Dragos Appoints SANS Institute Veteran Rob T. Lee as Its First Chief AI Officer

Dragos appointed Rob T. Lee as its first chief artificial intelligence officer, reporting to founder, chairman and CEO Robert M. Lee, the company said in a citybiz report on November 4, 2026. Lee spent more than 25 years at SANS Institute, most recently as chief AI officer and chief of research.

Rob T. Lee's Mandate at Dragos

In the newly created role, Lee will lead efforts to help industrial and critical infrastructure organizations evaluate, deploy and secure AI technologies across operational technology (OT) environments. His responsibilities include advising customers on AI adoption and security, collaborating with technology developers, conducting research on AI-related industrial cybersecurity risks and supporting Dragos' internal AI initiatives.

Robert M. Lee said AI use inside Dragos has grown quickly while its effect on customers' operations remains underexplored. "We've seen strong adoption of AI inside Dragos, but the impact of AI on our customers and their operations hasn't been fully explored, and we have a role and a responsibility to help them work through it," he said.

Rob T. Lee began his career as a U.S. Air Force officer and founding member of the service's first information warfare unit, and later served with the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency. He was director of threat intelligence and threat hunting at Mandiant, where he co-authored the first M-Trends report, and at SANS Institute he created the original SIFT Workstation. More recently he authored the Secure AI Blueprint and led development of the Critical AI Security Guidelines.

"Everyone assumes operational technology is where AI arrives last. I think it is where it has to be figured out first," Lee said. "OT forces you to answer the questions the rest of the industry postpones: what is the model allowed to touch, where does it have to show its work, and when does a person need to be in the loop."

Dragos AI Products and Valuation

According to akta.pro company records, Dragos launched EmberAI into general availability in June 2026, an OT-native generative AI assistant embedded in the Dragos Platform and trained on the Dragos Intelligence Fabric. The same records show Accenture announced an agreement that month to acquire a majority stake in Dragos at a $3.25 billion valuation, alongside full acquisitions of runZero and NetRise for a combined enterprise value of approximately $4.175 billion, with Dragos to continue operating independently under CEO Robert M. Lee.

Earlier Dragos Leadership Changes

Dragos Public Sector named a board including former NSA and Army Cyber Command leaders in October 2026, and named Accenture Federal Services as a strategic partner, FinancialContent Business Page reported. In September 2026, Dragos appointed Dawn Mitchell as chief people officer, effective January 28, 2026, to lead the People organization as demand for OT cybersecurity accelerates globally, according to FinancialContent Business Page. Dragos acquired NetRise and runZero the same month, with Robert M. Lee named chairman and CEO and the acquired companies' leaders joining to integrate the acquisitions.

Dragos Webinar on November 23

Dragos and Lee will discuss AI adoption, security and emerging threats in industrial environments during a joint webinar scheduled for November 23, 2026, the company said.