CompTIA ISAO Executive Steering Committee

Patrick Beggs

Chief Information Security Officer, ConnectWise

Beggs is a cybersecurity executive focused on leading global cyber operations. Beggs has more than 20 years of operational duties in information security spanning the commercial, federal civilian, defense, law enforcement and intelligence communities. Most recently, Beggs served as Cognizant Technology’s global cyber operations executive, where he led a team of more than 150 personnel operating across five countries. Prior to Cognizant, Beggs led cyber operational capabilities for AIG, Booz Allen Hamilton, Amazon Web Services and Bank of America. In the public sector, Beggs served as the first deputy director/director of operations at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC). Beggs is a former Army Infantry Non-Commissioned Officer and holds a B.S. in Political Science from Radford University.

Esteban Blanco

Chief Geek Officer, Blanco I.T.

ABOUT ESTEBAN
Esteban Blanco is a business owner and I.T. expert with over two decades of experience in the field of Information Technology. He is very involved in his community and a strong advocate for small businesses in Texas. Esteban is also a professional vocalist with a passion for travel. He currently lives in Arlington Texas with his beloved dog Madison.

GLOBAL OUTREACH
Esteban’s love of music led to his immigration to the United States in 1997 when he was invited to join the internationally renowned Celebrant Singers. He had the privilege of touring extensively with the musical group over the next few years, performing in 49 states and 24 countries. Blanco credits this experience with awakening an even greater compassion for those in need and a deep appreciation for the blessings in his life.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
Esteban promotes the empowerment of people through example, hard work and education. “My top priority is to empower people to get involved, work hard and pursue their dreams. We live in a great country where the American Dream is alive and well. All it takes is hard work, dedication and grit to attain it.” 

SERVING OTHERS
Esteban's dedication to helping others and effecting positive change has defined his life. Today, he runs an I.T. consulting firm (Blanco I.T.) that serves the technology needs of businesses and individuals. On a personal level, one of Esteban’s greatest ambitions is creating a world where all families can thrive through hard work and innovation of opportunities where people can achieve their dreams. 

PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Esteban began his career in the I.T. industry in 2001. His first technology job was with the Irving ISD as a Campus Technician. In 2006, he became a Microsoft Certified Engineer, holding several charter member certifications. Later, he worked for several years in the Fortune 500 realm, building datacenters across the United States as a Senior Systems Engineer. In 2014 he founded Blanco I.T. and quickly became a household name for many businesses in Texas, several U.S. states and other countries. He is also an elite member of the Dell Expert Network and a member of the Executive Steering Committee for the CompTIA Information 
Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO). The purpose of the ISAO is to focus on 
cybersecurity prevention and response worldwide. 

Mark Clift

Vice President of Information Systems, US itek

Mark is a technologist with over thirty years’ experience in the computer networking and cybersecurity field. Prior to US itek, Incorporated, Mark was an accomplished Master Electrician holding licenses in multiple Western New York Municipalities. In 1998 he started a consulting practice, Electric.com, that he merged into US itek in 2004.  As Vice President of Information Systems his responsibilities include engineering US itek’s Cloud, Managed IT, and Cybersecurity practice, as well as overseeing its Datacenter and Network Operations Center. He holds numerous certifications from Microsoft, CEH and CompTIA that along with his vast network security knowledge and business acumen empowers him to lead and mentor the network administration and Helpdesk teams at US itek.

Matthew Humphries

Managing Partner, Allied Technology Group, LLC

Mr. Humphries is the founder and Managing Partner of Allied Technology Group, LLC a nationally recognized IT consulting firm and Managed Service Provider (MSP). Since Allied’s founding in 2000, Mr. Humphries has served as lead consultant for IT projects and implementation, fulfilled IT strategy for several clients by acting as the client’s virtual Chief Information Officer as well as the Managed Service Practice lead for Allied where he developed a major portion of the IT service portfolio.

Mr. Humphries has over 20 years’ experience in the IT industry with a majority of that time spent as an IT professional and an IT service executive. Mr. Humphries has led many IT projects and initiatives for Allied’s clients including infrastructure build outs, Wide Area Network (WAN) design and implementation of unified communications platforms. Mr. Humphries has also managed an IT team dedicated to the ongoing support of small and medium sized commercial companies across a wide range of vertical markets including professional services, banking and wholesale distribution.

In addition to serving on CompTIA’s ISAO MSP Champions Working Group, Mr. Humphries has also held several leadership roles with the Arkansas Chapter of the International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners, including serving as a member of the IAMCP United States Board of Directors.

