Michael DeBolt: From acting to cyber. [Intelligence] [Career Notes]

Summary

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CyberWire Daily — Michael DeBolt: From Acting to Cyber [Intelligence] [Career Notes]

Date: November 9, 2025
Host: N2K Networks
Guest: Michael DeBolt, Chief Intelligence Officer at Intel 471

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Episode Overview

This episode features Michael DeBolt, Chief Intelligence Officer at Intel 471, in a “Career Notes” segment. Michael recounts his remarkable journey from budding actor and would-be baseball player, through military service, to becoming an influential leader in cyber threat intelligence. He discusses his motivations, career pivots, leadership philosophy, and the foundational values underlying his approach to cybersecurity and team management.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Ambitions and Abrupt Redirection

• Creative Roots: Michael grew up aspiring to be an actor, attending a creative arts academy and earning a minor scholarship to Western Michigan University for theater.

  “I grew up wanting to be an actor. Actually, I went to a creative arts academy in elementary school and I just had this idea of performing on stage. I also had other dreams of becoming a baseball player and stuff like that. But cyber and technology was never really part of my mindset.” (00:57)

• Pivotal Moment: The events of 9/11 inspired Michael to pursue service, causing a rapid shift from theater to the military.

  “Then 9/11 hit. And I quickly realized that there was an opportunity for me to serve my country in a very meaningful way. And so I made the very natural shift from wanting to become an actor to now going into the Marine Corps as an infantryman within a very short period of time.” (01:26)

2. Military and Social Service Experience

• Marine Corps Service: Michael served as an infantryman, setting the tone for his driven, purposeful approach to work.
• Direct Care Counseling: After the Marines, he became a direct care counselor for children abandoned by their parents, a role that reinforced his pursuit of justice and service.

3. Entry to Cybersecurity and Law Enforcement

• Serendipitous Encounter: Michael discovered the Information Security and Intelligence degree at Ferris State University via a chance highway sighting.

  “I remember one day I was driving down the highway and I saw this billboard for Ferris State University and they were advertising for a brand new degree called Information Security and Intelligence. It was a perfect combination of technology, security and law enforcement.” (02:38)

• Academic Focus: Emphasis on digital forensics, combined with volunteer work at a county sheriff's office.

• NCIS Special Agent: Spent eight years specializing in cyber espionage and cybercrime.

  “I was actually the first one to stand up an undercover operation targeting cyber criminals who were targeting the Department of Defense.” (03:28)

  • Noted gap: Most focus was on foreign espionage, while cybercrime targeting the DoD was overlooked.

• Interpol Leadership: Served as US Representative at Interpol in Singapore, helping to found and lead their Cyber Fusion Center.

4. Philosophy of Leadership

• Servant Leadership: Michael centers his leadership style around humility, transparency, and empowerment.

  “It's all about being a servant leader for me. I'm far from perfect in my pursuit of this, but, you know, it's really centered around genuine humility. Maybe I don't know the answer, or I don't have the best solution.” (04:43)

• Vulnerability as Strength: He believes admitting uncertainty or mistakes strengthens team trust and collective problem-solving.

  “When your people see that you're willing to admit you don't have it all together as a leader, that you're genuinely relying on them as individuals and also as a collective team, that they're more willing to step out of their comfort zone.” (05:02)

• Decision-Making Approach: While acknowledging the executive’s burden of final decisions, Michael emphasizes the importance of collecting and accounting for team input.

  “Of course, being an executive, you have to make some tough decisions, but that doesn't mean that you don't ask for input from your team and take a pause and just say, hang on a minute... If we can reach consensus, great. But if not, at least everyone's input has been genuinely heard and acknowledged.” (05:54)

5. Legacy, Impact, and Force Multiplication

• Desire for Impact: Michael wants to create enduring value by empowering others to maximize their own contributions.

