2010 Conference Hours: Mon, Mar 15, 8am-5pm 2009 Free Show Hours: Mon, Mar 15, 10am-4pm

Speaker Biographies

9th Annual Event - The largest Business Continuity Planning event in the Northeast.

2009 Speakers Below - Check back for 2010

Al Berman
Executive Director
Disaster Recovery Institute International

Bio to come.

 

James Certoma
New York, NY

Bio to come.

 

Mike Denapoli
Enterprise Systems Engineer
Double-Take

Bio to come.

 

Karen Hughes
Director Homeland Security Standards
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Karen Hughes is director of homeland security standards programs at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). In this role, Ms. Hughes is responsible for the management and administrative oversight of the ANSI Homeland Security Standards Panel (ANSI-HSSP), a neutral forum that works to facilitate the development and promulgation of homeland security standards and promotes a cooperative partnership between the public and private sectors in order to meet the needs of the nation in this critical area.

Ms. Hughes also manages other security-related activities in which the Institute engages, such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Strategic Advisory Group on Security, and ISO Technical Committee (TC) 223, Societal Security.

Ms. Hughes had previously worked for ANSI in several capacities, first joining the Institute in 2001 as international program assistant for standards facilitation. By 2007, she was serving as program manager with a focus on U.S. participation in ISO activities.

Prior to rejoining the Institute in 2009, she was supervisor of the operations services division at the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies.

Karen holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Fordham University College of Business Administration.

ANSI is a not-for-profit membership organization that brings together organizations from both the private and public sectors dedicated to furthering U.S. and international voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessments. ANSI accredits national standards developing organizations and approves American National Standards. It is the sole U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), via the U.S. National Committee.

Paul Katzer
Sr Manager Worldwide Business Continuity Management
Pfizer

Paul Katzer is Senior Manager (Operations) of Pfizer’s Worldwide BCM group. He supports the deployment of Pfizer’s BCM program globally and is the Site Business Continuity Leader at Pfizer’s world headquarters in New York City. Prior to joining Pfizer, Paul was a Director at NYC’s Office of Emergency Management. At OEM, he was responsible for several major planning efforts, notably, the Citywide Incident Management System and the contingency planning for the 2005 Transit Strike and was involved in OEM’s response to numerous citywide emergencies.

Paul is a Certified Business Continuity Professional and serves on the board of the Contingency Planning Exchange.

Thomas E. Martin
Managing Director
Eagle Rock Alliance Ltd.

Mr. Martin has over 30 years of IT management and technical experience as both a consultant and corporate executive. Mr. Martin’s early career included programming, systems design, consulting and data center management, which provided a very strong foundation in IT services. While serving in IT management roles at Sungard (Comdisco), Mr. Martin successfully pioneered many products and technology solutions for the disaster recovery industries. Mr. Martin developed the firms Advanced Recovery Solutions, in support of many Wall St. firms requirement for full data protection and “recovery to point of failure”, in the event of outages of all types.

Mr. Martin combines his IT skills, strategic management experience, product innovation and financial expertise to aid corporations that need to enhance the value of their IT investments and to enable more robust continuous availability architectures in support of Business Continuity. Mr. Martin is a Managing Director with Eagle Rock Alliance, a leading Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery consulting organization.

Tamara Nolan
Senior Associate, Commercial Resilience Practice
Booz Allen Hamilton

Tamara Nolan is a Senior Associate in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Commercial Resilience Practice with over 10 years of business continuity management experience. She leads teams globally in the design, development, implementation and maintenance of continuity programs for industries that include media and entertainment, pharmaceutical, logistics and utility. She also supported the development of continuity programs within the Environmental Protection Agency, National Communications System, Federal Communications System and US House of Representatives, and served as the primary author of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-84, Guide to Test, Training, and Exercise Programs for IT Plans and Capabilities.

Tamara holds a BA in German Language and Literature from the University of Virginia and an MS in Engineering Management with emphasis in crisis, emergency, and risk management from the George Washington University. She is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) through the Disaster Recovery Institute International.

Lisa Orloff
Founder, Executive Director
World Cares

Bio to come.

 

James L. Paturas, CEM, EMtP, CBCP, FACCP
Deputy Director – Clinical Services
Yale New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response

Bio to come.

 

John J. Ragusa, CBCP
Vice President
BNY Mellon Asset Management

B.S. Degree in Geography from S.U.N.Y.-Oneonta
M.A. Degree in Demography from Georgetown University
Current Position: Business Recovery Coordinator
Time in Current Position: 7 Years
Employer: Dreyfus, a subsidiary of Bank of New York Mellon Asset Management
Professional Organizations: DRII, Contingency Planning Exchange, Sungard Northeast Users Group
Certifications: Certified Business Continuity Professional

Scott Ream
President
Virtual Corporation

Bio to come.

 

Lisa Sciarrino
Managing Director
UniCredit Group, NY Branch

As Managing Director and Head of the Facilities and Infrastructure Group, Lisa J. Sciarrino is an integral part of the leadership at UniCredit Group, NY Branch. She manages the company’s Business Resumption and Disaster Recovery planning program including the management of a vendor-provided recovery site. In this capacity she is responsible for the development, management and maintenance of the bank-wide Business Resumption Plan including the Business Impact Analysis, the Business Resumption Handbook, employee emergency contact programs, the disaster recovery testing program, and the development of departmental Business Resumption Plans. She also manages the Bank’s physical facilities, insurance program and corporate policies and procedures including the New Product Approval Process.

