ASC3ND™ expands executive team to accelerate mission-focused cybersecurity innovation

The company’s entrepreneurial culture attracts cybersecurity and operational leaders from US federal government and Fortune 500

BALTIMORE, MD, UNITED STATES, October 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — ASC3ND Technologies Group™ today announced the appointments of Shena Cassell, Patrick Black and Howard Young, expanding the company’s leadership team to advance cybersecurity innovation at the pace of emerging threats. The newly appointed executives bring U.S. federal and Fortune 500 expertise spanning technology, operations and infrastructure protection:

• Shena Cassell, chief information security officer and director of critical infrastructure, previously served as chief information security officer and deputy chief information officer for cyber at Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, leading cybersecurity operations protecting more than 262,000 operational technology assets.
• Patrick Black, go-to-market chief technology officer and vice president of services, previously served as principal account technical lead on IBM’s federal team. He is an Army veteran with more than 32 years of experience connecting customer requirements, emerging technologies and service delivery.
• Howard Young, chief administrative officer and chief legal officer, previously served as chief people officer and counsel for CBRE Government and Defense Services, bringing over two decades of experience in organizational strategy, operations and enterprise risk.

With previous additions of Brian Hennigan and Deric Palmer, who joined ASC3ND after leading critical cybersecurity programs for the U.S. Department of Defense, the executive team is focused on turning operational insight into new capabilities.

“Threats, technologies and attack surfaces are changing faster than traditional security programs can adapt,” said Sarn Bien-Aime, founder and CEO of ASC3ND. “Leaders with this experience have opportunities across the cybersecurity industry. They chose ASC3ND because they can help set the direction, build new capabilities and see their ideas through to operational use. That entrepreneurial drive is essential to keeping pace with advanced threats.”

Over the past year, Hennigan and Palmer each built products addressing gaps they saw firsthand in how the federal government protects its systems and people. Their work demonstrates how ASC3ND gives experienced leaders the support and latitude to move from identifying a need to building a solution.

“Customer missions set our priorities,” Bien-Aime said. “This team understands the challenges firsthand and knows what it takes to deliver capabilities customers can deploy and sustain. Their experience will guide what we build, how we integrate and how we measure results.”

The expanded leadership team supports ASC3ND’s evolution as a systems integrator with proprietary products, combining the experience to recognize operational gaps with the technical capabilities to address them. By connecting customer requirements, technology integration and product development, ASC3ND aims to shorten the path from an emerging security need to a capability customers can put to work.

About ASC3ND Technologies Group

ASC3ND is a mission-ready cybersecurity company that integrates expert operators, trusted technologies and purpose-built innovations to achieve continuous cyber readiness. Its approach helps government and commercial organizations challenge assumptions, identify consequential weaknesses, reduce risk and validate security as missions, environments and threats evolve. Learn more at www.asc3ndtech.com.

Courtney Beveridge
Ascend Technologies Group, L.L.C.
+1 703-618-8205
Courtney.beveridge@asc3ndtech.com

Media gallery