Chris Infante

Director of Engineering, Forward Edge

Chris currently serves as the Director of Engineering and Managed Services at Forward Edge, overseeing Managed Services, Cybersecurity, and the Network Project teams. With over 25 years of IT industry experience spanning the SMB, Enterprise, and Education sectors, he brings a wealth of knowledge to the table including building a successful MSP before joining the Forward Edge team where he has re-envisioned what success looks like. 

During his tenure at Forward Edge, he has been instrumental in building and leading a team that started with just two engineers and is now a highly skilled group of over twenty professionals. Over the past decade, he has played a pivotal role in driving the company's growth, achieving significant technical and professional milestones, he continues to ensure the highest levels of service excellence. In addition to his corporate experience, he has also dedicated time as an Adjunct Instructor for Kaplan College, where he had the privilege of teaching computer science. This experience along with a dedication to K-12 education has deepened his commitment to the development of future IT professionals. 

Corey Kirkendoll

President/CEO, 5K Technical Services

Corey Kirkendoll is the President & CEO of 5K Technical Services, a business committed to establishing solid IT solutions for SMB clients throughout the North Texas area. He has over 27 years of experience in the Information Services & Technology sector. He has worked in the past for IBM, Cisco Systems, Dell, EMC and VMware where he held various engineering and director level positions.

Corey is recognized by his peers as an IT expert. Through his leadership, his relentless focus on being process-oriented, and his commitment to delivering excellence in security and compliance, he has been a major influence on the rapid growth not only his MSP but other MSPs across the country as well.

Corey is a Tech Titan and has received numerous awards in the IT industry. He holds a Bachelor’s and two MBA degrees in Information Technology Management and Conflict and Resolution Management from Jones International University in Colorado.

He and his wife, Tonia, live with their three lovely children in Allen, TX.

Chris Loehr

Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, CFC Security/CFC Response/Solis Security

Chris Loehr has over 25 years of leadership experience in designing and delivering cybersecurity and IT operational strategies for the financial industry. He has proven repeatedly that he has the ability create strategy, lead a company to execute towards that strategy and have measurements in place to prove it. Chris has primarily focused on improving the operational capabilities of IT and cybersecurity organizations in the financial services sector. He has transformed IT organizations at multiple companies from being reactive and disgruntled to being high performing and possessing high energy. In his 19+ years in the banking industry, he has survived and thrived through the times of government regulation onslaught and the tight profit margins that threatened the sustainability of the banking industry.

Chris currently serves as Executive Vice President and CTO of CFC Security/CFC Response/Solis Security, a division of CFC Underwriting, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm’s Incident Response and Proactive Cybersecurity teams. Chris has spearheaded numerous improvement and optimization efforts for CFC Response. Chris is passionate about assisting small and medium-sized organizations through difficult cyber-attacks. He takes the approach that the response efforts are more than technical. They require an incident response firm that can understand the business and respond to ensure the business’s needs are met and the business is restored as quickly as possible.

Prior to his position at Solis Security, Chris previously served as an Enterprise Business Architect support the USAA’s efforts to grow and improve the USAA member experience. One of Chris’s major achievements was a solution that drastically reduced the time-to-market for large-scale business initiative through the creation of a common language model that took the business-defined requirements and translated them into IT requirements. This solution was then transformed into innovation effort to automate that translation for even quicker outcomes.

Prior to his position at USAA, Chris was the Senior Vice President of IT Operations for IBC Bank. There he was responsible for developing, implementing and overseeing all IT efforts around IT infrastructure and cybersecurity. Chris acquired much of his knowledge and experience relating to regulations such as FFIEC, Sarbanes-Oxley and FINRA compliance while at IBC Bank. He drastically improved the IT organization’s capabilities to deliver services to the business through implementation of service management capabilities and a focus on end user experience.

Chris has a wonderful wife, Nikki, of 25 years and five beautiful children. Those children completely eliminate the chance for Chris to have any opportunity to have any other outside interests.

Helder Machado

CEO/CISO, Machado Consulting

Helder Machado is the CEO and CISO of Machado Consulting, Inc., an information technology consulting practice, and Managed Security Service Provider, MSSP, based in Worcester, MA. Machado Consulting is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and was awarded the Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year Award for Massachusetts from the Small Business Administration. Helder is 32-year combat veteran and retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, LTC. He is an Iraq War Veteran and recipient of the prestigious Combat Infantryman's Badge and his last duty assignment was the Chief Information Officer, G6, of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Helder is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, CISSP, and has over 30 years’ experience in the Information Technology and Cyber Security areas. Additionally, Helder serves on numerous boards in the community and veterans organizations specializing in technology and cyber security.

