Karlton D. Johnson is the Chairman of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body (CMMC-AB). In this capacity, he provides senior executive leadership to the CMMC Board of Directors towards successful implementation and execution of the CMMC initiative to strengthen cybersecurity readiness across the 375,000 Defense Industrial Base (DiB) supply chain. He is a senior executive and respected visionary leader with over 30 years of subject matter experience in strategic leadership, risk management, partnership creation, organizational excellence, mission assurance, space development, cybersecurity and enterprise communications technologies.

A decorated combat veteran, Mr. Johnson previously served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq. Under his leadership, his joint team conducted numerous combat missions in hostile fire zones to build revolutionary Information and Communications Technology capabilities for the Iraqi Ministries of Defense, Interior, and the Counter Terrorism Bureau. In his final posting, he served with distinction as the Senior US military executive/CIO and lead cyberspace expert adviser to the 4-star Commander at United States Forces-Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea. As the Korean Peninsula’s senior U.S. cyber executive, he led elite Joint military, civilian and contract personnel in providing strategic oversight for all U.S. communications in the Republic of Korea supporting 28,000 military personnel, and he was the principal U.S. military liaison to Republic of Korea’s cyber organizations for bilateral cyberspace cooperation.

In 2014, Mr. Johnson retired from United States Air Force Active Duty after 26 years of honorable service and has since served in senior leadership roles within industry. As a recognized as an accomplished national security expert and proficient business leader, Mr. Johnson serves in senior leadership positions on numerous Boards to include Chairman of the National Space Society’s Board of Governors, Board member on the AFCEA International Board of Directors, and recently as member on the Microchip Technology Inc. Board of Directors. He holds Master’s Degrees and executive Graduate Certifications from various institutions to include George Washington University, National Defense University, West Virginia University, ISACA and the U.S. government.