Ron Horn + Higher Education Technology

06/07/22 • 37 min

IT Matters | Tech Solutions and Strategies for Every Industry

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Ron Horn, Former CIO of Guilford Technical Community College (now VP IT of YMCA of Greater Charlotte).

Conversation Highlights:

How Ron became a technologist (3:22)
Transitioning from the military to corporate and organizational IT (5:15)
Ron's thoughts on communicating the business use case of IT within an organization (12:14)
The importance of an IT annual report and socializing the accomplishments of an IT department (15:17)
Ron shares how organizations are doing IT well through COVID and a changing economy (20:11)
Ron's advice for how to stay agile in a rapidly changing IT landscape (23:42)
IT trends and priorities in higher education to pay attention to (25:45)
How to stand out in IT at a college or university (29:56)
Navigating fully remote, hybrid, and in-person classroom instruction (31:55)
The #1 piece of advice Ron would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (33:33)

About Ron Horn:

Ron is an Information Technology Executive with over 25 years of experience leading and transforming technology initiatives in healthcare, higher education, retail, manufacturing, and the federal government. He is focused on his craft, capabilities, and expertise in enterprise cybersecurity, process improvement, risk management, technology innovation, and leadership.
Ron has spent his entire 25-year career in Information Technology leading teams responsible for strategic planning, IT governance, service delivery, infrastructure operations enterprise cybersecurity, compliance, and regulatory reviews to clients. Ron leads with a specialized focus in current state and future state assessments enabling organizations to remain competitive in their industry, maintaining sustainable architecture, staff alignment, and training on process improvement.
Areas of Expertise:

Operating as a Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director of IT, for client organizations, overseeing the development and leadership of technology programs
Managing cybersecurity assessments to identify and design strategic remediation plans for people, process, and technology risks
Overseeing compliance for entities and business associates with protected information
Leading teams in identifying and remediation controls to protect networks from intrusions and resulting breaches
Reviewing controls to ensure data and processes are outsourced to service providers in a secure manner
Over 25 years of experience in the technology community

Ron holds an MBA in Computer and Information Technology from Bellevue University (NE) and a Certified Healthcare Chief Information Officer (CHCIO) as well as a certification in Blockchain Technology.
About the YMCA of Greater Charlotte:

The YMCA of Greater Charlotte brings people together – from all backgrounds and circumstances – to create connections that transform lives and community. For nearly 150 years, our Y has fostered meaningful and lasting personal and social change.

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Ron Horn, Former CIO of Guilford Technical Community College (now VP IT of YMCA of Greater Charlotte).

Conversation Highlights:

How Ron became a technologist (3:22)
Transitioning from the military to corporate and organizational IT (5:15)
Ron's thoughts on communicating the business use case of IT within an organization (12:14)
The importance of an IT annual report and socializing the accomplishments of an IT department (15:17)
Ron shares how organizations are doing IT well through COVID and a changing economy (20:11)
Ron's advice for how to stay agile in a rapidly changing IT landscape (23:42)
IT trends and priorities in higher education to pay attention to (25:45)
How to stand out in IT at a college or university (29:56)
Navigating fully remote, hybrid, and in-person classroom instruction (31:55)
The #1 piece of advice Ron would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (33:33)

About Ron Horn:

Operating as a Chief Information Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director of IT, for client organizations, overseeing the development and leadership of technology programs
Managing cybersecurity assessments to identify and design strategic remediation plans for people, process, and technology risks
Overseeing compliance for entities and business associates with protected information
Leading teams in identifying and remediation controls to protect networks from intrusions and resulting breaches
Reviewing controls to ensure data and processes are outsourced to service providers in a secure manner
Over 25 years of experience in the technology community

Previous Episode

Cybersecurity Considerations and Trends from Passport CISO Mike Privette

In this episode, host Aaron Bock interviews Mike Privette, CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) of mobility management platform Passport.