Kevin McDonald

COO & CISO, Alvaka Networks

Kevin B. McDonald is COO and CISO at Alvaka Networks, a leading enterprise technology service management and cyber security provider in Irvine CA. He is Chair of the Orange County Sheriff/Coroner’s Technology Advisory Council (TAC), Chair of the Anaheim Police Chief’s Technology Advisory Group (CTAG), and a member of FBI Infragard and OC Shield. Kevin is a civilian member of the US Secret Service’s Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force, The Department of Homeland Security’s Los Angeles Area unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) Working Group and The High Technology Crime Investigators Association (HTCIA). Kevin is a highly trusted security and public policy advisor. He consults with both for profit and not-for-profit organizations’ providing advice and guidance to executives, legislators, law enforcement, high net worth individuals and other business leaders. Kevin advises on personal, physical and cyber defense and incident response, regulatory compliance and enterprise technology. He is a sought after consultant, trainer and public speaker who has written for and/or been interviewed by dozens of technology industry and mainstream media, national publications, television, radio and digital outlets. In his spare time, Kevin is a published young adult fiction author, screenwriter, Master Goldsmith and antique restoration specialist.

Rick Monnig

Founder, TechSolutions, Inc.

Rick Monnig founded TechSolutions, Inc. over 21 years ago.  He is currently serving as President and Head of Cybersecurity.  He has a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Delaware and certifications from Microsoft, Dell, Citrix, Symantec, VMWare and ConnectWise.  Things have changed quite a bit during his 27-year IT career, moving from a break fix model, to managed services and now towards managed security services.  He continues to adapt and lead his company with a new security focus moving into 2021.  TechSolutions continues to manage all aspects of their client’s technology, helping the SMB market move into this new era of Cybersecurity.

Bob Paradise

President, Attain Technology

The construction industry isn’t just about building things, it’s about having time to build relationships, and that means having a business that runs like a well-oiled machine. Robert Paradise co-founded Attain Technology because he saw that construction companies were frustrated with IT companies that didn’t understand their businesses, and put technology before people. Since 2008, Bob and his team have excelled at providing technology that is seamless and user-friendly, by listening to their customers and designing IT solutions that meet the specific needs of the construction industry. Bob believes that the core of great IT goes beyond just offering technical services, it’s about being highly responsive, putting people first, and empowering customers by connecting with them in a real way. With these values, Attain Technology has grown into a premier Managed Service Provider for IT in the construction industry.

Bob has been able to bring real solutions to his business because his own life has been a journey of paying attention to the lessons that life has to teach. He was fired from his high school job stocking groceries for not being fast enough, and learned that it takes more than just showing up to succeed; it takes hard work and commitment. The United States Marine Corps taught him discipline, respect, a focused work ethic, a get-it-done attitude, to be a team player, and overcome his fears; lessons that still serve him today. Working for 15 years for NDI International, a store fixture and display company, taught him essential business skills and skill mastery. He rose quickly from Cabinetmaker to Assistant Manager, then from Installer to Install Manager.

All of those life lessons combined in a pivotal moment in the 90s, when Bob realized the crucial role that technology would play in the world. Tech became an obsession for him, with all of his time spent learning the trade, completing IT Training for Microsoft at Glow Training Centers. After gaining a wealth of experience and honing his skills working in IT for Millwork One, a large architectural wood working company, Bob saw how IT could transform the way a business works in the construction industry. In May 2008, Bob partnered with the owner of Millwork One to co-found Attain Technology, growing the business year over year with a focus on putting people first and providing top-notch technology solutions.

Bob has lived in Worcester for over 30 years, whenever he can get away from a computer screen, he spends his time out on the water. He and his wife Melanie are avid sailors and along with their crew, a beagle named Buddy, and a hound mix named Rocky, they enjoy sailing with friends and family. They named their 41’ Sailboat “Beach House” because they feel right at home whenever they’re aboard. Favorite places to relax on or near the water are Clearwater/ St. Pete Beach and Fort De Soto in Florida and Narragansett Bay Newport, Rhode Island.

Joshua Peskay

vCIO, RoundTable Technology

Joshua Peskay is an accomplished technology leader with more than two decades of experience leading technology change for over a thousand nonprofit organizations. Joshua helps nonprofits solve hard problems through effective use of technology. 

In recent years, Joshua has been focusing on cybersecurity in the nonprofit sector, working with at-risk organizations to address digital security challenges and providing cybersecurity training and awareness programs to thousands of nonprofit personnel.

