OPTECH 2026 Featured Speakers

Keynote Speakers

Matt Jones is President Trump’s nominee to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mr. Jones will be responsible for HUD’s policies, programs, and operations supporting the nation’s homebuyers, homeowners, renters, and communities. He will oversee FHA’s approximately $1.75 trillion Single Family, Multifamily and Healthcare mortgage insurance programs, HUD’s Multifamily assisted housing portfolio, the administration of HUD’s housing counseling program, and the development and oversight of federal standards for the design and construction of manufactured homes.

Mr. Jones currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the Office of Single Family Housing within HUD. In this role, Mr. Jones is responsible for overseeing the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance-in-force portfolio of more than eight million loans with an unpaid principal balance of more than $1.7 trillion. Additionally, he is responsible for managing all aspects of FHA’s single family housing operations including origination and servicing policy, quality control and lender enforcement, institutional risk management, and information technology strategy.

Immediately prior to joining FHA, Mr. Jones served as the Associate Vice President for Government Housing Finance at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), where he oversaw MBA’s government lending portfolio and managed the organization’s Residential Board of Governors (RESBOG). He previously served as Senior Advisor for Capital Markets at Amerifirst Home Mortgage.

From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Jones was a senior U.S. Senate staffer, serving as Senior Counsel to both the Senate Banking Committee and Senate Finance Committee under Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID). In this capacity, he played a key role in drafting and negotiating several pieces of legislation that became law, including the CARES Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, and the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Mr. Jones began his career as a Mortgage Loan Originator at Amerifirst Home Mortgage in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Mr. Jones holds a BA from the University of Michigan, and a JD from Georgetown University.

Chris Krebs is an American cybersecurity expert, attorney, and former government official with nearly two decades of experience in cybersecurity, public policy, and national security. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia before receiving his Juris Doctor from George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School. Throughout his career, he has served in a wide range of leadership roles across government, the private sector, academia, and the media, including CBS News, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Microsoft. He has become one of the leading voices in cybersecurity and technological policy. His work primarily focuses on helping organizations strengthen cybersecurity, protect critical infrastructure, navigate evolving technology risks, and build long-term organizational resilience.

Dr. Eric Solomon is a cognitive psychologist, leadership advisor, author, and founder of The Human OS, a consulting firm focused on helping organizations preserve authentic leadership in an increasingly technology-driven world. He is also an adjunct professor at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business, where he teaches marketing and AI. Prior to founding The Human OS, Solomon held leadership positions at major global brands, including YouTube, Instagram, Google, Spotify, and Bonobos. His work explores how people learn, make decisions, and use emerging technology, with a focus on how we keep the human edge in the age of AI. A recognized leader, he has published in major business and psychology publications, including Psychology Today, Harvard Business Review, and California Management Review, has delivered a TEDx talk, and advocates for a future where technology enhances rather than replaces human potential.