Sean Dobson
Details
Management of IS
Stevens Institute of Technology
2003 : 2005
Bachelor of Science - BS
Information Technology
Michigan State University
1996 : 2000
Industry leader
Portfolio company value creation, deal due diligence, and advisory
Cybersecurity startup advisory
Provide leadership to the board and senior management
Built the best cybersecurity program in our industry - from scratch
Designed and implemented a world-class data warehouse
Moved the entire IT infrastructure to the cloud
Cybersecurity, cloud, DevOps, infrastructure, helpdesk, software development
Built a team of 20 engineers
Focus on IT and cyber processes
2019 : Present
Wafra
Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer
Started as CISO and moved to CTO for a crypto custodian startup
Provided leadership both to the team and to clients
Public facing
Went from idea to building a cybersecurity program from scratch supporting 15 blockchains and over 200 tokens
Built and managed a software development team
Created a DevOps team and designed DevOps pipelines including coding the entire infrastructure
DevOps, infrastructure, helpdesk, cybersecurity
2018 : 2019
Digital Asset Custody Company (acquired by Bakkt)
Chief Technology Officer
CISO - built and managed security program with hands-on implementation and management.
Lead Infrastructure Architect and Manager
2009 : 2018
Blue Ridge Capital
Chief Information Security Officer
Created and managed security and infrastructure.
2007 : 2009
Trafelet & Company
Manager of Infrastructure and Security
2005 : 2007
Accenture
Senior Project Manager
Skills
Active Directory, Amazon Web Services (AWS), azure, Blockchain, Business Analysis, CEH, CIS, CISO, CISSP, Cloud Computing, Continuous Integration, Cryptocurrency, cyber security, Cybersecurity, Data Center, deal due diligence, DevOps, Disaster Recovery, Docker Products, Enterprise Architecture, Enterprise Software, FinTech, Hedge Funds, Help Desk Support, Incident Response, Information Security, Information Technology, Infrastructure, Integration, IT Management, IT Service Management, IT Strategy, Leadership, Management, Microsoft Azure, Networking, NIST, Private Equity, Program Management, Project Management, Security, Software as a Service (SaaS), Start-ups, Storage, Strategy, Team Building, Terraform, Value Creation, Vendor Management, Virtualization, SAN, VMware ESX, Storage Area Networks, Servers, NetApp, Microsoft Exchange, EMC Storage, Citrix, NAS, vSphere, Brocade
About
I have an obsessive passion for cybersecurity and a strive for perfection. As a CISO, I build programs based on threats, and focus on culture. As a CTO, I transform businesses and focus on data and collaboration. Over my 23 year career I have focused on cybersecurity but have been a helpdesk manager, security engineer, security manager, application security manager, devops engineer, server administrator, storage architect, web designer, Linux administrator, project manager, big four consultant, hardware repairman, CISO, and CTO. At heart I am a builder and defender and I always work hands-on.
Along with transforming and defending, I am a public figure and provide leadership to portfolio companies, senior executives, cybersecurity companies, and boards. My experience also taught me how to be calm during incidents and breaches.
My goal has always been to learn everything in the IT stack. What I learned over my career is that a focus on people and process is the key to success. A focus on process creates the well-oiled machine that ends up running itself. I pride myself on building and managing high performant and happy teams where collaboration and having fun is the centerpiece. As a leader, I work for my team.
You name the cybersecurity technology and I have probably implemented it. I have been implementing cloud environments from the beginning - both AWS and Azure. I have implemented most cyber frameworks, built DevOps pipelines, built and managed development teams, designed and implemented large-scale data warehouse solutions, and built multiple security programs and infrastructure environments - from scratch.
I do a few speaking engagements per year with last year being SINET and IVP Mindmeld, but my major focus is defending and transforming my organization and our portfolio companies.
My current certifications include CISSP and CEH. I have held other certifications in the past such as MCSE, A+, and ITIL. I received a master's degree in information technology from Stevens Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in information systems from Michigan State University where I also ran the internal helpdesk. This is where I began learning how to solve complex problems and provide leadership.