Title: Agent Security Lead
Company: OpenAI
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Fotis Chantzis, MEng, Agent Security Lead at OpenAI, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Engineers for dedication, achievements and leadership in Technology.
Mr. Chantzis has established himself in the field of information security, marked by a series of progressive roles and significant contributions to the field. Since 2020, he has served as an agent security lead at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) research and deployment company based in San Francisco, California, where he is recognized for his expertise in building novel security and safety controls. In this capacity, Mr. Chantzis plays a pivotal role in advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) while ensuring that advanced AI systems remain safe and under control. His leadership and technical acumen have been instrumental in shaping the organization’s approach to security.
Before joining OpenAI, Mr. Chantzis served as a principal information security engineer at the Mayo Clinic and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research from 2016 to 2020. During his tenure, he contributed to the development and implementation of robust security frameworks that protected sensitive medical data and supported the institution’s mission of patient care, research and education.
Recruited by the Mayo Clinic from Nmap, Mr. Chantzis served as a Ncrack maintainer and network security researcher, where he was responsible for maintaining and enhancing one of the most widely used open-source network authentication tools. This position, spanning between 2015 and 2020, helped solidify his reputation as an authority in network security. Mr. Chantzis first worked for the organization from 2009 to 2010 as a software developer.
Mr. Chantzis held various other positions with notable organizations, including CENSUS S.A. as a computer security researcher, the Hellenic National Defense General Staff in Athens, Greece, as an information security engineer, and his alma mater, the University of Patras in Patras, Greece, as an engineer within the computer engineering and informatics department. Apart from these opportunities, he was an entrepreneur who co-founded and served as both a cloud engineer and software engineer at Lesspaper in 2012 and at PrimaVista from 2013 to 2015, both based in Athens. This influential tenure was instrumental in Mr. Chantzis’s ability to develop cloud-based solutions that addressed complex business challenges while applying his engineering skills to streamline digital workflows.
Mr. Chantzis’ academic background included completing his secondary education with a high school diploma in 2005. He then earned an undergraduate degree, followed by a master’s degree in computer engineering and informatics from the University of Patras in 2012. Mr. Chantzis holds several industry-recognized credentials that underscore his commitment to excellence. He is an offensive security certified professional from OffSec Services Limited, a certified information systems security professional through the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), and an offensive security certified expert from OffSec Services Limited. These credentials reflect both his technical proficiency and dedication to ongoing professional development.
Beyond work, Mr. Chantzis’s professional affiliations include membership with ISC2, which connects him with other leaders committed to advancing best practices in information security. A well-written author, he has contributed his expertise through the publication of “Practical IoT Hacking: The Definitive Guide to Attacking the Internet of Things,” by No Starch Press in 2021. This publication stands as his most notable achievement and is widely regarded as an authoritative resource within the cybersecurity community. Mr. Chantzis has also contributed articles to Aition Magazine, sharing insights on technology and security trends.
Throughout his career, Mr. Chantzis has consistently demonstrated resilience and grit, which he attributes to his success in the demanding technology sector. Looking ahead, he intends to continue contributing to OpenAI by advancing AGI, with the overarching goal of achieving artificial superintelligence while ensuring its safety for society as a whole.
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