Prior to being named Managing Director, Lisa served as an Accounting Services Controller for HVB Group New York (now UniCredit Group). In that role, she supervised the accounting and reporting functions. Lisa also managed the company’s Year 2000 project office and developed a compliance plan to ensure the bank’s preparedness for the century date change. Lisa is the Chair of the Contingency Planning Exchange and a Certified Public Accountant. She also holds memberships with the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs. Lisa earned a Masters of Business Administration from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the State University of New York at Albany.

Alexander C. Tabb
Managing Director, Crisis & Continuity Services
TABB Group

Alexander C. Tabb is the practice lead and Managing Director for TABB Group’s Crisis and Continuity Services practice. He joined Tabb Group following his tenure at Kroll Inc. where he was an Associate Managing Director in the Security Services Group. Prior to joining Kroll, Mr. Tabb had a successful 12 year career in the United States Foreign Service. As a diplomat in the United States Department of State, Alex served in such places as Lusaka, Zambia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Tuzla, Bosnia – Herzegovina; and New York where he served with distinction. During his tenure, Alex gained invaluable security, crisis management and project management experience serving as an official representative of the United States Government.

As a Foreign Service Officer, Alex served as both an Economics and Commercial officer in Eastern and Southern Africa. During his first assignment in Lusaka Zambia, Alex served as the Commercial Officer and assisted numerous firms interested in investing in Zambia. He dealt closely with the Zambian Ministry of Trade, and the Zambian government as a whole, where he routinely assisted foreign investors in dealing with the oftentimes-confusing local government bureaucracy.

Following his tour in Lusaka, Alex volunteered to serve in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where he was assigned as the Senior Economics & Commercial Officer. While in Tanzania, Alex gained first hand experience in dealing with complicated trade issues involving multilateral organizations, multinational corporations and the developing world. Alex assisted both the Tanzania Government and the U.S. Government on gaining a better understanding of the institutional obstacles involved with rationalizing, overhauling and improving the services available within the Tanzanian port system.

Throughout his foreign service career, Alex was involved with numerous crises and international organizations, these include the sub Saharan draught of 1991-93; the Zambian transition of government (91-92), the start of the Zairian Civil War and evacuation of Shaba Province (93); the Rwandan/Burundian Genocide (94-95); the Rwanda/Burundian Refugee crisis (94-96); the capture and rendition of indicted war criminals from the Yugoslav Civil war (98-99); and the United Nations (99-01).

Since his departure from the government, Alex has proven to be instrumental in providing critical consulting and project management services to his clients located throughout the nation. As a leading member of Kroll’s security services practice, Alex managed numerous security and risk assessment projects, as well as crisis management and business continuity assignments. He is considered an expert in the field of international affairs (with specialization in the developing world), crisis management & business continuity, international security and supply chain security.

Alex is a graduate of the American University where he received a B.S. in history. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Foreign Service Institute where he studied economics, security and international affairs.

Gregory R. Tellone
COO, Continuity Centers
Vice Chair of Chapters, Contingency Planning Exchange

Gregory R. Tellone, Founder and President of GTel Networks, is a well-known technology consultant, business owner, and speaker in the greater New York area whose illustrious career spans over twenty years in the technology field. He is the Chief Operating Officer of American Business Continuity Centers (CC) and was recently named Executive Chair of Chapters for the Contingency Planning Exchange (CPE).

Founded in 1999, GTel Networks is a very different technology consulting firm that provides business solutions and peace-of-mind to select firms. While working at McKinsey & Company in both business management and enterprise IT systems, Mr. Tellone became committed to creating a technology firm that provides its clients with a trusted team of advisors who deliver enterprise value. Through a marriage of business and technology and by building strong client relationships, GTel Networks provides effective solutions that address each client’s specific goals and needs. GTel provides services such as Business Continuity Planning, Hot Site Management, Server Virtualization and Hosting, Data Backup and Replication as well as Managed Services and OnSite Technology Staffing.

Mr. Tellone became COO and partner of CC in April 2003 and oversees business continuity design and implementation as well as ensuring client satisfaction. CC provides its clients with technology-based disaster recovery and business continuity services by utilizing the expertise of professionals at GTel Networks and has become the leading disaster recovery and business continuity firm in the area.

As Executive Chair of Chapters for the CPE, Mr. Tellone works in concert with the Board to bring enhanced value to CPE members as well as increasing national exposure via chartering of new Chapters. Established in 1985, CPE is a professional association dedicated to providing an open exchange of information related to business continuity and crisis and emergency management. CPE is regarded as one of the most successful organizations of its kind.

Mr. Tellone has been recognized in Long Island Business News and frequently speaks at technology and business continuity events. He supports several not-for-profit organizations and was a featured boxer in the 2004 Long Island Fight for Charity. An avid outdoorsman and environmentalist, Greg lives in Commack with his wife Carolyn, son Tristan Gregory and daughter, Noelle Rose.

Bert Wolff
Corporate Business Continuity and Security Manager
Vice President
Chubb & Son

In his position as Corporate Business Continuity and Security Manager for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies since 2002, Bert Wolff has been responsible for implementing a standard, worldwide process for emergency response and business continuity planning. He has also defined the roles/responsibilities for a Corporate Incident Management Team and spearheaded a training program for the team, which has included frequent tabletop tests. In his security role, he is responsible for physical security at Chubb’s worldwide locations, where his security oversight extends to such diverse issues as workplace violence, remote technology security and contract security. Prior to joining Chubb, Bert held a variety of positions over a 26-year span with Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers, where his responsibilities included assisting in the redeployment of personnel after the September 11 crisis.