Mari Frank Interviews Larry Ponemon, Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute

Dr. Larry Ponemon is the Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute, a research ?think tank? dedicated to advancing privacy and data protection practices. Dr. Ponemon is considered a pioneer in privacy auditing and the Responsible Information Management or RIM framework. Ponemon Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of organizations in a various industries. In addition to Institute activities, Dr. Ponemon is an adjunct professor for ethics and privacy at Carnegie Mellon University?s CIO Institute. He is a founding board member of the Unisys Corporation?s Security Leadership Institute. Dr. Ponemon consults with leading multinational organizations on global privacy management programs. He has extensive knowledge of regulatory frameworks for managing privacy and data security including financial services, health care, pharmaceutical, telecom and Internet. Dr. Ponemon was appointed to the Advisory Committee for Online Access & Security for the United States Federal Trade Commission. He was recently appointed by the White House to the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee for the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Ponemon was also an appointed to two California State task forces on privacy and data security laws. Dr. Ponemon is a member of the National Board of Advisors of the Eller College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona. He serves as Chairman of the Government Policy Advisory Committee and Co-Chair of the Internet Task Force for the Council of American Survey and Research Organizations (CASRO). Dr. Ponemon was a senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he founded the firm?s global compliance risk management group. Prior to joining Price Waterhouse as a partner, Dr. Ponemon served as the National Director of Business Ethics Services for KPMG Peat Marwick, and was appointed Executive Director of the KPMG Business Ethics Institute. Dr. Ponemon has held chaired (tenured) faculty positions and published numerous articles and learned books. He has presented more than 500 keynote speeches or learned presentations at national or international conferences on privacy, data protection, information security, corporate governance, and responsible information management. Dr. Ponemon is an active member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, serving as founding member of the Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) Advisory Board. Dr. Ponemon is column editor for Computerworld, CSO Magazine, BNA, Dark Reading and other leading publications. He is a frequent commentator on privacy and business ethics for CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Financial Times, Business 2.0, Newsweek, Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, CIO Magazine, Industry Standard, Boston Globe, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, Forbes, Fortune, CFO Magazine, Red Herring, Dow Jones News and others. Dr. Ponemon earned his Ph.D. at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He has a Master?s degree from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and attended the doctoral program in system sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Ponemon earned his Bachelors with Highest Distinction from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. He is a Certified Public Accountant (active license in Texas). Dr. Ponemon is a veteran (Vietnam War era) of the United States Navy. He is married and has two sons.