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334: From Special Ops to Cyber AI Warfare: Lessons in Grit, Leadership, and AI Cybersecurity from Snehal Antani, Horizon3 CEO

May 5, 2025

Snehal Antani, CEO and Co-founder of Horizon3, shares his inspiring journey from software engineer to cybersecurity leader. He discusses the powerful role of AI in modern cyber warfare and its transformative effects on business strategies. Antani brings to light Horizon3's unique approach to Red Teaming as a service and how AI can dramatically enhance penetration testing. He also predicts a future job landscape shaped by AI, emphasizing the critical importance of specialized skills and the human touch in tech careers.

43:44

Episode guests

Snehal Antani

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Quick takeaways

Snehal Antani emphasizes the importance of passion and grit in achieving success and overcoming challenges in one's career.

The integration of AI in the workforce is leading to a divide between those with specialized skills and those at risk of job displacement.

Deep dives

The Importance of Passion and Grit

A deep passion for one's work is essential for achieving success and personal satisfaction. The speaker highlights how loving what you do is vital, as it transforms work from a mere job into a fulfilling endeavor. This passion, coupled with grit, helps individuals navigate the inevitable challenges they face in their careers. Personal anecdotes, such as the speaker’s reflections on their father’s immigrant journey and tireless work ethic, underscore the significance of these qualities in one’s professional life.

Intro

4min

From Engineer to Cybersecurity Leader

18min

Red Teaming: Strengthening Cybersecurity Through Adversarial Insight

2min

AI and the New Cyber Warfare

9min

Striving for Unity: Overcoming Agency Disconnection in Policy Making

2min

The Future of Tech Jobs in an AI-Driven World

8min

Snehal Antani is an entrepreneur, technologist, and investor. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Horizon3, a cybersecurity company using AI to deliver Red Teaming and Penetration Testing as a Service. He also serves as a Highly Qualified Expert for the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting digital transformation and data initiatives for Special Operations. Previously, he was CTO and SVP at Splunk, held CIO roles at GE Capital, and began his career as a software engineer at IBM. Snehal holds a master’s in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a bachelor’s from Purdue University, and he is the inventor on 16 patents.

In this conversation, we discuss:

Snehal Antani’s path from software engineer to CEO, and how his father's quiet example of grit and passion continues to shape his leadership style.
How a “LEGO blocks” approach to building skills prepared Snehal to lead, and why he believes leadership must be earned through experience.
Why Horizon3 identifies as a data company, and how running more pen tests than the Big Four creates a powerful AI advantage.
What “cyber-enabled economic warfare” looks like in practice, and how a small disruption in a supply chain can create massive global impact.
How Horizon3 built an AI engine that hacked a bank in under 60 seconds, showing what's possible when algorithms replace manual testing.
What the future of work looks like in the AI era, with a growing divide between those with specialized expertise and trade skills and those without.

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