Our Co-Founders
Built on experience.
Driven by purpose.
Realis Solutions Group is led by founders who have built their careers on launching new technologies, advising organizations through transformative technology change, navigating complex risk environments, and building adaptable governance frameworks that embrace the pace of change.
Emily Soward
Co-Founder & CEO
Emily Soward is the Founder, CEO, and Chief AI Officer of Realis Solutions Group, with 15 years of technical, applied research, and leadership experience in AI. She has engaged on AI policy with U.S. and international cyber and national security leadership and collaborated with NIST, MITRE, OWASP, and ISACA. Emily developed AWS' global AI Security curriculum, led AWS' Securing Generative AI initiative and its AI Security & Privacy Professional Services portfolio, and co-founded AIRCTL, an open-source project making AI security training accessible to under-resourced organizations. A sought-after speaker and inventor, she has presented at DEF CON, MITRE ATT&CKcon, RSTCON, and other leading industry events.
Mike Reed
Co-Founder & COO
Mike Reed is a Co-Founder and COO of Realis Solutions Group, with a career defined by being present at technology's most pivotal moments — from launching Active Directory and Exchange at Microsoft, to the debut of the iPhone, to building partner ecosystems at AWS, and to the birth of the mobile device management market. Holding a Master of Science in Management & Leadership from Tarleton State University, he has spent decades helping organizations adapt to and adopt transformative technologies before they become table stakes. A co-author of Fortra's Guide to Secure AI Innovation, a sought-after public speaker, and a frequent podcast guest, Mike brings a practitioner's clarity to complex topics — translating emerging technology's promise into frameworks organizations can actually act on.