Adam Preeo

VP of Product Management, Axcient

Sagar Samtani

Assistant Professor and Grant Thornton Scholar, Indiana University Kelley School of Business

Dr. Sagar Samtani is an Assistant Professor and Grant Thornton Scholar in the Department of Operations and Decision Technologies at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (IU). He is also a Fellow within the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at IU. Samtani graduated with his Ph.D. in May 2018 from the Artificial Intelligence Lab in University of Arizona’s Management Information Systems (MIS) department at the University of Arizona. From 2014 – 2017, Samtani served as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarship-for-Service (SFS) Fellow. Samtani’s research centers around Explainable Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity and cyber threat intelligence. Selected recent topics include deep learning, network science, and text mining approaches for smart vulnerability assessment, scientific cyberinfrastructure security, and Dark Web analytics. Samtani has published over three dozen journal and conference papers on these topics in leading venues such as MIS Quarterly, Journal of Management Information Systems, ACM Transactions on Privacy and Security, IEEE Intelligent Systems, Computers and Security, IEEE S&P, IEEE ICDM, and others. His research has received nearly $1.8M (in PI and Co-PI roles) from the NSF CICI, CRII, and SaTC-EDU programs. He also serves as a Program Committee member or Program Chair of leading AI for cybersecurity and CTI conferences and workshops, including IEEE S&P Deep Learning Workshop, USENIX ScAINet, ACM CCS AISec, IEEE ISI, IEEE ICDM, and others. He has also served as a Guest Editor on topics pertaining to AI for Cybersecurity at IEEE TDSC and other leading journals. Samtani has won several awards for his research and teaching efforts, including the ACM SIGMIS Doctoral Dissertation award in 2019. Samtani has received media attention from outlets such as Miami Herald, Fox, Science Magazine, AAAS, and the Penny Hoarder. He is a member of AIS, ACM, IEEE, INFORMS, and INNS.

Jason Slagle

Vice President of Operations, CNWR, Inc.

Jason Slagle is a 23-year veteran of systems and network administration. Having worked on everything from Linux systems to Cisco networks and SAN storage, he is always looking for ways to make his work repeatable and automated.  Jason has recently taken up a more active interest in cybersecurity, specializing in reverse engineering and binary analysis.

Jason is a graduate of the University of Toledo from the computer science and engineering technology program with a bachelor's degree in science. He is currently employed as Vice President of Operations by CNWR, an IT and infrastructure consulting company in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio. There, he supports customers in their quest to secure, automate, and generally improve their infrastructure and development operations. He occasionally serves as a part-time instructor at the University of Toledo.

Kyle Spooner

Director of Client Technical Services, IntelliComp Technologies

Kyle has been in the MSP space for over 8 years.  His passion for programming, data analytics and community has led him to his current role as Director of Client Technical Services with IntelliComp Technologies.  IntelliComp Technologies is a global Managed Service Provider managing clients in multiple verticals based in Baltimore, Maryland.  Kyle is also currently Vice-President and Board Member of MSPGeek, a free community of Managed Service Providers.  He joined MSPGeek in its infancy and along with several other administrators built the community to its current height of 16,000+ forum members and 7,500+ slack members.  Kyle also hosts a video podcast called “GeekCast” in which he provides product guides, vendor discussions, and thought leadership streamed via Twitch.tv and later posted to Youtube.

Natalie Suarez

Director, Strategic Partnerships, ConnectWise

Natalie has over 20 years of Software and Systems Engineering experience. She focuses on bridging the gap between client requirements and successful client deployments, acting as a liaison between client-facing and technical teams. Natalie brings experience in leading enterprise Information Technology projects from the private and public sectors, include Fortune 100 companies, Sharing Communities (ISACs & ISAOs), Department of Defense (DoD), and government agencies.

Vince Tinnirello

Managing Director, Anchor Network Solutions, Inc.

Vince Tinnirello is the Managing Director of Anchor Network Solutions, a Denver-based managed IT service provider, founded in 2002. He is a past Chair of the CompTIA Managed Services Community, a peer group facilitator for MSP Ignite, and very passionate about the IT Services industry and the service Anchor delivers to its clients.  Vince lives in the foothills of Denver, and when not working enjoys skiing, climbing, mountain biking and golf. He recently completed his goal to summit all of Colorado’s 55 mountains above 14,000 feet and to ski in Japan.

Marty Ward

Vice President, Product Marketing, Sophos

Marty Ward serves as vice president of product marketing for Sophos where he is responsible for worldwide go-to-market strategy, planning and marketing efforts for all business units.  He has more than 30 years of software industry experience in product management, marketing, engineering, sales and customer support.  

Prior to joining Sophos, Marty has had executive marketing and product management roles at McAfee, Symantec, Asempra, Veritas Software, and Sun Microsystems.  Marty started his career as an engineer at IBM before moving into engineering management.

Marty holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Pennsylvania State University.