Who I am
I’m John Underwood. I’m a husband of 20 years and father of two wonderful young people learning to adult. I enjoy DIY home rehabs and have flipped a few properties. I also like restoration of old cast iron pans. (I know…I know… but its a community)
As a transplant to Southern California I’ve started enjoying beach clean up. I’m learning to enjoy jigsaw puzzles and every now and then I’ll have a hot green tea instead of coffee. I enjoy reading Sci-fi and Fantasy book series. A few of my favorites are Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series or Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series.
What I do
I currently serve as the Vice President of Information Security in the retail space. In this role I ensure that our security program and road map meets the risks of a changing threat landscape and aligns with the corporate strategy. I also oversee SOX and PCI compliance and collaborate with internal legal counsel in running the Privacy program.
I hold the CISM, CIPM and GSTRT certifications.
I participate and serve the InfoSec community in the following ways:
When availability allows, I also mentor junior security professionals and coach people in how to get into the field.
Why this site
This site is mostly a side project. For some reason you ended up here and I really do hope it helps you in some way… that would make my day. But this isn’t about personal branding or trying to be a guru of some sort. This is a cross between a public personal journal and digital garden.
For this site, I don’t care about putting out a polished product. I don’t want to sell anything. I just want a place to jot a thought and develop it over time.
In that vein, notes and posts are not sacred. The way a digital garden works is that thoughts are first “seeds” which are developed and cultivated over time. Some turn out to be weeds and can be removed, others can grow into something more. So, if you visit often you should start to notice that as I learn and grow, some of my posts will too.