Siobhán MacDermott

Protecting children in the digital war zone | Intelligence-led child safety strategist | Founder, TeenAegis | Former Vice Chairman, Bank of America | Author | Speaker | Professor | Multilingual Polyglot

Menlo Park, California, United States

About

I was Vice Chairman at Bank of America, operating at the fault line between global finance, technology, and cybersecurity—including confronting nation-state threats. Pissing off platforms is not something I’m afraid of. I’ve spent my career identifying systemic risk before it becomes irreversible. What’s happening to children online is exactly that. TeenAegis exists because the solution already exists. The same intelligence-led systems used to protect financial institutions can be applied to protect children. We drag their behavior out of the shadows—and hold them accountable in the light.

Experience

  • TeenAegis (6 mos)
    • Expert Witness - Social Media Platform Harm & Child Safety
      Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

      Expert witness and litigation support specialist in social media harm, platform product liability, and child safety. Developed and apply the Threat Assessment Intelligence Methodology (TAIM) — a proprietary platform danger scoring system that produces structured, Daubert-ready expert analysis of how social media platforms engineer harm in minors. Retained in matters involving MDL 3047 (In re: Social Media Adolescent Addiction/Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation) and related state court actions. Provide written expert reports, deposition testimony, and trial testimony. Areas of engagement include algorithmic harm causation, COPPA violations, platform architecture and design defect, CSAM facilitation through platform features, and age verification failure. Maintain full independence from platform funding — opinions are not subject to challenge on the basis of industry financial relationships.

    • Founder & CEO
      Jan 2026 - Present · 6 mos

      TeenAegis applies the behavioral detection architecture of global finance to the protection of children online — privacy-first, non-invasive, and built for the scale the problem demands. We publish the Wall of Shame Platform Danger Index, the Global Child Safety Law Index, and the US State Child Safety Law Rankings, holding platforms and legislators accountable through data they cannot ignore. Our free cybersecurity game for teens at play.teenaegis.com teaches children to defend themselves against the ten threats most likely to harm them online, with a Teacher HQ dashboard for schools and a built-in Get Help Now button for students facing real-world danger. The platforms will not save our children. We will.

  • President at Astrid Core
    Nov 2025 - Present · 8 mos

  • The Aspen Institute (8 yrs 1 mo)
    • Strategic Advisor
      May 2025 - Present · 1 yr 2 mos

    • Finance Leaders Fellow
      Jun 2018 - Present · 8 yrs 1 mo

  • Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow at Global and National Security Institute (GNSI)
    Jun 2023 - Present · 3 yrs 1 mo

  • Thunderbird School of Global Management (14 yrs 11 mos)
    • Professor of Practice - Global Strategy
      Sep 2018 - Present · 7 yrs 10 mos

    • Corporate Advisory Board
      Aug 2011 - Present · 14 yrs 11 mos