Mike Johns

Senior Vice President Strategy and Operations

Michael ‘Mike’ Johns is the Senior Vice President for Strategy and Operations at GSIS and brings over 25 years of distinguished service with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS). Throughout his career, Mike has held leadership roles in some of the most high-stakes protective operations for U.S. government leaders, including the President, Vice President, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Treasury Secretary. His expertise spans the globe, having led or participated in protective operations in more than 75 countries, including high-risk locations such as Afghanistan, China, Israel, and Colombia.

Mike’s journey with the Secret Service included notable protective assignments for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, where he served as part of the Presidential protective details. He also led protective details for key U.S. government officials, including Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. His leadership extended to overseeing the operations and logistics for Vice President Mike Pence’s protective detail, where he coordinated with White House executive staff, medical personnel, military offices, and other critical stakeholders to ensure seamless security operations.

Mike’s career with the Secret Service culminated in his role as the Director of Outreach to the Public and Private Sectors, where he led initiatives focused on improving coordination between government agencies and the private sector. Additionally, as Executive Director for the USSS Cyber Investigative Advisory Board, he facilitated cyber incident response simulations for Chief Security Officers and Chief Information Security Officers at Fortune 500 companies. There, he worked to bridge the gap between cybersecurity and physical security, ensuring comprehensive risk management strategies for high-profile partners.

In addition to his public sector service, Mike’s background also includes significant work in data fusion and lawful intercepts, gained during his time as a Strategic Account Executive at JSI Telecom. In this role, he led global strategic projects, collaborating with U.S. federal agencies, international organizations, and corporate entities to implement advanced security measures. His focus on Latin America provided him with specialized insight into the region’s unique security challenges, further enhancing his ability to manage complex, multi-faceted operations.

Mike holds a certificate from Carnegie Mellon University’s Executive Chief Information Security Officer Program and is a graduate of Virginia Tech University. His commitment to service runs deep, as he hails from a family with a long legacy of public sector service. His grandfather served as the Assistant Director of the U.S. Secret Service, and his father was a Senior Manager at the U.S. Secret Service and played a key role in the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

A native of the D.C. metropolitan area, Mike now resides in Virginia with his wife and two children.