"Without Awareness, There is No Choice"

From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

Speaker Bio

"No man left behind" reverberates as Ken’s mission, to awaken, empower and preserve fellow CEOs in the SMB ecosystem that are now on the frontlines of a sinister new battlefield, Data Privacy and Cybersecurity. As a veteran of Desert Shield\Storm, Ken Barnhart earned his Combat Action Ribbon and other decorations serving with HQ Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. Ken has carried forward his passion for the mission of protecting others from the battlefield to the board room. On the home front, Ken has successfully built and sold multiple IT businesses with the belief that technology holds the power to educate, empower and protect. Through the years he’s consulted for the enterprise elite, designing, building and securing their global cloud and hybrid infrastructures. As a Philanthropist and a strong advocate for Veterans, Ken is an active supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project and has worked closely with the Minnesota Voice of the Veteran Program as well as the Brothers in Blue Prison Ministry. The Marine credo “no man left behind” reverberates in Ken’s personal mission of security – This subject of protecting our nation’s SMB ecosystem is rooted in his deep appreciation for business and the risk the owners and CEOs take to stake their reputations, retirements and financial assets to provide 50% of our nation’s payroll. These businesses and their leadership are worth our very best.

- Semper Fi

Moving Cybersecurity From The Headlines to The Executive Headspace:

"Abdication is no longer an option and hope is not a strategy." According to Department of Homeland Security statistics 97% of the financial losses related to Cybercrime are occurring in small and mid-market organizations. Yet, In a recent survey, 82% of mid-market executives stated that they don’t believe they are a target, claimed they haven’t been hacked, or asserted that Cybersecurity is exclusively a large organization problem. Clearly this perception is not matching reality. Kens speeches move Cybersecurity from the Headlines to the Headspace of the mid-market C-Suite by focusing on C-Suite business issues instead of technical matters. Ken delivers a compelling non technical business case for executive strategies to incorporate data security in the small and midmarket space. His speaking style is fast paced, entertaining and thought provoking to increase awareness and invite action. Ken speaks and facilitates for both large events and smaller corporate engagements, such as:

Private Keynotes

Vistage / C-Suite Peer Groups

Board Meetings and Strategy Retreats