Local CEO Identified as Possible New CIA Director

The Washington Post and other sources have identified John Brennan as a possible replacement for current CIA Director Michael Hayden.  Mr. Brennan is currently CEO of The Analysis Corporation (TAC).  TAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Strategies Group (North America) Inc, run by Dr. John Hillen.  Mr. Brennan has had an illustrious career with the intelligence community, and serves as the Chairman of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, as well as an intelligence and foreign policy advisor to President-elect Barack Obama.  Read the full story here.

Secret Service chooses “Code Names” for the Obama family. 

The Secret Service is known for it’s creativity for choosing code names for those they protect (However, Al Gore’s code name was “Al Gore”) Click here to get the Obama codes.

White House Comes Under Cyber Attack

As we move past the furor of the election year, it is sobering to note that a blitz of cyber attacks continue on governmental infrastructures despite our best efforts.  According to the Financial Times, the computer network of the White House was infiltrated on more than one occasion, with Chinese hackers gaining access to official email correspondence.  Wired Magazine reported that both presidential campaigns were hacked. Seems like this is something democrats and republicans can all agree on.  Read more here.

The U.S. government is fighting back, unveiling a plan this past February for a National Cyberspace Strategy.  The new administration has definitely chosen to harness the latest in cyberspace, as evidenced by their unprecedented campaign.

On October 28th, 2008, the Potomac Officers Club was proud to host newly-named Obama Transition Team Chief Technology Advisor Julius Genachowski, and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.  Genachowski spoke to a crowd of DC area executives on the technological expectations of the new administration.  Click here to read more!

Top 10 most irritating phrases. Are you unknowingly irritating people?

In veritably blunt fashion, Oxford University has collected the Top 10 most irritating phrases.  Unfortunately, the corporate world is not immune to overuse of expressions such as the time-honored, “synergy.”   Is one of your favorite phrases highlighted?  Click here to find out!

Do you know Tom Grissen of Daon?

ExecutiveBiz recently had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Grissen, CEO of Daon.  Grissen stays focused on identity assurance, as he believes that the future will demand it.  In fact, as we move further in technology and truly break down the map-drawn boundaries, who people think you are will determine your access level in even the most mundane areas.  In an age which has seen cyber attacks on all fronts, including the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, cyber security remains at the forefront for both the government and corporations.  Tom Grissen addresses how Daon is tackling this pressing issue.    Click here to read more!

Knight Kiplinger Headlines POC Event

In a truly timely and powerful event, the Potomac Officers Club is proud to host famed business forecaster, Knight Kiplinger.  Kiplinger is Editor-in-Chief of the oldest economic newsletter in the U.S., The Kiplinger Letter.  Kiplinger is slated to speak on the troubled economic climate and how DC area executives can safeguard their assets.  According to Kiplinger, “The dynamism and heft of the US economy will be tested but not defeated.”  Register Here!

Tom Grissen has always designed his life around things he’s passionate about — and identity assurance is one of them. “To be successful, I fundamentally believe you must be energized,” says Grissen. “I have led thousands of staff in large divisions of multi-billion dollar companies, turned around struggling businesses, and most recently with Daon, have taken an early stage company to one that has customers on five continents.”  In the following Q&A, Grissen discusses what attracted him to the Reston-based company — “I saw an extremely talented staff, people willing to make bold decisions with the strength and stamina to be leaders rather than followers,” he says — plus he fills us in on the latest trends in identity assurance.

What are some of the major vertical markets you are in right now?

Tom Grissen: Today, our software technology powers national security systems in the US, Japan, Australia and the EU.   From this success, we have moved into regulated industries (i.e., aviation), where we have architected and our software powers systems such as US Registered Traveler and the nations clearinghouse for biometric background checks for 100 percent of the aviation industries in the US.  It’s starting to expand into non-government sectors such as banking and health care.  Identity assurance will shift to be consumer led and become ubiquitous across the government vertical in every region of the world.  Daon, from its inception, was designed to power these global systems.
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Reston-based Daon has recently been awarded the Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Line Strategy Leadership of the Year for their work in the biometrics field.

Daon’s CEO, Tom Grissen speaking about the announcement said, “This award further validates the selection that our customers around the globe have made in choosing Daon to provide the best platform available for secure, flexible and reliable biometric solutions. We are very pleased with this recognition from a respected global growth consulting company such as Frost & Sullivan.”

Why is biometrics such an important nascent industry? Head over to the IT Toolbox for a quick overview on the current state of biometric field. According to the collabortive IT site: “There are 20 different ways to get a password of any coworker and there is always a ‘good excuse’ and nobody can be held accountable. A biometric identity management system can protect and track tasks down to the field and execution level and a log file clearly shows who did what and when in the system.”

Check out the Daon product suite for a full list of their services and to watch a video of their biometric security in action.