Dr. Lawrence A. Ponemon

Biography

Dr. Lawrence Ponemon is the Chairman and Founder of the Ponemon Institute, dedicated to advancing ethical information and privacy management practices in business and government. Ponemon Institute conducts independent research, educates leaders from the private and public sectors and verifies the privacy and data protection practices of organizations in a variety of industries.
 
In addition to Institute leadership, Larry is a partner and privacy advisor to Peppers & Rogers Group – a leading global consulting firm dedicated to strategic marketing. He is considered a pioneer in privacy risk management and the development of the responsible information management framework.
 
Larry is an adjunct professor of ethics and privacy for Carnegie-Mellon University and the CIO Institute. He also serves on the IBM Privacy Council. In addition, he is a member of the National Board of Advisors of the Eller College of Business and Public Administration, University of Arizona.
 
Larry has extensive experience in establishing self-regulatory frameworks for managing privacy and data security in the United States, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong and other nations. Currently he has been appointed to oversee the first Canadian-U.S. study on cross national privacy practices commissioned by Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner.
 
Larry has served as an appointed member of the Advisory Committee for Privacy for the United States Federal Trade Commission. He also advises various state privacy, security and data protection activities, including a recent appointment to the California special task force on privacy and data security. He was recently appointed by the Governor of Arizona to serve on a special commission.
 
Larry was the CEO of Privacy Council, Inc. and was Global Managing Partner of the compliance risk management practice within PricewaterhouseCoopers (and founded the firm’s privacy practice). He consults with leading global organizations on global privacy management, information ethics and corporate governance (Sarbanes-Oxley). Prior to joining Price Waterhouse, Larry served as the National Director of Business Ethics Services for KPMG Peat Marwick, and as the Executive Director of the KPMG Business Ethics Institute. He held chaired faculty positions at Babson College and SUNY Binghamton.
 
Larry has published more than 60 articles and 5 learned books. He has presented over 400 lectures at national or international conferences on privacy, data protection, information security, corporate governance, and responsible information management.

Recent programs include the Forbes Summit, FTC Workshop, Homeland Security Summit, Critical Infrastructure Conference Sponsored by the White House, The Aspen Institute, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, European Business Ethics Network, Ethics Officers Association, The Conference Board and the International Conference on Ethics and the Professions.
 
Larry is an invited lecturer on privacy and business ethics issues for professional and regulatory bodies including the United States Department of Commerce, Federal Trade Commission, Department of Homeland Security, The United States White House, and numerous professional societies.
 
Larry is an editor for Darwin Magazine, 1o1 Magazine and other leading business publications for responsible information management.
 
Larry is a frequent speaker and commentator in news media on privacy and other business ethics topics including CNN, Fox News, CBS, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, Business 2.0, Newsweek, Business Week, Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, Computerworld, CIO Magazine, Darwin Magazine, Boston Globe, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, Forbes, Fortune, CFO Magazine, Red Herring, Journal of Accountancy, Management Accounting Magazine, Dow Jones News, CNET News and others.
 
Larry earned a Ph.D from Union College, a master’s from Harvard University and a bachelor’s (with highest distinction) from the University of Arizona. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).