Management Team
Rick Dakin, CEO, Co-Founder, and Chief Security Strategist
Mr. Dakin provides strategic management IT security program guidance for Coalfire and its clients. He has more than 25 years of experience in senior management with leading IT firms. Mr. Dakin combines an in-depth knowledge of IT controls with a comprehensive understanding of organizational needs and the rapidly emerging legislation affecting IT security.
After serving in the U.S. Army following graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Dakin began his management career at United Technology Corporation. Prior to co-founding Coalfire, he was President of Centera Information Systems, a leading eCommerce and systems integration firm.
Mr. Dakin is recognized nationally as a leader in IT risk management and information security solutions for regulated market sectors. He presents regularly to regional and national audiences on IT security solutions. He is a past president of the FBI's InfraGard program, Denver chapter, and a member of a committee hosted by the U.S. Secret Service and organized by the Joint Council on Information Age Crime.
Kennet Westby, President and COO
Mr. Westby is a founding partner of Coalfire and serves as its President, COO and Senior Security Strategist. Mr. Westby brings over 15 years of IT security and IT controls design and implementation experience to the team. His broad industry experience also includes application development, e-business and business process integration. He has served as COO for a global managed application hosting company where he provided both technical and operations leadership. Mr. Westby has also served as the COO and CIO for the world's largest pharmacy e-business network and portal.
At Coalfire, Mr. Westby guides the development of Coalfire's service methodologies based on IT audit and IT security best practices from COSO, COBIT, NIST and ISO. Mr. Westby has managed more than 200 risk-based compliance programs and IT audit engagements across multiple industries. Mr. Westby was selected as one of the nation's top 100 CIO's by CIO magazine. He is considered an industry leader in e-business and IT risk advisory, and has presented as a keynote speaker at some of the largest industry forums.
Alan Ferguson, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Mr. Ferguson guides Coalfire's sales and marketing team and account management practices. Prior to co-founding Coalfire, he served as Vice President of Centera Information Systems, a leading eCommerce and systems integration firm. Under his leadership, Centera was repeatedly recognized by Deloitte & Touché as a Fast 50 Award winner for companies with superior revenue growth.
Mr. Ferguson began his career with IBM, and has more than 25 years experience in delivering information technology solutions to enterprise and government clients. Under his sales and marketing leadership, Coalfire has grown rapidly and has successfully delivered more than 1,000 IT audit and information security engagements to public- and private-company clients throughout North America.
Tom McAndrew, Executive Vice President, Professional Services
Mr. McAndrew is an experienced leader with IT assessment and audit expertise in a variety of industries including financial services, healthcare, government, and retail. He leads Coalfire's professional services practice and provides oversight for practice development and service delivery across several regional offices.
He is a nationally recognized speaker and has presented on a variety of information security topics for state agencies, the FDIC, the FTC, and other information security and audit organizations. He is the current president of the Seattle chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Controls Association (ISACA), and holds numerous certifications in audit, compliance, and information security.
Mr. McAndrew has extensive experience in the federal government where he worked with information security and weapons systems for the Space and Naval Warfare Command, Naval Sea Systems Command, and the U.S. Navy. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a Master of Science in Information Technology from the University of Maryland.
Mark Lucas, Vice President, Managed Services
Mr. Lucas has more than 10 years experience in IT risk management and control architecture across multiple industries. As a Senior Security Strategist, Mr. Lucas leads a variety of projects and security initiatives, including financial services, healthcare, government, retail, and managed services. Mr. Lucas has managed SOX and PCI assessments and has designed full-scale information security programs. He has led risk and control assessment projects for a number of state governments and is a trusted resource for the security and metrics committee of the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC). At Coalfire, Mr. Lucas leads the architecture and development of online compliance management tools within a Software as a Service (SaaS) model. These tools have led to a number of patent applications, proprietary control frameworks, and a new model of business services within the compliance and audit space.
Mr. Lucas performed his undergraduate work at Illinois State University and his graduate work at Southern Illinois University. His certifications include Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP),Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA),Microsoft Certified Solution Developer for .NET (MCSD,) Microsoft Certified Applications Developer for .NET (MCAD),Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor (PCI QSA), and Payment Application Qualified Security Assessor (PA-QSA).
Christopher Lietz, Vice President, Marketing & Channels
Mr. Lietz is the Vice President of Marketing and Channels at Coalfire. In this position he manages marketing strategy and execution. He also oversees channel partner relationships. He has more than 20 years of consulting and client service experience in retail, healthcare, and consumer products. He specializes in educating clients on emerging technology and information security issues.
Prior to joining Coalfire, Mr. Lietz was a client partner at Fair Isaac (FICO) and the managing director of XOR, a web development and database marketing firm. Prior to those roles, he was an associate partner at Accenture. Mr. Lietz earned an MBA degree in marketing and finance from Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University.
John Rostern, Managing Director, New York Office
Mr. Rostern serves as the Managing Director of Coalfire's New York office. He has more than 29 years of diverse experience in audit, information security and technology. He has led the practice in delivering compliance services in areas such as the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, Sarbanes-Oxley and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. His areas of expertise include IT audit, technology risk assessment & management, IT strategic planning, architecture, information security, operations, applications development, telecommunications, networking, data center design and business continuity planning.
Mr. Rostern is a subject matter expert in the areas of data loss prevention, intrusion detection, encryption and incident response. Mr. Rostern received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration/Finance from Hofstra University and a Master of Science degree in Information Systems from the University of Colorado. He serves as the chairperson for the Long Island Forum Technology (LIFT), and is an active member of the Computer Security Institute, the Information Systems Audit & Control Association, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), and the InfraGard-New York Metro chapter.
Kurt Hagerman, Managing Director, Dallas Office
Mr. Hagerman serves as Managing Director of the southwest region and PCI Practice Director for Coalfire. During his 18 years in the field of information technology, he has held a number of positions including: Network Engineer; Senior Systems Engineer; Senior Consultant; Director of Sales Engineering, Customer Service and Test; and Security Evangelist.
His extensive experience and highly developed skills enable him to help clients meet a full range of information security needs. Since joining Coalfire, he has led or managed nearly 100 IT Assessment engagements primarily in the areas of PCI compliance and best practice frameworks. He has led several engagements in these areas for State, Municipal and Federal government and larger enterprise clients.
Mr. Hagerman received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Purdue University. He is a Certified Information Systems Service Professional (CISSP), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and a Payment Card Industry Qualified Security Assessor (PCI QSA).