About me
Sam Merrell has been the Chief Information Security Officer at Kennametal, Inc. since 2021, leading the maturation of its global Security and Compliance program to protect manufacturing operations and meet complex regulatory requirements. Previously, he was Head of Cyber Intelligence at Covestro AG, where he also served as President of the American Chemistry Council Cybersecurity Committee. Before that, he led the Corporate Cyber Defense Center at Bayer Corporation and worked at the CERT Program at Carnegie Mellon's Software Engineering Institute. Merrell has collaborated with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, aiding Critical Infrastructure owners in enhancing cybersecurity, and has supported the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Air Force in strengthening enterprise security. He holds an MS in Information Security and Assurance from Carnegie Mellon University, along with CISSP, SANS, and ITIL certifications. He has served as an Executive Writer’s Bureau member, an officer in (ISC)²’s Pittsburgh chapter, and on (ISC)² scholarship review panels. In 2022 and 2024, he was a finalist for the Pittsburgh Technology Council's CISO of the Year award.
