Nicolas Heyer

participation in delegations:

FUTURE FORCES FORUM Future Forces Exhibition 2026 Future of Cyber Conference

Regional Lead - Military & Law Enforcement
Sans

Nicolas Heyer is the Regional Lead for Military & Law Enforcement at the SANS Institute, where he works with defense and security organisations on cybersecurity skills, workforce development, and operational readiness.
He began his career as a helicopter pilot and digital transformation officer in the German Armed Forces and later served in Afghanistan as a NATO chief negotiator. With a background in electrical engineering, he was also closely involved in the establishment of the Cyber and Information Domain Service within the German Department of Defense.
Following his military career, Nicolas held leadership roles at Google, Thales, Software AG, and other technology companies. He also supported a space technology venture in raising $50 million as part of a $200 million financing effort to deploy a private constellation of remote-sensing satellites. Most recently, he founded the digital lab of BIOTRONIK, a global leader in medical technology.
His work sits at the intersection of defense, technology, leadership, and organisational transformation. He focuses particularly on how mission requirements can be translated into the roles, skills, training pathways, and practical assessments needed to build credible and deployable cyber capabilities.