As the Chief Security Officer of Heartland Payment Systems, John South leads the company’s security and IT compliance programs which encompass the protection of sensitive data through risk and threat modeling and compliance with internal as well as industry and regulatory obligations. 

Recently chosen to the Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders, South is also Heartland’s liaison with security professionals in the Financial Services Information Security and Analysis Center.  He is also a member of the organization’s Board of Directors and its Payments Processing Information Sharing Council (PPISC).

Prior to joining Heartland in September 2009, South held information security leadership roles for a variety of companies including Convergys (Intervoice) and Alcatel-Lucent, where he spent several years in Antwerp and Paris leading Alcatel’s European information security operations.

Outside of the corporate world, South is an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas where he teaches digital forensics.  He co-founded, with Dr. John Nugent, the university’s Information Assurance Program, which focuses on corporate security and risk management. The program has been designated a National Security Agency Center of Excellence since its inception.

Additionally, South has been an active participant with the United States Secret Service North Texas Electronic Crimes Task Force since its inception in 2003.  He is also the founding president of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s North Texas InfraGard Program, and is a member of the Information Systems Security Association and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association. 

Recently awarded the Information Security Executive (ISE) of Year Award for the Central part of the United States by The Executive Network, South holds the CISSP and CISA designations and is certified as an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Service Manager.