Eric W. Cowperthwaite

Eric W. Cowperthwaite has 30 years experience as a security practitioner and leader in both civilian and military settings. He was born in Sacramento, California, and raised in the surrounding communities. Eric spent 10 years in the US Army, serving in Germany, the United States, the Middle East, and Africa. Eric is a veteran of the Cold War and Operation Desert Storm

Eric is currently the Managing Principal of Citadel Services, a boutique executive consulting firm located in Seattle, Washington. Eric is directly responsible for company operations and finances, as well as executive engagements with customers. Prior to Citadel, Eric was the Vice President, Security & Strategy for Core Security, headquartered in Boston, MA.

Eric worked for Providence Health & Services as their first Chief Information Security Officer for 7 ½ years. Providence is headquartered in Seattle, WA, with over $13 billion in revenue, 33 hospitals and more than 65,000 employees. Eric also worked for EDS for ten years. He worked in US Government Services, Security and Privacy Professional Services and U.S. Consulting. He served as the first Information Security Officer of Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) and established a formal Information Security Program for them.

Eric is routinely asked to speak on security topics by a variety of organizations, including the Society for Information Management, Gartner, CSO Magazine, the Department of Homeland Security, ISSA, and SANS.

Eric’s recognitions include:

• 2008 Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders honoree
• 2011 SC Magazine named as one of The 5 Most Influential IT Security Thinkers
• 2012 CSO Magazine awarded a CSO Compass Award
• 2012 ISSA Information Security Professional of the Year

ISSA International Events Featuring Eric W. Cowperthwaite