Bill Conner

Bill (F. William) Conner
Alma mater

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Princeton University

F. William "Bill" Conner is an American business executive.

Education and personal life

Conner was born and reared in West Helena, Arkansas. In his early years, he displayed "an interest in energy conversion".[1]

In 1981, he received his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in mechanical engineering and later earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1987. Currently, he lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife.

Career

From 1981 to 1992, Conner held positions at AT&T including senior engineer, operations manager and strategic planner.[2]

Conner held executive positions at Nortel Networks from 1992 to 2001. As the President of Enterprise Data Networks for Nortel, he managed its $9.1 billion (US) acquisition of Bay Networks. He also served as the first Chief Marketing Officer of Nortel, launching the global marketing campaigns “Come Together” and “What Do You Want the Internet to Be?”[3]

Conner speaking on global cybersecurity before the INTERPOL 79th General Assembly in Doha, Qatar, November 2010.

Entrust

From 2001 to 2013, Conner was the Chief Executive Officer and President of Entrust, a private software company that specializes in identity-based security. Conner was responsible for the creation and delivery of identity-based security software and services.[4] Entrust grew to profitability (albeit short due to its early focus on growth) and reached annual sales of well over $100m by the time of arrival of Connor to the firm in 2001. Connor shortly thereafter launched a restructuring effort and began to trim workforce annually in an effort to return the company to profitability. He launched a new business model focusing on product portfolios targeted to key verticals and geographies.[5]

Conner engineered the company’s acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2009,[6] and transitioned Entrust into a private firm. In December 2013, it was announced that Datacard Group had entered into an agreement to purchase Entrust for a reported $500 Million. Conner took on a consultant role during the transition.[7]

Silent Circle

On January 5, 2015, Silent Circle announced that its Board of Directors appointed Conner as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors effective immediately.[8] As CEO of Silent Circle, Conner also joined the Board of Directors of Blackphone.[9]

On June 17, 2016, Silent Circle blogged that Conner had resigned as CEO and would remain only as an "advisor," implying he had also resigned his seat on the Board.[10]

SonicWall

Formerly a division of Dell Software Inc., SonicWall was spun off and acquired by Francisco Partners and Elliott Management in June 2016.[11] On Nov. 1, 2016, SonicWall announced that it had commenced standalone operations, and named Conner its President and CEO.[12]

SonicWall states it is the North American market share leader in internet security appliances among small and medium-sized enterprises. In August 2016, SonicWall launched its Capture Advanced Threat Prevention Service, and has analyzed more than 4 million suspicious files for its clients as of Nov. 1, 2016. The cloud-based service uses multiple engines to help prevent attacks, and automates remediation techniques.[13]

Conner stated publicly that SonicWall will continue its relationship with Dell, as a reseller partner, and will continue its service areas focused on network security, secure mobile access, email security and encryption, and management and reporting. In a public statement to employees, Conner stated he wants to focus SonicWall on four areas of growth:

Cybersecurity and infrastructure global trends

Conner has been active in various public-private partnerships on cybersecurity, cybertheft and infrastructure security. He helped unveil the INTERPOL Global Smart eID Card and addressed the United Nations on global challenges in cybercrime in June 2010 [15] He co-chaired the Corporate Governance Task Force of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Partnership [16] He has been a member of the Business Software Alliance [17] and the Cyber Security Industry Alliance(now a branch of TechAmerica technology trade association) [18] He created and co-chaired the Information Security Governance Task Force of the Business Software Alliance [19] He is a member of the Enterprise Software Roundtable [20]

In February 2012, Conner took part in a United States House of Representatives committee on Energy and Commerce hearing to discuss cybersecurity threats facing the US and the role of public-private partnerships play in defense.[21] Conner has recently spent time discussing the effects of spear phishing schemes on weak authentication, notably the rash of attacks on media outlets, and the risks of insider threats.[22][23][24]

Publications

Awards

References

  1. ↑ CRM Magazine's Movers & Shakers
  2. ↑ Published profile of Bill Conner, referencing his career positions at AT&T
  3. ↑ Overview of Nortel marketing campaign "Come Together"
  4. ↑ Description of CEO duties and history at Entrust Archived November 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Published article in Sterling Hoffman newsletter, referencing Bill Conner
  6. ↑ Public information from Thoma Bravo describing completion of acquisition of Entrust, referencing Bill Conner Archived July 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-17/quandt-family-buys-entrust-in-shift-from-card-swipes-to-online.html Quandt Family Buys Entrust in Shift From Card Swipes to Online
  8. ↑ Silent Circle taps Bill Conner as CEO
  9. ↑ Silent Circle Appoints Bill Conner CEO
  10. ↑ https://www.silentcircle.com/blog/silent-circle-prepares-for-next-stage-of-growth-in-secure-enterprise-communications-market/
  11. ↑ http://www.informationweek.com/dell-software-businesses-sold-to-private-equity-firms/d/d-id/1325977 Announcement of spin out sale of SonicWall by Dell
  12. ↑ https://blog.sonicwall.com/2016/11/sonicwall-becomes-independent-security-company/ SonicWall media release announcing independent operations and leadership
  13. ↑ https://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/vn/press-releases/2016-07-27-customers-validate-sonicwall-capture-now-available Dell announces availability of SonicWall Capture Advanced Threat Prevention Service
  14. ↑ https://www.silentcircle.com/blog/silent-circle-prepares-for-next-stage-of-growth-in-secure-enterprise-communications-market/ Bill Conner statement to employees of SonicWall on company's official launch of standalone operations
  15. ↑ Introduction of INTERPOL Global Smart eID Card and address to United Nations on global challenges in cybercrime, June 2010
  16. ↑ U.S. Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Partnership, Corporate Governance Task Force Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ↑ PDF of report from Information Security Governance Task Force of the BSA, co-signed by Bill Conner Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  18. ↑ Published article on Cyber Security Industry Alliance
  19. ↑ PDF of report from Information Security Governance Task Force of the BSA, co-signed by Bill Conner Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ Information from founder of Enterprise Software Roundtable
  21. ↑ Cyber Security and the Private Sector
  22. ↑ How to Protect Against Cyber-Espionage, Bloomberg TV
  23. ↑ Protecting Petroleum, Fox Business Network
  24. ↑ ID security CEO: 'NYT' hackers did their homework, USA Today
  25. ↑ Conner, Bill. "The Value of Enterprise Privacy". The Guardian. The Guardian.
  26. ↑ http://texasceomagazine.com/departments/securing-digital-identities/ Securing digital Identities: Separating Fact From Fiction in Mobile Security, Texas CEO Magazine, March 2013
  27. ↑ "Dallas company arms Interpol in cyber wars, " Dallas Morning News, Cheryl Hall (author) Nov. 2, 2011
  28. ↑ Viewpoint: U.K. Breach a Precautionary Tale for U.S., American Banker, December 2007
  29. ↑ "Cybersecurity: Business Has to Enlist in This War" (co-author) New York Times, Nov. 17, 2003
  30. ↑ "Vulnerability on the Cyber Front," co-author with Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark, Washington Times, Aug. 19, 2002
  31. ↑ PDF from Frost.com detailing the award
  32. ↑ PCmag.com showcase of winning products
  33. ↑ Award and details on ICON Magazine website
  34. ↑ News story on awards and 50th anniversary reunion at NYSC
  35. ↑ Media release announcing 2004 Federal US award winners
  36. ↑ Tech Titans organization site, past winners
  37. ↑ Overview of Nortel marketing campaign "Come Together"
  38. ↑ CRM Magazine's Movers & Shakers


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