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Information Security Executives Convene in Atlanta for Two Day Summit and Awards

Broward Health and Norfolk Southern Executives Recognized for Their Leadership in Information Security

Executive Alliance, creator and provider of premium leadership recognition forums and events worldwide, announced the finalists and winners of the 2009 Information Security Executive (ISE) of the Year Awards held on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at the Westin Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. The Awards recognize information security executives and project teams for outstanding achievement in risk management, data asset protection, compliance, privacy and network security. Eligible nominees represented the Southeast region including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Fernando Martinez, Chief Technology and Security Officer of Broward Health, was announced as the Southeast's Information Security Executive of the Year in front of his peers during the gala ceremony on Thursday evening. The judges were impressed with his vision for the future, ability to drive change and deliver results, and his information security mentoring in the community.

Finalists for the Information Security Executive of the Year Southeast Awards were also recognized for their achievements in the industry and were showcased during the awards program. In addition to Fernando Martinez, the finalists include:

--  Samuele (Sam) Ghelfi, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer,
    Raymond James Financial
--  Major Michael D. Kleffman, Deputy Chief and Chief Technology Officer,
    U.S. Air Force - Application Software Assurance Center of Excellence
--  Max M. Morris, Vice President, Corporate Information Security Threat
    Intelligence Services, Wachovia, A Wells Fargo Company
--  Mark Reardon, Chief Information Security Officer and IT Strategy
    Officer, State of Georgia - Georgia Technology Authority
    

As part of the evening's recognition, Lynden "Tony" Samms, Director of Information Security with Norfolk Southern Corporation, was announced as the ISE Southeast's People's Choice Award Winner. The award represents the nominee who best exemplifies information security leadership as voted on by the registered attendees.

"The two day program was a resounding success in terms of attendance, content, and celebration of leadership as the two winners received standing ovations," said Mary Lou Heastings, President of Executive Alliance. "The winners and the finalists exemplify what the information security industry is about in terms of vision, execution, and results."

The Information Security Executive of the Year Southeast Awards were part of a two day Leadership Summit which brought in top executives and their teams from across the southeast to discuss industry key topics, best practices, trends in the marketplace, and to celebrate the achievements of the twenty-two nominees.

"It was great to be able to connect with the leaders in the industry over the two day Summit and hear first-hand what is top of mind with them," said Marci McCarthy, CEO of Executive Alliance. "Congratulations to this year's finalists and winners for achieving success during these tough times."

About the Sponsors

The Executive Alliance Leadership Summit Featuring the ISE Southeast Awards 2009 is the property of Executive Alliance, Inc., and is brought to the business community by the following: Megabyte Sponsors - Fortify, nuBridges and Qualys; Kilobyte Sponsors - FoxT, Guardium, HP, Lumension, Marshal8e6, McAfee, Symantec and Trend Micro; Display Sponsor - GuardianEdge; Media Sponsors - InformationWeek and Infosecurity Magazines; Association Sponsor; The Metro Atlanta Information Systems Security Association (ISSA).

About Executive Alliance

Executive Alliance is recognized worldwide as the premier organization for creating leadership recognition forums that honor and celebrate outstanding achievements of executives in different industries. These forums facilitate deep relationships and provide visibility for executives and their companies while offering access and insight to the key people leading these industries.

Recognized by Morgan Keegan as the largest most widely recognized awards program for IT security executives, the Executive Alliance ISE Award Program Series includes these regions and cities, Southeast/Atlanta; Central/Dallas; Mid-Atlantic/Washington, DC; West/ San Francisco; Northeast/New York City; and North America/Washington, D.C. Included in the Executive Alliance series is the Data Center Executive of the Year Awards (DaCEY). For more information, visit www.execalliance.com, www.infosecaward.com or www.datacenterawards.com.