T.E.N. Names Wes Knight of the Georgia Department of Revenue the 2019 ISE® Luminary Leadership Award Winner

ATLANTA, October 28, 2019 (Newswire.com) - T.E.N., a technology and information security executive networking and relationship-marketing firm, announced today that Wes Knight, Chief Information Security Officer with the Georgia Department of Revenue will be honored as the 2019 ISE® Luminary Leadership Award Winner during the ISE® North America Leadership Summit and Awards on Nov. 13-14, 2019 at the Intercontinental Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, IL. Presented annually, the award celebrates the achievements of an outstanding leader and industry practitioner for his or her distinguished service, stewardship, and contributions in advancing the information security industry.

“Wes Knight is a significant innovator and pioneer in the information security and technology industry, particularly in the sphere of Georgia’s local government,” said Marci McCarthy, CEO and President of T.E.N. “His passion and continued contributions to Information Security and Cybersecurity, as well as his tireless dedication to helping others and fostering greater communication in his team and organization, makes him a true luminary in the field. He is truly deserving of this high honor.”

For over 4 decades, Knight has built a successful career in Information Security. He is an award-winning professional and sought-after speaker. The wisdom he offers provides significant value to his audience members. Knight commits to providing valuable lessons including actionable items that may be executed immediately to make a bigger impact in his audience members’ lives and careers.

Knight was recruited by IBM and based in Atlanta where he spent many years building his corporate career with the Fortune 50 legend. The lessons he learned and shared were significantly valued by everyone who had the privilege of working with him. Knight is known as a gifted leader and trusted mentor.

In 1996, Knight began his entrepreneurial journey providing consulting and training services to Network Security clientele. His agency developed a specialization with Assessments and Forensics. Knight is still a certified instructor in Ethical Hacking and Forensic Investigation. His student reviews speak volumes on the valuable nuggets he offers. Knight always goes above and beyond to deliver the content in a way that is easily digestible to all students. If a student is not grasping concepts, Knight knows and takes extra care to help those students during a break or after the class concludes. He truly cares about helping the CISO community build and develop their careers.

Knight was presented with an outstanding opportunity to work with Georgia’s Department of Revenue (DOR) 12 years ago. Throughout his tenure, he has fulfilled many roles. He is currently the Chief Information Security Officer and manages the DOR Office of Information Security. His department is responsible for maintaining the security of taxpayer and motor vehicle information that is valued at approximately $26 billion in annual revenue. Under his leadership, his team protects annual taxes and ensures that the DOR complies with applicable State and Federal regulations. His team is also responsible for the forensics required in DOR’s criminal investigations.

Committed to giving back and mentoring as much as possible, Knight serves on several Executive Advisory Committees including the Evanta CISO Governing Body. In 2018, Knight was awarded the Information Security Executive Southeast People’s Choice Award. This prestigious honor was voted and awarded by his peers. This award recognizes the ISE® Executive Nominee who exemplifies the attributes of a leader in the information security industry. Furthermore, the Georgia Department of Revenue’s CISO Sentinel Project—spearheaded by Knight’s outstanding leadership—was one of the Winners for the 2018 ISE® North America Project Award for the Academic/Public Sector. This award recognizes the projects that have a significant impact on an organization's risk management or information security posture.

T.E.N. will be honoring Knight with his award during the evening gala at the ISE® North America Leadership Summit and Awards on Nov. 13, 2019. Event attendees can earn up to 9 CPEs for participating in the two-day leadership summit, which will offer dynamic presentations and engaging roundtable discussions—led by ISE® Alumni—highlighting a spectrum of the industry’s most critical issues and innovative best practices. Read more online: https://ten-inc.com/ise/north_america/default.asp.

Wes Knight was selected by T.E.N. and previous ISE® Luminary Leadership Award winners, which include Ed Amoroso (2005), Stephen Katz (2006), Dr. C. Warren Axelrod (2007), Larry Brock (2009), Craig Shumard (2010), Rich Jackson (2011), Anne Kuhns (2012), William Murray (2014), Bill Boni (2015), Jim Routh (2016) Dr. Peter Tippett (2017), Roland Cloutier (2018) and Gene “Spaf” Spafford (2018).

About T.E.N. 
T.E.N., a national technology and security executive marketing and networking organization, facilitates peer-to-peer relationships between top executives, industry visionaries and solutions providers in the cybersecurity industry. Nominated for numerous industry awards, T.E.N.’s executive leadership programs enable information exchange, collaboration and decision-making opportunities for Information Security Executives and cybersecurity solution providers alike. Its flagship program, the nationally-acclaimed Information Security Executive® (ISE®) of the Year Program Series and Awards, is North America’s largest leadership recognition and networking program for security professionals. T.E.N. delivers ISE® Private Dinners across 48 major cities throughout the U.S. and Canada to create even more opportunities for Information Security Executives, professionals and security solution providers to Connect, Collaborate, and Celebrate.

About ISE® Award Program Series 
For more than a decade, the Information Security Executive® (ISE®) of the Year Award Program Series has empowered security executives and their project teams to Connect, Collaborate and Celebrate. Recognized as the industry’s most prestigious IT Security award program, it has become the most anticipated award program for security executives and their project teams. Winners have included executives and project teams from leading organizations such as Aetna, AT&T, Bank of America, Comcast, Cox Automotive, Ellie Mae, HMS, Jabil, PayPal, and SunTrust.

Source: T.E.N.