| Michael J.
Assante, Vice President and Chief
Security Officer, American Electric Power |
Michael J. Assante is vice president and chief security officer for
American Electric Power. He provides leadership and develops and
implements strategies to enhance security for AEP employees; he is also
responsible for protecting and maintaining corporate facilities,
critical operating assets and property; and to ensure the security and
continued preservation of all corporate information and proprietary data
and the technology that supports it.
Mr. Assante joined AEP as the head of information security in April 2002
and expanded his role in 2003 to include physical security and business
continuity. Prior to joining AEP, he filled a critical position at
the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) as a reserve naval
intelligence officer. Based on his unique military and civilian
skills and experience, he responded to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and
reported directly to NIPC to lead the electric power critical
infrastructure assessment team.
He most recently served as vice president, Knowledge Products Division,
at Vigilinx, Inc., a leading digital software company. He had
total responsibility (P&L) for the company's entire suite of
knowledge-based services, products and operations, including the
company's product leader (IntelliSHIELD), as well as all information
technology and software development.
Prior to joining Vigilinx, he co-founded LogiKeep in 1997, where he
pioneered the concept of network security intelligence and served as
executive vice president and chief operations officer (until Vigilinx
purchased LogiKeep in February 2001).
He is a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer with experience in
information warfare and information security management.
Mr. Assante has been selected as one of Columbus' Top 40 Under 40, and
was awarded the Start-up of the Year award for 2000 for LogiKeep by the
Columbus, Ohio, Top Cat Awards. In 1997, he was named as Naval
Intelligence Officer of the Year.
Mr. Assante holds a Bachelors Degree in political science from Miami
University in Oxford, Ohio. |
|
|
Gerald Freese, Director of Enterprise Information Security,
American Electric Power |
|
As
Director of Enterprise Information Security, Gerald Freese is
responsible for defining, developing and executing all information
security programs involved in protecting AEP data and systems. He is
responsible for regulatory compliance and for meeting critical
infrastructure protection requirements for cyber security. Mr.
Freese has been instrumental in the development of the NERC cyber
security standards for the energy industry and is recognized as a
security and infrastructure protection expert who brings a powerful
combination of leadership/domain experience, technological vision and
strategy development to American Electric Power. He is the company’s
primary data security architect, and a strong proponent of industry and
government collaboration in developing critical infrastructure
protection strategies.
Prior to
accepting a position at American Electric Power, Mr. Freese was the
Director of Security Intelligence at Vigilinx, Inc., where he developed
an early warning and data analysis process to identify computer-based
threats and attack profiles. He is author of several in-depth
analytical papers on cyber-activities related to geopolitical threat
environments. Mr. Freese is a retired naval Cryptologic Officer with
extensive experience in computer security and information warfare. He
has held other leadership positions in the information technology
industry with Perot Systems and General Dynamics Advanced Information
Systems.
Mr. Freese is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
He holds a Bachelors degree from State University of New York (Albany),
and a Masters degree in Information and Telecommunications Systems from
the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. |
|
| James P. Reinmann,
Project Engineer, Dominion East Ohio |
|
James Reinmann joined the Natural
Gas Industry upon graduating from the Ohio State University as a
Mechanical Engineer. He first worked with Consulting Engineers
designing and building compressor stations for natural gas transmission
and storage stations throughout Ohio, WVA, PA, and Kentucky. He began
in piping design, and moved to Instrumentation, Control programming, and
Panel shop work.
Jim next took a job with the East Ohio Gas Company in 1993 as an
Instrumentation and Measurement Engineer. He helped implement the
latest generation of SCADA systems and instituted Electronic Gas
Measurement for Industrial and Commercial customers.
Jim now holds a position with
Dominion Delivery as a Project Engineer where he is responsible for all
remote RTUs on the gas transmission, distribution, and storage systems
owned by Dominion in Ohio. He manages Automation and Control projects
while maintaining and improving the remote field equipment for the SCADA
system. |
| |
| Greg Theirl, Area
Manager (Storage and Transmission), Dominion East Ohio |
|
Greg Theirl has twenty-eight years
experience working with high pressure transmission and underground gas
storage facilities. He began his career with the East Ohio Gas Company
as an Exploration and Development Geologist and supported the efforts of
the company to locate and develop new gas reserves during a period when
gas supplies were particularly tight. The combination of new gas
supplies and increased storage capacity alleviated the curtailment
provisions that were in effect during the 1970’s.
Following the stint as a geologist,
Greg moved into positions as a supervisor of gas measurement and field
engineer of storage operations. This practical experience in daily
operations led to a position as Manager of Gas Supply Planning. This
position was responsible for coordinating gas supply, gas transmission
and storage capacity and the load requirements of 1.2 Million customers
in Ohio.
Greg is presently Area Manager for
Storage and Transmission for Dominion Resources, Inc., which is the
parent company of the former East Ohio Gas. Greg is responsible for
approximately 2,000 miles of transmission pipelines in Ohio and
Pennsylvania and 10 storage pools with approximately 850 storage wells.
Gas pressures for these facilities range to 3,200 psig. In addition to
operating responsibilities, Greg works with Dominion security personnel
to implement security measures to protect the company’s critical
infrastructure. |
|
|
Alex Margevicius, Assistant Commissioner,
Division of Water, City of Cleveland |
Alex
Margevicius (pronounced: Mar GAV’ e chus) has worked for
Cleveland's Division of Water since 1986. He has been the
Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Division’s Engineering section
for the past eight years and is a member of The American Society of
Civil Engineers, The National Society of Professional Engineers, and The
American Water Works Association.
Mr. Margevicius attended Case Western Reserve University and holds
a Bachelors
degree in Civil Engineering and a Masters degree in
Systems Engineering. |
|
|
