COLUMBIA, MD, July 30, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Yani Kayani, CISO, CAISO, has been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Marked by more than two decades of progressive leadership and technical expertise, Mr. Kayani has led a distinguished career at the intersection of information technology and cybersecurity. As chief information security officer at Forward Edge-AI, Inc. since 2024, he provides strategic direction for the company's cybersecurity program, with a focus on quantum cryptography products and government research collaborations. He has spearheaded the company's FIPS 140-3 and FedRAMP certification efforts for its quantum cryptography product line and has built its cybersecurity program on a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) foundation to meet the rigorous compliance demands of government and defense clients. His responsibilities include developing and executing enterprise cybersecurity strategy, overseeing risk management and regulatory compliance programs, directing his team to ensure strategic and operational alignment, and advising leadership on cybersecurity considerations across ongoing government contracts.

Through these efforts, Mr. Kayani has become a trusted voice in aligning cybersecurity strategy with business objectives, translating complex technical risk into actionable guidance for executive stakeholders while building and mentoring high-performing security teams. Though his career counts many milestones, he is especially proud of his role in safeguarding organizations against evolving threats, cultivating the next generation of cybersecurity talent, and fostering a culture of collaboration and trust where his team members can do their best work.

Before joining Forward Edge-AI, Mr. Kayani served as virtual chief information security officer and management consultant at TekWave LLC in Dover, Delaware, from 2023 to 2024, providing expert guidance on information security strategies, program development, and risk management for diverse clients. From 2021 to 2023, he served as senior director of technology strategy and transformation at The Jackson Laboratory — a nonprofit biomedical research facility in Farmington, Connecticut — where he led large, cross-functional teams of IT and security professionals, directed security operations center initiatives, and implemented best-practice compliance and risk management standards. During his tenure, he also spearheaded a multiyear enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation, modernizing critical business operations infrastructure.

From 2019 to 2021, Mr. Kayani served as director of information technology for the United States Air Force at Randolph Joint Base in San Antonio, working as a contractor through Communityforce and managing critical IT operations in support of national defense objectives. Prior to this, he was director of business consulting services for the United States Department of Agriculture as a contractor through CSC in Tysons Corner, Virginia, from 2016 to 2019, contributing to major risk and vulnerability management initiatives as well as cloud security strategy.

As a program director at Fannie Mae in the Washington, D.C. area from 2014 to 2016, Mr. Kayani oversaw large-scale technology projects and earned the Best Product Delivery Award early in his tenure. He also served as program manager and Agile coach at Promontory Financial Group LLC (part of IBM) in 2013, training cross-functional teams on Agile and Scrum best practices and improving productivity by 40 percent.

Mr. Kayani's earlier experience reflects a consistent pattern of delivering operational and technical value across diverse industries. As senior project manager and production operations manager at Maximus in 2010, he oversaw production operations and led process improvements that strengthened efficiency and service delivery. At Birmingham College, where he served as senior technical program manager and Agile project manager from 2008 to 2010, he led a team of 21 professionals through Agile transformation, guiding the development and delivery of critical systems including a Student Management System, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, and a financial system, while streamlining delivery timelines and improving cross-team coordination. As information technology technical project manager with the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA) Web Products (now Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc.) from 2007 to 2008, he led a team of 8 in the development and delivery of media and print applications supporting the organization's web-based products. From 2006 to 2007, he served as project manager for Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance and SharePoint at Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), where he led a team of 15 in auditing databases across the organization, strengthening internal controls and information governance during a critical period of post-SOX financial industry reform.

He began his professional journey as a database administrator and project manager at Horizotek from 1998 to 2002, where he safeguarded the security and integrity of electronic medical records while managing critical resources and resolving conflicts — early experience that laid the foundation for his lifelong commitment to protecting sensitive data and systems.

An accomplished lifelong learner, Mr. Kayani earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Sunderland in England in 2013. He also completed a postgraduate degree in Strategic Management and Leadership from Edexcel (now Pearson) in 2011, and a postgraduate degree in Computer Science from NCC Education in 2009 — an academic foundation that continues to inform his ability to bridge technical depth with executive-level strategy.

Committed to continuous learning and professional growth, Mr. Kayani earned ScrumMaster certification from the Scrum Alliance in 2015 and holds Microsoft's Cybersecurity Architect Expert certification. He has since gone on to earn additional credentials from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), including Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and Advanced in AI Security Management (AAISM) certification — a credential set that reflects his rare command of both governance-level risk management and hands-on technical security architecture.

Reflecting on his journey, Mr. Kayani attributes much of his success to the unwavering support of his wife and family, whose love and encouragement have been instrumental at every stage of his professional life. Happily married and a proud father, he is devoted to being present for his four daughters, whom he considers his most important and cherished responsibility, and credits his family as the steady foundation behind every professional milestone he has achieved.

Beyond his corporate endeavors, Mr. Kayani has long been committed to civic-minded initiatives. Since 2011, he has served as a coach, mentor, and speaker, offering free information technology courses along with personal growth and development training at various schools and local community colleges — a testament to his belief that true leadership includes investing in the growth of others.

Determined to further his technical impact within the technology sector, Mr. Kayani is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in Cybersecurity at National University, with a research focus on quantum cryptography and post-quantum cybersecurity, aimed at advancing knowledge and practice in these rapidly evolving fields. His current work includes contracts for the United States Department of Defense and NSA that align with government mandates on quantum cryptography and post-quantum cryptography (PQC) adoption. As quantum-resilient communications become integral to cybersecurity practice in the years ahead, he aims to be a leading voice and contributor at the forefront of this transformation.

Mr. Kayani's life and career stand as a testament to an enduring commitment to team-centered leadership, strategic vision, and service to others. From safeguarding national defense systems to pioneering the adoption of quantum-resilient cybersecurity, his work reflects both technical mastery and a strategic approach that positions security not as a barrier, but as a true enabler of business growth and innovation. As he continues to shape the future of cybersecurity, mentor the next generation of professionals, and guide organizations through an era of unprecedented technological change, Mr. Kayani's impact on his industry, his community, and the technology field at large remains a defining hallmark of his distinguished career.

About Marquis Who's Who®:
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. The suite of Marquis® publications, including Who's Who in America® and Who's Who in the World®, remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the globe. Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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