Reporting on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity means separating meaningful change from marketing claims—and translating technical complexity into decisions people can understand. For journalists, producers, and event organizers, the right conversation starts with a clear question, relevant expertise, and reliable background information.
Bart McDonough is an entrepreneur, AI and cybersecurity strategist, author, keynote speaker, and the founder and former CEO of Agio. This resource brings together media contacts, biographical information, selected coverage, books, and suggested interview topics to help you prepare a focused request and verify information before publication.
Media Inquiries and Speaking Requests
For interviews, written commentary, or background-conversation requests, email contact@bartmcd.com, the contact address published on Bart’s official website. For keynote and event inquiries, email speaking@bartmcd.com, listed on his speaking page. Confirm availability and arrangements directly.
A useful initial request includes:
- Who you are: Your name, outlet or organization, role, and contact information.
- The story or session: Your proposed angle, intended audience, and questions you want to explore.
- The deadline: Include the date, time, and time zone.
- The format: Live, recorded, written Q&A, or a requested background conversation.
- The schedule: Expected duration and proposed interview or event dates.
- Supporting materials: Any biography, headshot, book image, or other asset you need.
Suggested subject line: Media inquiry: [Outlet] — [Topic] — deadline [Date, time zone]
For speaking requests, also include the event location, audience size and roles, session format, recording plans, and budget. These details help clarify fit; they are suggested briefing information, not stated booking requirements.
Practical example: Rather than requesting a general interview about AI, explain that your story examines how business leaders evaluate employee use of generative AI. Identify whether you need discussion of data privacy, governance, implementation, or all three.
Background for Journalists and Producers
Short Biography
Bart McDonough is an entrepreneur, AI and cybersecurity strategist, author, and keynote speaker. He founded Agio and formerly served as its CEO. He is the author of Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals and Cyber Guardians: Empowering Board Members for Effective Cybersecurity. His work addresses technology leadership, personal digital safety, organizational cybersecurity oversight, and the relationship between AI, privacy, and trust. See his official biography for background.
Using Current Titles Accurately
Older interviews and biographies may identify McDonough as Agio’s CEO. Netrio’s May 21, 2025 acquisition announcement identifies him as Agio’s founder and CEO at that time. That historical description should not automatically become a present-day broadcast introduction.
For new coverage or event materials, confirm current affiliations and the preferred introduction directly. Distinguish a role held when a statement was made from a role held when your story is published.
Suggested Interview and Event Topics
The following angles align with subjects described on Bart’s speaking page. They are proposed editorial questions, not quotations, confirmed session titles, or promises of availability.
Boardroom Cybersecurity
Question to explore: What evidence should directors request to understand whether an organization can withstand a cyber incident?
A useful discussion can move beyond technical dashboards to business disruption, recovery readiness, accountability, and third-party dependencies. For a board audience, focus on oversight decisions rather than asking directors to act as security engineers.
AI, Privacy, and Trust
Question to explore: How should leaders weigh AI’s potential benefits against privacy and security risks?
Make the discussion concrete by choosing a workflow, such as summarizing internal documents or drafting customer communications. That creates room to examine what information enters a system, who can access it, and where human review remains necessary.
Security Culture and Everyday Behavior
Question to explore: How can organizations make secure behavior easier without placing all responsibility on employees?
This angle connects leadership, usable processes, and employee education. For consumer coverage, a related discussion can explore how families turn security advice into repeatable habits rather than an overwhelming list of warnings.
Digital Transformation and Technology Leadership
Question to explore: Which questions should an organization resolve before moving critical work to cloud services or adopting AI-enabled tools?
Useful follow-ups include ownership, access controls, vendor dependencies, and continuity planning. The central tradeoff is not simply innovation versus caution: it is how to pursue useful change while making risks and responsibilities explicit.
Selected Coverage and Company Announcements
These resources offer starting points for reporting and interview preparation. They are selected background materials, not an exhaustive appearance history or a list of recent interviews.
Netrio’s Acquisition of Agio
Company announcement — May 21, 2025. Netrio announced its acquisition of Agio, describing Agio’s financial-services focus and the addition of cybersecurity expertise and an AI-powered IT delivery platform. The release includes comments from McDonough and provides primary-source context for the transaction.
Read the acquisition announcement. Treat it as a company-issued release, not independent editorial coverage. Use the original release’s May 21 date when citing it.
Yale School of Management Community Reporting
Yale News — April 27, 2022. Yale reported on executive MBA students supporting Ukrainian refugees, including McDonough’s participation and assistance with a platform connecting refugees with volunteers offering career support.
Read the Yale News article. It documents historical involvement; it does not establish the initiative’s current status.
Interviews, Broadcasts, and Podcasts
The official press and appearances index collects links to interviews, articles, broadcasts, podcasts, and talks. Use it to discover relevant material, then consult the original publisher or recording to verify dates, wording, and context before quoting.
Books for Interview Preparation
Cyber Smart
Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals focuses on personal and family digital security. Wiley’s book information describes an accessible approach to safer online habits and protecting accounts, identity, and money.
Suggested angle: How can people prioritize practical protections without feeling they must become cybersecurity specialists?
Cyber Guardians
Cyber Guardians: Empowering Board Members for Effective Cybersecurity addresses directors’ cybersecurity oversight responsibilities, including risk assessment and incident preparation and response. Consult the publisher’s book information for details.
Suggested angle: What should boards ask management that a compliance report alone cannot answer?
Use both books as background reading. Verify current laws, incident details, threat claims, and product instructions separately rather than treating a book as continuously updated operational guidance.
Choose the Right Interview Format
The format should support the story’s purpose and production constraints:
- Written Q&A: Useful when precise terminology matters. Allow time for clarification and follow-up questions; written exchanges offer less spontaneous discussion.
- Recorded audio or video: Useful for accessible explanations and conversational follow-ups. Clarify the expected length, recording arrangements, and intended use of excerpts or promotional clips.
- Live interview: Useful for timely discussion, but leaves less room to correct ambiguity. Keep the scope focused and distinguish established facts from unanswered questions.
- Keynote or panel: Useful for developing a theme with an audience. Define the desired outcome, audience knowledge, and whether the setting is educational, editorial, or promotional.
For breaking-news requests, share the source material and specific questions in advance where possible. General expertise should not be mistaken for firsthand knowledge of a particular incident.
Agree on attribution and recording terms before the conversation. A request for background discussion does not itself establish mutually understood terms, and background material should not automatically be treated as quotable.
Media Materials and Publication Checklist
Request current headshots, biographies, book covers, and clips directly. Ask for the preferred credit and permitted use; an asset’s presence online is not permission to republish it.
- Confirm the spelling of Bart McDonough’s name and preferred introduction.
- Verify current titles and affiliations.
- Check publication dates against original sources.
- Distinguish company announcements from independent reporting.
- Review original recordings before quoting interviews.
- Preserve the context of historical statements.
- Recheck statistics, legal claims, and technical instructions.
- Confirm image credits and reuse permissions.
- Clarify recording, attribution, and excerpting arrangements.
- Include deadlines and time zones in scheduling correspondence.
Start With the Question Your Audience Needs Answered
The strongest AI and cybersecurity coverage connects expertise to a specific audience need. Start with the decision, concern, or misconception your story should address, then choose the format that makes the answer most useful.
Send your angle, audience, and deadline to contact@bartmcd.com. For keynotes and events, contact speaking@bartmcd.com with the session goals and event details.