I work at the intersection of cyber defense, AI safety, and emerging risk, where the threats are converging and the playbooks are still being written.

My career has taken me from the Marine Corps to NSA, U.S. Cyber Command, the U.S. House of Representatives, Mandiant, and Netflix. Across every role, one throughline: understanding adversaries, building high-trust teams, and translating complex problems into strategies leaders can act on.

Today, I advise organizations, governments, and research institutions on AI governance, agentic threat preparedness, and unifying safety and security into a single discipline. I contribute to global standards efforts including the EU AI Act (via OWASP AI) and lead executive education on cybersecurity and AI strategy at SANS.

If you’re navigating the future of AI risk or security strategy, let’s connect.

Chris Cochran

As a U.S. Marine who spent years working alongside special operations teams, I learned that different missions require radically different mindsets.

Everybody loves the Navy SEAL archetype: aggressive, adaptive, and masters of improvisation.

But if you deploy AI agents with that mindset, you are inviting disaster. AI doesn’t have the judgment to improvise. When it tries, it makes mistakes.

In high-stakes business environments, you don't need the "bang" of chaos; you need the "whisper" of control. You need more of a Delta Force methodology.

In my latest article, I break down why AI requires more determinism, and less heroism, and introduce CONTROL for governing agentic AI.

Read the full strategy below. 👇

Field CISO & VP, AI Security @ SANS | Bridging Cyber Defense and Frontier AI Risk | Ex-NSA, Netflix, Mandiant | US Marine Veteran

Let me set the tone clearly: This is not a debate about which group is "better." Both are elite. Both accomplish the impossible. As a US Marine, I res

Open article: Why You Need to Manage AI Agents Like Delta Force, Not Navy SEALs by Chris Cochran • 4 min read

Why You Need to Manage AI Agents Like Delta Force, Not Navy SEALs

Asinpa

vCISO

Your Thought Life Mindset Coaching

Founder

Dallas Independent School District

Deputy CTO

Chief Information Security Officer

Collin College

Adjunct Professor - Cybersecurity

Dallas County

CISO & Chief Privacy Officer

BenefitMall

Head of Enterprise Security 

As an entrepreneur, Michael is the owner of Your Thought Life Mindset Consulting where he helps clients overcome mindset challenges so they can achieve their goals, aspirations, and dreams. He’s also the host of Your Thought Life Mindset Podcast which is one of the fastest up-and-coming mindset Podcasts in the self-development space (2023). Michael is frequently hired to share mindset insights and executive wisdom in keynotes, keynote panels, keynote moderators, and workshops.

As an executive, Michael is a transformational leader with expertise in Education, Government, and the private sector ranging from early-stage startups to publicly traded organizations. Serving in the capacity of chief risk advisor for several employers, he advises Committees, Governing Bodies, Boards, and Department Heads on a full range of risk, regulatory, and privacy matters. Michael has a proven track record for building and cultivating risk-based programs, leaders, and teams in turnaround, steady-state, or merger\acquisition scenarios. 

Everyone loves Michael. He’s personable, easy to get along with and always has a nugget of positivity to impart. He touts himself as a life learner and this quest to learn something new daily is a critical component of his personal self-development regimen. His core gifts are serving and helping his clients and constituents achieve extraordinary outcomes by releasing mindset limitations. 

https://linktr.ee/yourthoughtlife

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