Board
Barbara Adams
Senior Director, U.S. Market Development, Australian Trade Commission (Austrade)
Barbara has more than 10 years experience working with Austrade, currently focusing on Security/Defense, Technology and Consumer Electronics industry sectors. Barbara also has experience working for IMED Corporation, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Rockwell Collins – Commercial Aviation Division, and Leiner Health Products. She has extensive experience in the fields of international business development, new product development, introduction, product management, project management and market research. Barbara has an MBA from National University, San Diego, California.
Shirley Adams
Vice President, Technical Solutions for Accenture Federal Services (AFS)
Shirley is a seasoned executive with over thirty years experience delivering on-target action strategies for small and large organizations. She specializes in Strategic Planning, Operational Effectiveness, and Knowledge Management.
Her history with major businesses such as Mazda, Boeing, Airbus, Pratt & Whitney and the U.S. Navy have resulted in major team productivity improvements, achievement of multimillion-dollar milestones, and successful new profit-center launches. As a strategist for large and small business growth and management, Ms. Adams has counseled companies to industry leader positions by helping them broaden market share and improve profits. Her passion for getting the job done and her lead my example attitude sets her apart as being a leader of heart and strength.
As an accomplished author, teacher, and speaker; her leadership has been recognized by all segments of the business community and she is the recipient of numerous awards from both industry and government including: Crystal Airplane Award – Development of Innovation Solutions in the Commercial Aerospace Industry, San Diego Business Journal – “Women Who Mean Business” Award, Strathmore’s Who’s Who – Lifetime Honoree and the AFCEA International Leadership Award.
She has an uncanny ability to hone in on the underlying issues and deliver practical and insightful solutions that have immediate impact on cash flow, profitability and success.
Shirley is also involved with various professional organizations and industry associations, including the Air Transport Association (ATA), National Defense and Industrial Association (NDIA) and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).
Ms. Adams holds a Bachelors degree in Marketing and Business Management from Northwood University and is a resident of San Diego, California.
Stephen Bennett
Director of Business Development, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego
Steve is an assistant director of Scripps as well as the Executive Director of the Scripps Partnership for Hazards and Environmental Applied Research (SPHEAR). Steve spent over a decade as a meteorologist forecasting the weather and applying weather research for financial investing and media applications. Prior to joining Scripps, he served six years at Citadel Investment Group in Chicago. He was asked to join Citadel as part of a seven‐person team that built and launched Citadel’s Global Energy Trading business. Steve has worked in multiple roles from quantitative research (supply/demand fundamentals), to managing Citadel’s Weather Research desk, to Citadel’s Director of Reinsurance Research. Previously, he’d spent nearly two years at the Enron Corporation in the research division supporting natural gas trading. Steve spent the first half of his career working for a variety of consulting companies and media outlets including The Weather Channel, WeatherData Inc. and Weather Services Corporation. Steve completed his undergraduate meteorology degree in 1995 and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the John Marshall Law School in 2008. He is licensed by the Illinois Bar Association and is currently the chairman of the American Meteorological Society’s Energy Committee.
Mitchell P. Brook
Partner, Luce Forward
Mitchell Brook is a Senior Partner of Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP, a major California based law firm. Mr. Brook specializes in intellectual property law, including securing and protecting patents and technology. Mr. Brook applied for and registered the trademarks for our organization, including trademarks on “The Security Network” and “Fostering Innovation Through Collaboration”. He has been involved in the maritime and aerospace industries for over 28 years, starting out his career as an engineer with Rockwell International’s Space Technology division. Presently he handles strategic branding and technology protection issues for major companies as well as emerging companies. Mr. Brook’s law firm has provided legal assistance to The Security Network since its founding.
Maria Fischer
President, BienTech International (WID [Women in Defense] representative to The Security Network Board).
Mrs. Fischer funded and leads, BienTech International , a firm that provides engineering, sciences and business services solutions to USA and international customers in government, academia, military and commercial sectors-to assist on difficult problems involving communications, Information technology, intelligence, logistics and homeland security. The firm has been recognized by the San Diego Business Journal the Multi-Cultural Heritage Technology firm nominee in 2007.
Mrs. Fischer has received various business and community leadership awards from national and international engineering and community organizations including society of women engineers, International organization of women in Sciences. Mr. Fischer is a member of the Defense Industry Association‘s –National Small Business committee in DC, and the chair of the legislative committee for women in Defense WID in San Diego. Mrs. Fischer currently serve on various Boards including, San Diego State University school of engineering Advisory Board. Prior to funding BienTech, she has been active in the application of engineering and business practices to link and connect people and technology since 1980 - She gives back to the community volunteering her efforts to work on projects with international content promoting the impact of international cooperation for a better understanding and advancement . Maria holds a Bachelor degree in Industrial /Systems Engineering and MBA and is a Certified Wireless Engineer.
Michael B. Jones
President, ProFinance Associates, Inc. and The Security Network
Michael is President of The Security Network and the affiliated The Maritime Alliance. Michael is also President of ProFinance® Associates, Inc., an investment banking firm (Broker-Dealer firm – member of the N.A.S.D./S.I.P.C.) headquartered in San Diego that has focused on the security industry since its inception in 1985. ProFinance was the originator and Michael was Chair of the Securing New Ground™ conference (www.securingnewground.com), which is focused on the “Business of Security” and takes place in NYC each Fall.
Michael has sat on a number of corporate Boards of Directors nationwide. In San Diego, Michael also sits on the Advisory Board of the Entrepreneurial Management Center (EMC) and the Advisory Board for the College of Engineering, and lectures periodically in the Business School at San Diego State University (the largest university in San Diego), and sits on the Board of the San Diego chapter of the Marine Technology Society (MTS).
Michael was born in Germany and grew up in Arizona. He earned a Masters Degree from the Johns Hopkins University “School of Advanced International Studies” (SAIS). His graduate studies included a year in Bologna, Italy; a year at the Catholic University in Lima, Peru; and internships at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna and at the European Community headquarters in Brussels. He speaks five languages. He is a graduate of the FBI Citizens’ Academy and a member of the FBI InfraGard program.
William J. Riedy
Executive Director, The Security Network
Bill has been with The Security Network since 2007. He has an extensive management background in catering in San Francisco that has been a key factor in the successful organization of our multiple annual events. He also worked as a technical writer and consultant, providing marketing and administrative services to a variety of small businesses and management firms in San Francisco.
Bill currently serves on the Leadership Development Committee of the Slow Food Urban San Diego chapter and is helping to develop a strategic plan for this year-old non-profit. Previously, he served as the pro-bono administrator of an Adult Basic Education and GED Program for prison inmates in the Central Valley and as Outreach Coordinator for the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco.
Bill earned two master’s degrees from San Diego State University – an MBA and an MA in Latin American studies. He earned his BS in computer science at San Francisco State University, and he studied English and economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He speaks four languages, lived in Europe for 5 years and conducted extensive field research in Mexico for his master’s degrees.
Cindy Subido
Vice President of Brand Management, Blue Horse & Trumpet