Bill Conner

Bill (F. William) Conner
Alma mater

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Princeton University
Occupation President and Chief Executive Officer
Website Silent Circle website

F. William "Bill" Conner is an American business executive with Silent Circle.

Education and personal life

Conner was born and reared in West Helena, Arkansas. In his early years, he displayed "an interest in energy conversion".[1]

In 1981, he received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in mechanical engineering and later earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. Currently, he lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife.

Career

From 1981 to 1992, Conner held positions at AT&T including senior engineer, operations manager and strategic planner.[2]

Conner held executive positions at Nortel Networks from 1992 to 2001. As the President of Enterprise Data Networks for Nortel, he managed its $9.1 billion (US) acquisition of Bay Networks. He also served as the first Chief Marketing Officer of Nortel, launching the global marketing campaigns “Come Together” and “What Do You Want the Internet to Be?”[3]

Conner speaking on global cybersecurity before the INTERPOL 79th General Assembly in Doha, Qatar, November 2010.

Entrust

Conner is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Entrust, a private software company that specializes in identity-based security. Conner is responsible for the creation and delivery of identity-based security software and services.[4] Entrust grew to profitability (albeit short due to its early focus on growth) and reached annual sales of well over $100m by the time of arrival of Connor to the firm in 2001. Connor shortly thereafter launched a restructuring effort and began to trim workforce annually in an effort to return the company to profitability. He launched a new business model focusing on product portfolios targeted to key verticals and geographies.[5]

Conner engineered the company’s acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2009,[6] and transitioned Entrust into a private firm. In December 2013, it was announced that Datacard Group had entered into an agreement to purchase Entrust for a reported $500 Million. Conner will take on a consultant role.[7]

Silent Circle

On January 5, 2015, Silent Circle announced that its Board of Directors appointed Conner as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors effective immediately.[8] As CEO of Silent Circle, Conner will also join the Board of Directors of Blackphone.[9]

Cybersecurity and infrastructure global trends

Conner has been active in various public-private partnerships on cybersecurity, cybertheft and infrastructure security. He helped unveil the INTERPOL Global Smart eID Card and addressed the United Nations on global challenges in cybercrime in June 2010 [10] He co-chaired the Corporate Governance Task Force of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Partnership [11] He has been a member of the Business Software Alliance [12] and the Cyber Security Industry Alliance(now a branch of TechAmerica technology trade association) [13] He created and co-chaired the Information Security Governance Task Force of the Business Software Alliance [14] He is a member of the Enterprise Software Roundtable [15]

In February 2012, Conner took part in a United States House of Representatives committee on Energy and Commerce hearing to discuss cybersecurity threats facing the US and the role of public-private partnerships play in defense.[16] Conner has recently spent time discussing the effects of spear phishing schemes on weak authentication, notably the rash of attacks on media outlets, and the risks of insider threats.[17][18][19]

Publications

Awards

A local Memphis paper Press Scimiter, named Bill Conner as "Teenager of the Year" in 1977.[26]

References

  1. ↑ CRM Magazine's Movers & Shakers
  2. ↑ Published profile of Bill Conner, referencing his career positions at AT&T
  3. ↑ Overview of Nortel marketing campaign "Come Together"
  4. ↑ Description of CEO duties and history at Entrust
  5. ↑ Published article in Sterling Hoffman newsletter, referencing Bill Conner
  6. ↑ Public information from Thoma Bravo describing completion of acquisition of Entrust, referencing Bill Conner
  7. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-17/quandt-family-buys-entrust-in-shift-from-card-swipes-to-online.html Quandt Family Buys Entrust in Shift From Card Swipes to Online
  8. ↑ Silent Circle taps Bill Conner as CEO
  9. ↑ Silent Circle Appoints Bill Conner CEO
  10. ↑ Introduction of INTERPOL Global Smart eID Card and address to United Nations on global challenges in cybercrime, June 2010
  11. ↑ U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Partnership, Corporate Governance Task Force
  12. ↑ PDF of report from Information Security Governance Task Force of the BSA, co-signed by Bill Conner
  13. ↑ Published article on Cyber Security Industry Alliance
  14. ↑ PDF of report from Information Security Governance Task Force of the BSA, co-signed by Bill Conner
  15. ↑ Information from founder of Enterprise Software Roundtable
  16. ↑ Cyber Security and the Private Sector
  17. ↑ How to Protect Against Cyber-Espionage, Bloomberg TV
  18. ↑ Protecting Petroleum, Fox Business Network
  19. ↑ ID security CEO: 'NYT' hackers did their homework, USA Today
  20. ↑ Viewpoint: U.K. Breach a Precautionary Tale for U.S., American Banker, December 2007
  21. ↑ "Cybersecurity: Business Has to Enlist in This War" (co-author) New York Times, Nov. 17, 2003
  22. ↑ "Vulnerability on the Cyber Front," co-author with Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark, Washington Times, Aug. 19, 2002
  23. ↑ "Dallas company arms Interpol in cyber wars, " Dallas Morning News, Cheryl Hall (author) Nov. 2, 2011
  24. ↑ http://texasceomagazine.com/departments/securing-digital-identities/ Securing digital Identities: Separating Fact From Fiction in Mobile Security, Texas CEO Magazine, March 2013
  25. ↑ Conner, Bill. "The Value of Enterprise Privacy". The Guardian. The Guardian.
  26. ↑ CRM Magazine's Movers & Shakers

External links

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