Conversation Highlights:

How Mike got into security on accident (4:25)
What Mike recommends to people wanting to shift their career into security, and why thoughts on degrees are changing (7:57)
Mike's thoughts on going deep vs. broad on a topic (10:38)
Mike's thoughts on the responsibility an organization holds in training their workforce (11:05)
What it really means to be a CISO, and how Mike's experiences have differed across being in security at tech firm and in the financial sector (12:41)
Challenges with security being a necessary business component but not having an ROI (17:06)
Misconceptions people have related to IT and security, and why open communication across business departments is so important (21:13)
What security basics need to be covered to make sure majority of risks are mitigated (24:47)
What to do first in instances where you walk into an organization as CISO and everything is a vulnerable mess (hint: it begins with a general maturity assessment and incident response plan) (27:27)
The value in iterating and assessing an organization's security posture to understand capabilities and gaps (31:05)
The security mantra you should always say in a job interview (35:31)
Upcoming IoT technology trends and vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and public works that inspire them (35:49)
Supply chain security as another big trend (39:18)
Urging companies to use SaaS instead of running software themselves (41:35)
How impending recession/depression influences cyber attacks (44:44)
How impending recession/depression influences funding and investor decisions (45:21)
The #1 piece of advice Mike would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (47:02)

Publications and Technologies Mentioned:

Security, Funded Newsletter of Return on Security, written by Mike himself

About Mike Privette

Mike is a cybersecurity practitioner and entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience growing and leading cybersecurity organizations in the Financial Services and Insurance industries. Mike is currently the CISO of Passport, a Charlotte, NC-based mobile parking, ticketing, and enforcement SaaS platform. Prior to joining Passport, Mike founded and sold his cybersecurity consulting business, Fraction Consulting, and operated as a Divisional CISO for Truist Financial.

Next Episode

Curtis Hughes + IT in the Manufacturing Industry

In this episode of IT Matters, host Aaron Bock interviews Curtis Hughes, CIO of steel manufacturing company Midrex Technologies.

Conversation Highlights:

Curtis’s journey to becoming a CIO (2:29)
How Curtis’s consulting background has guided his leadership at Midrex (4:20)
What IT means to an organization in 2022 (6:17)
The importance of a people-centered approach to technology (7:38)
How Curtis got started in technology (9:23)
Automation trends and technology priorities across industries (11:36)
Misconceptions about IT departments and why “invisible IT” is a good thing (15:57)
How IT’s function within a company has evolved over the last 20 years, and how it has stayed the same (20:04)
AI, predictive data, digital twins, and other IT trends transforming the manufacturing industry (25:46)
The increasing focus on decarbonization and environmentally green technology in steel manufacturing (30:57)
Curtis’s advice for starting a career in IT (32:32)
What IT departments will look like in 10 years (35:59)
The #1 piece of advice Curtis would give to millions of people in a technology state of the union address (39:27)

About Curtis Hughes:
As the CIO of Midrex Technologies, Curtis is responsible for defining and executing the company’s global technology strategy across more than 20 countries worldwide. Prior to joining Midrex, he spent nearly two decades as a trusted business leader and technology advisor to organizations throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, founding three technology companies along the way.

Curtis holds a B.S. in Computer Science from UNC Charlotte, has been named as one of Charlotte’s “40 Under 40”, and frequently shares his experience by writing on leadership and technology trends, and speaking at business and technology conferences around the world.

IT Matters | Tech Solutions and Strategies for Every Industry - Ron Horn + Higher Education Technology

Transcript

Narrator00:00:07.530

Welcome to the IT Matters podcast, where we explore why IT matters, and matters pertaining to IT. Here's your host, Aaron Bock.

Aaron Bock00:00:17.160

Welcome back to the IT Matters podcast. Thanks for joining us today. We have a wonderful guest that I've known for a long time, Ron Horn. I'll let him introduce himself here in a little bit. Before we get started, I want to apologize for my voice today. If it cracks a