About the Authors
Gary Bahadur
Gary Bahadur is the founder and CEO of KRAA Security and has more than 15 years of experience in the information security and technology industry. KRAA Security protects organizations from threats through a combination of prevention services in areas such as application security, network security, social media security, operating systems security, and compliance measures. Gary was one of the cofounders and CIO of Foundstone Inc., a $20M security vulnerability risk management firm, conducting business development, corporate strategy development, client management, information systems development, consultant management, public speaking engagements, and security consulting engagements for Fortune 100 companies. Foundstone was sold to McAfee in 2004.
Gary was also Senior Vice President of Bank of America in charge of Global Threat Management and was a catalyst for delivering risk mitigation strategies. In addition, he was the president and cofounder of Ether2 Corporation, a manager at Ernst & Young where he developed security practices, and a senior consultant at Price Waterhouse. Gary is a frequent speaker at information security conferences. You can reach Gary at [email protected].
Jason Inasi
Jason Inasi is CEO & Creative Director of The Factory Interactive, The Digital Design & Marketing Agency. In 1998, he founded The Factory Interactive, a full-service digital design and marketing agency with a focus on convergent media. The Agency leverages the best of design and technology to create engaging and effective media campaigns. In September 2007, Jason launched Veridoo.com™ a rewards-driven, social network platform that has been white-labeled by corporate clients to create branded networks of their own. In January 2009, The Factory Interactive launched SEOtrack™, a comprehensive search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM) program designed specifically to leverage the power of online search and social media opportunities.
The Factory Interactive has won numerous awards, was recently honored as one of the Top 100 Minority Owned Businesses in South Florida, and is ranked in the Top 10 of Interactive Agencies by the South Florida Business Journal. The Factory Interactive’s corporate clients have included AOL Latin America, American Airlines Arena, Estefan Enterprises, Cable & Wireless, Coverall, Carnival Cruise Lines, and the Miami HEAT Group. Jason is an active board member of the Greater Miami Advertising Federation, an avid Twitterer, distance runner, and overall adrenalin junky.
Alex de Carvalho
Alex de Carvalho is Vice President of Business Development and Community at VoxMed, cofounder of The Startup Forum, Director of Social Media at Medimix International, and adjunct professor of social media at the University of Miami. During the past four years, he has founded and continues to organize regular South Florida web and technology meetups, including RefreshMiami (2,500 members), BarCampMiami (over 1,200 participants), MobileMondayMiami (500 members), and Social Media Club South Florida (1,500 members). Previously, Alex directed business development efforts at online media and mobile content companies and also cofounded a leading European application services provider specialized in permission-based direct marketing.
About the Technical Editors
Connie Valencia
Connie Valencia is Principal of Elevate Consult. She developed the evolutionary “next step” to approaching and implementing enterprise risk management (ERM). Her client case study for her new risk management approach was with the United Nations (UN) in New York. She has been asked by the outgoing chair of the North American Board of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) to participate on both the ERM Certification Committee and the Governance Committee and is currently negotiating with a large national publisher to design a risk management training platform.
Prior to joining Elevate, Connie served in leadership roles as Director of Internal Audit for a $2 billion real estate/assessment management firm as well as Practice Leader overseeing advisory services for the South Florida offices of Grant Thornton. Connie began her career with Arthur Andersen serving the Audit and Assurance Services practice. She is also a board member and former (two term) president of the Miami Chapter for the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and is currently overseeing the Caribbean for ten country islands. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and has her Certification in Controls Self Assessment (CCSA). Connie has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin.
Juliette Powell
Juliette Powell is a media entrepreneur, a community catalyst, and the author of 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking (January 2009, Financial Times Press). Drawing on first-hand experience as a social media expert and cofounder of The Gathering Think Tank, an innovation forum that connects technology, media, entertainment, and business communities, Powell writes about the patterns and practices of successful business leaders who bank on social networking to win. With her deep knowledge of the people and technologies at the forefront of social media, Powell has gained a solid reputation for discovering the latest developments and distilling their social and business implications. Her consulting services have been employed by corporate, government, and new media organizations, including UBS, the United Nations, the Department of Justice, the Department of Finance, Microsoft, The Knight Foundation, Research in Motion, and Cirque du Soleil. Juliette is currently working with the E-G8, a new addition to the G8 summit created to inform G8 leaders on the future of the Internet and connected society.