Carol Glennon is a cybersecurity executive dedicated to strengthening the resilience of critical infrastructure through strategic risk intelligence, enterprise-scale reliance programs, and trusted public-private collaboration. As Senior Director of Cybersecurity at Walgreens Inc., she leads global security and enterprise resilience initiatives that safeguard one of the nation’s largest healthcare and retail networks. Her work ensures that more than 8,000 U.S. locations, supply-chain systems, and pharmacy operations can withstand and recover from disruptive cyber events.
Throughout a career spanning the retail, automotive, hospitality, and food-service sectors, Carol has built and led programs that move large enterprises from compliance toward measurable resilience. At McDonald’s Corporation, she guided global resiliency and security modernization efforts supporting tens of thousands of restaurants in over 100 countries. Her work unified incident response, business-continuity, and cyber-defense functions, establishing a model still referenced within the industry for operational continuity and brand protection.
At Walmart eCommerce, she helped modernize vulnerability management and incident-response coordination across distributed cloud environments, improving recovery times for customer-facing platforms supporting millions of daily transactions. At BMW Automotive, she partnered with engineering teams in Munich and Chicago to integrate secure-software-development practices into connected-vehicle systems, advancing the company’s safety and privacy posture during the rise of IoT and mobility technologies. At Hyatt Hotels, she led the establishment of a global data-protection and encryption program that safeguarded guest trust across more than 700 properties worldwide. Each of these roles deepened her conviction that cyber resilience—continuity under pressure, not just prevention—defines modern security success.
At Walgreens Inc., Carol’s focus has been on building reliance across technology and business ecosystems. She oversaw deployment of autonomous validation platforms and coordinated large-scale exercises that emulate nation-state tactics against healthcare delivery and supply-chain systems. Partnering closely with federal agencies and critical-infrastructure ISACs, she drives initiatives that translate intelligence into actionable defense playbooks for both cyber and business-continuity teams.
Carol’s service extends beyond the enterprise. As a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarist, she contributes to communications-security readiness and maritime-safety initiatives throughout the Great Lakes region. The Auxiliary’s mission-based volunteer model closely aligns with her commitment to InfraGard’s principles of preparedness, trust, and collaboration. Through both organizations, she helps link private-sector expertise with public-sector mission needs—bridging the gap between technical capability and civic duty.
A passionate advocate for workforce development, Carol has been a recurring organizer and mentor with the U.S. Department of Energy’s CyberForce Program, guiding student teams through national cyber-defense competitions that simulate the protection of critical-energy infrastructure. She also leads volunteer teams designing real-world exercise content that mirrors adversary tactics seen in industry, helping participants build analytical skills and teamwork under operational pressure. These experiences reinforce her belief that resiliency begins with education and that today’s students are tomorrow’s defenders of national critical infrastructure.
Within the professional community, Carol serves as a long-time member and mentor in Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). She has supported both collegiate and professional members, focusing on career navigation, leadership readiness, and representation in high-impact technical roles. Her mentorship emphasizes building competence, confidence, and networks of mutual support that strengthen the overall security ecosystem.
An alumna of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Carol earned her MBA with a concentration in cybersecurity in 2022. She recently spoke at Amazon in Arlington, Virginia, on the topic of Post-Quantum Readiness and AI Cybersecurity, sharing insights on emerging defense paradigms and the evolution of national resilience in the age of artificial intelligence.
As a candidate for InfraGard Chicago Board Member at Large, Carol seeks to help advance the chapter’s role as a trusted partner in regional resilience. She aims to expand engagement across healthcare, retail, and logistics sectors—industries vital to both local and national stability. Her priorities include developing more cross-sector tabletop exercises, increasing knowledge-sharing between InfraGard members and government partners, and promoting initiatives that translate national-level threat intelligence into practical resilience strategies for small and midsize organizations.
Carol views InfraGard membership as a unique opportunity to serve—where private-sector professionals, public-safety officials, and federal partners work side-by-side to protect the systems that sustain American life. She believes the Chicago Chapter has an exceptional foundation of expertise and is committed to helping strengthen its reach, programs, and member relationships.
Serving on the Board would allow her to combine executive-level experience with a lifelong commitment to public service, helping ensure that the chapter continues to grow as a vital force for preparedness, education, and national resilience.