Cyber-Physical Security: Bridging the Gap Between IT and Physical Security

Pierre Bourgeix
CEO and Founder
ESI Convergent

Pierre Bourgeix is the CEO and founder of ESI Convergent. He has spent 30 years as a global security consultant and innovator through his experience with The Rand Corporation, the US State Department, ADT/Tyco Security, HySecurity, Wallace International, SecureState, and BoonEdam. Currently, Pierre is the CTO and Founder of ESI Convergent, LLC.

Pierre’s primary expertise is in physical and cyber security governance, and he has years of experience within the physical security arena, including experience working with the US Secret Service, the NSA, and the CIA. Projects include a forensic security assessment for Saudi Aramco and a forward base security assessment in radar detection, geo-fencing, and communications testing for the U.S. Navy in Iraq and Kuwait. Pierre also helped the Saudi government implement long-range video surveillance, gate and fence control systems, and ground sensing systems on the Saudi Arabian border.

From a strong foundation in the physical security, barrier, and gate control industry, Pierre’s path has grown to include electronic security, managed services security, and the IT and cybersecurity arena. He has spoken globally at conferences, manufacturing events, and association meetings. Pierre is a highly regarded thought leader in the convergence of IT, OT, and Physical Security and is a renowned expert in integrating converged technology platforms, ranging from large manufacturers to utility companies such as First Energy.  He is currently creating security standards for testing products, systems, and solutions. Additionally, Pierre is developing a model that will explain the converged security Kill chain, which will lead to the need for proper predictive analytics across IT, OT, and Physical Security and the development of a converged standard.

Rodney Thayer
Security Consultant
Smithee Solutions LLC

Rodney Thayer is the Security Consultant at Smithee, Spelvin, Agnew & Plinge, Inc. He is a network security practitioner specializing in physical security systems. His “convergence engineering” practice evaluates, specifies, and successfully deploys network-attached physical security systems. He has a background in software development, specializing in network protocols and cryptography. He has written, lectured, hacked, and developed networking, cryptography, and embedded systems standards. He has decades of experience in the computer business and has a variety of clients, including large end users, manufacturers, designers, and integrators.

Steven Brown
Vice President for Strategy & Business Development
Prometheus Security Group Global

Steven Brown is Vice President for Strategy & Business Development at Prometheus Security Group Global (PSG). He is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, decorated combat veteran, and integrated security expert with more than two decades of unique experience crafting policy, strategy, and operational plans securing chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives materials and critical infrastructure worldwide. He holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and is a certified Project Management Professional and Scrum Master. In addition to extensive military and civilian experience supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. European Command, and U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, he managed an extensive nuclear security engineering and operations portfolio including research and development, design, and integration at Sandia National Laboratories before joining PSG in 2022.

Moderator: Steve Lasky
Editorial Director
SecurityInfoWatch.com