United States International Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Before coming to CFR, Segal was an arms control analyst for the China Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists. There, he wrote about missile defense, nuclear weapons, and Asian security issues. He has been a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for International Studies, the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Tsinghua University in Beijing. He has taught at Vassar College and Columbia University. Segal is the author of Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge (W.W. Norton, 2011)
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Nazak Nikakhtar Portrait

The Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar

Partner and National Security Chair, Wiley Rein LLP
Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce

The Honorable Nazak Nikakhtar brings over two decades of experience in international trade and national security to help clients succeed in the domestic and global marketplace. Through leadership roles in the U.S. government and private sector, Nazak has leveraged her valuable insights into the expansive range of U.S. and international laws, regulatory and policy processes, and federal agency resources to achieve clients’ business objectives. 

 

From 2018 to 2021, with unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Nazak served as the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Industry & Analysis at the International Trade Administration (ITA). Nazak also served the duties of the Under Secretary for Industry and Security at Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS). In these roles, Nazak was the agency’s primary liaison with U.S. industry and trade associations, and she shaped major initiatives to strengthen U.S. industry competitiveness, promote innovation, and accelerate economic and job growth.

 

As one of the key national security experts in the U.S. government, she developed and implemented innovative laws, regulations, and policies to safeguard strategically important technologies, strengthen the U.S. industrial base, and protect the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States. As the Department’s lead on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), she played a key role in shaping U.S. investment policy. As the head of the agency’s trade policy office, she advised the U.S. government on legal and economic issues impacting critical technologies, advanced manufacturing, financial services, e-commerce, data privacy, cybersecurity, critical minerals/rare earths, and energy competition. Finally, as the federal agency’s lead on supply chain assessments, Nazak spearheaded the United States’ first-ever whole-of-government initiative to evaluate and strengthen supply chains across all strategic sectors of the economy.

 

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R.P. Eddy

R.P. Eddy

CEO, Ergo

R.P. Eddy is the CEO of Ergo, a geopolitical and economic intelligence firm known for forecasting critical world events. Leaders of allied governments and the world’s most consequential global businesses rely on Ergo to navigate what the firm calls “The Fastest Year in History”—with each year faster still.

Previously, R.P. served as a Director at the White House National Security Council and as a senior U.S. and UN diplomat. He has represented the U.S. in peace negotiations, played a role in the (flawed) creation of the International Criminal Court, and led attempts to recover American hostages. He was an initial architect of the Global Fund, which has since been credited with saving over 50 million lives; the UN team was honored with a Nobel Peace Prize. Recognized by Foreign Policy magazine as one of “America’s most respected national security experts,” R.P. was also named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum.

R.P. co-authored the award-winning bestseller Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes (HarperCollins). His advocacy work spans leading counterterrorism programs for the NYPD and LAPD, promoting Western industrial competitiveness with DARPA, advocating for safe social media, and supporting the responsible development of AI. He has testified before Congress, spoken at the UN General Assembly and the Nobel Prize Summit, and is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.

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Christina Alfonso

Executive Director, CGCI

Christina Alfonso is a senior advisor to leaders across government and industry, specializing in national security, economic competitiveness, and emerging technology policy. As the Executive Director of the Council on Global Competition and Innovation (CGCI), she leads an initiative championed by the U.S. Department of War and private sector executives to advance resilient, market-driven security investments and foster strategic growth. As a Senior Advisor at DARPA, Christina prioritized developing public-private partnerships and advised on strategies to strengthen the U.S. defense innovation ecosystem.

Previously, as co-founder/CFO of Novata, a Microsoft and S&P-backed technology platform, Christina enhanced private market transparency through non-financial data reporting. As co-founder/CEO of Madeira Global (2012-2020), she pioneered values-based investment solutions for the private equity and credit sectors.

She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in National and International Security program. Christina holds an M.B.A. from ESADE Business School (Spain) and a B.S. in Finance and Economics from Fordham University. Christina is a trustee and treasurer of the RWJBH Monmouth Medical Center Foundation and has served on the advisory boards of the Milken Institute Young Leaders Circle, PathNorth, and the Women’s Society for the Economy and Society. She has extensive international experience, most recently in São Paulo, and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.