Mark Brown has served as the Information Security Officer for Pinnacle Financial Partner’s Risk and Performance Management team, responsible for the firms enterprise security program since 2008.  Brown creates and administers Pinnacle’s internal social engineering testing, evaluates internal vulnerability testing results for remediation and priority, delivers associate and client information security learning webinars, and lunch n’ learn sessions, develops the firm’s annual information security training program and policy updates, and provides input to the firms overall Enterprise Wide Risk Management evaluation and planning program with compliance targeted at all applicable laws and regulations including the credit card industry’s Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, HIPAA-HITECH, FINRA and FFIEC guidelines, and Tennessee privacy statutes, etc.

Brown began his IT career in 1994 as a business analyst and systems engineer with Fortune 500 firm Electronic Data Systems (now HP) where he worked initially in Atlanta, Georgia for the Georgia Medicaid Management Program account.  After completing his Systems Engineer Development Training, Brown continued with roles in the development of the Virginia Medicaid Management System in Raleigh, North Carolina, later serving on the Combat Ammunition Services (CAS) account for Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.  Before coming to Pinnacle, he held a similar role from 2006 to 2008 with Spheris (now Medquist), a global medical documentation firm as the Information Security Manager for their worldwide information security program.   He has also held security and program development roles at CIGNA Government Services and co-oped for a year while in college at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working in both the Communications department at the X-10 plant and Artificial Intelligence section at Y-12.

The former President of the Middle TN Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) chapter (2009-2010), Brown continues to be involved in the local technology and security community taking an active role in fostering community relations with area colleges through the Nashville Technology Council’s (NTC) T3 program, facilitating Middle TN ISSA’s Southeast Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition involvement, and helping to plan and develop content annually for the past 5 years for InfoSec Nashville co-hosted by NTC and Middle TN ISSA, now in its 11th year with over 400 attendees.  Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in Management Information Systems from Tennessee Technological University and an MBA from the Massey School of Business at Belmont University.  He has earned his CISSP, CISM, CISA, and Security+ credentials.  Brown is also an Eagle Scout and active volunteer with the Boy Scouts and other community boards and organizations.   He is based at Pinnacle’s downtown Nashville office at The Pinnacle at Symphony Place.