  “If people can look back on me and say, you know, he was the one that enabled me or equipped me to make an impact on my personal work, and then that cascaded down to my team's work... then if I can be that force multiplier and help with that, that would be a great result for me.” (06:42)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On changing careers after 9/11:

  “I made the very natural shift from wanting to become an actor to now going into the Marine Corps as an infantryman...” (01:33)

• On servant leadership and team trust:

  “You want to project this image of kind of having it all together... but when your people see that you’re willing to admit you don’t have it all together as a leader... they’re more willing to step out of their comfort zone.” (05:04)

• On multiplying impact:

  “If I can be that force multiplier and help with that, that would be a great result for me.” (06:42)

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Segment Timestamps

• Early life and creative ambitions: 00:57–01:26
• Military pivot and philosophy: 01:26–01:51
• Social service and route to cyber: 01:51–02:38
• NCIS and cyber operations: 03:16–03:53
• Interpol experience: 03:53–04:10
• Leadership philosophy: 04:43–06:05
• Vision for legacy and impact: 06:05–06:42

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Tone and Style

Michael DeBolt’s delivery is thoughtful, candid, and reflective, flowing naturally as he shares defining moments and personal values. His language is accessible, warm, and sincere, with a focus on purpose, service, teamwork, and impact.

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This episode offers not only an insightful career journey but also valuable lessons on adaptive leadership, seizing opportunity, and the personal drive that fuels a meaningful cybersecurity career.

Transcript

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Hello, my name is Michael DeBolt. I'm the Chief Intelligence Officer at Intel 471. It's funny and I'm not sure how many people know this about me, but they're going to know now. I grew up wanting to be an actor. Actually. I went to a creative arts academy in elementary school and I just had this idea of performing on stage. I also had other dreams of becoming a baseball player and stuff like that. But cyber and technology was never really part of my mindset. But that's kind of how I grew up. I actually had a minor scholarship to go to Western Michigan University to do theater. And then 911 hit. And I quickly realized that there was an opportunity for me to serve my country in a very meaningful way. And so I made the very natural shift from wanting to become an actor to now going into the Marine Corps as an infantryman within a very short period of time. For whatever reason, looking back on it, I feel like my life purpose has really been all about kind of this relentless pursuit of justice. I've taken some of those things that I've learned and those qualities and have been able to translate them into what I do now. But first thing I did was go into the Marine Corps right after high school and after that, fast forward two years I was a direct care counselor for children who were abandoned by their parents. Fast forward when I got out of the Marine Corps, I remember one day I was driving down the highway and I saw this billboard for Ferris State University and they were advertising for a brand new degree called Information Security and Intelligence. It was a perfect combination of technology, security and law enforcement. I ended up getting an emphasis on digital forensics and then did some volunteer work at a local county sheriff's office. And then I ended up getting a position as a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Spent eight years as a special agent with NCIS working predominantly cyber espionage and cyber crime cases. I was actually the first one to stand up an undercover operation targeting cyber criminals who were targeting the Department of Defense. So a lot of effort and emphasis had been focused on tracking espionage actors. How are they stealing our secrets? They're Russians and the Chinese. I realized there was a gap and no one was really looking at the cybercrime threat against the Department of Defense. And then from there went to Interpol in Singapore, and that's where I was the US Representative there and helped to build out and lead their cyber fusion center, and then ended up coming to Intel 471, which is where I'm at right now. Philosophy as a leader is actually very simple. It's all about being a servant leader for me. I'm far from perfect in my pursuit of this, but, you know, it's really centered around genuine humility. Maybe I don't know the answer, or I don't have the best solution. And. And that can be hard sometimes because you want to project this image of kind of having it all together, right? You. You want to instill trust in your team, because when your people see that you're willing to admit you don't have it all together as a leader and that you're genuinely relying on them as individuals and also as a collective team, that they're more willing to step out of their comfort zone. I feel like whenever I've fallen in the past and made some serious mistakes is when I've tried to take it all on myself and tried to kind of unilaterally make a decision. Of course, being an executive, you have to make some tough decisions, but that doesn't mean that you don't ask for input from your team and take a pause and just say, hang on a minute. There's some additional perspective here that I need in order to make this pretty big and tough decision. Again, realizing that, sure, it's going to be ultimately up to me to make the decision, and I'll take that one, but I want to make sure that the decision is, if we can reach consensus, great. But if not, at least everyone's input has been genuinely heard and acknowledged. I want to wake up every single day and do compelling work and have as much scale and impact as I possibly can with my two hands. And I have to realize that there's only so much that I can personally do. So if people can look back on me and say, you know, he was. He was the one that enabled me or equipped me to make an impact on my personal work, and then that cascaded down to my team's work, and then it's just this multiplication of a number of different people acting with their own skills and their own abilities to make a change in this world, then if I can be that force multiplier and help with that, that would be a great result for.

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