PFI of record for 3 of the top 10 largest data breaches in history. Two decades of hands-on experience defending Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, and government agencies from the most sophisticated cyber threats.
Ryan has provided expert-witness testimony in federal and state courts, led breach investigations spanning six continents, and built global forensic practices trusted by regulators and litigation teams worldwide. His technical depth — EnCE-certified, PCI PFI credentialed — combines with executive-level communication skills to guide organizations through their most critical security crises.
Fractional CxO Leadership
Board-tested CISO, CTO, and CAIO services without the full-time overhead. Embedded leadership that accelerates security posture, technology strategy, and AI adoption — calibrated to your growth stage.
From Series A startups building their first security program to Fortune 500 divisions seeking interim executive continuity, Ryan steps into fractional CxO roles with day-one readiness. He owns the roadmap, speaks to the board, manages vendor relationships, and grows the internal team — then transitions cleanly when you hire full-time.
Practical AI governance frameworks that satisfy regulators, auditors, and boards — without stalling innovation. Aligned to the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, and emerging SEC disclosure requirements.
Ryan translates the AI governance landscape into concrete controls: model risk management, bias-detection pipelines, data-lineage documentation, and executive dashboards that demonstrate compliance. He has designed AI governance programs for organizations in healthcare, finance, and critical infrastructure — domains where model failures carry legal and reputational consequences.
End-to-end compliance program design and execution for SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, NIST CSF, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. Strategy through audit-ready evidence packages.
Ryan has built compliance programs from scratch and rescued stalled ones. His approach centers on sustainable control design — controls that pass audits and actually reduce risk, not paper exercises. Clients routinely achieve first-attempt audit passage with zero significant findings. He brings deep familiarity with leading audit firms and their expectations, compressing timelines without cutting corners.
When the breach notification lands, you need someone who has been here before — and won. Rapid containment, forensic investigation, regulatory notification strategy, and litigation support.
Ryan has led incident response for some of the most consequential breaches in recent history, including nation-state intrusions and large-scale payment card compromises. He coordinates across legal, PR, law enforcement, and technical teams under extreme time pressure, and has testified on breach investigations in federal court. Retainer clients receive priority 24/7 access.
M&A Cybersecurity Due Diligence
Security due diligence that uncovers the liabilities acquirers inherit before close — not after. Technical assessments, compliance gap analysis, and integration risk scoring calibrated to deal timelines.
Cyber risk is consistently under-priced in M&A transactions until a post-close incident reveals the true cost. Ryan conducts accelerated technical assessments that surface material vulnerabilities, quantify remediation costs, and inform purchase-price negotiations. His reports are scoped for C-suite and board audiences and have directly shaped deal terms across private equity and strategic acquisitions.