Xcel Energy Chief Security Officer James Sample Joins Global Resilience Federation Board of Directors
Herndon, VA, USA – June 25, 2020 – Global Resilience Federation (GRF) announced today that James Sample has joined the GRF Board of Directors as the representative from Energy Analytic Security Exchange (EASE). Mr. Sample brings extensive leadership experience and security expertise to his role advising GRF and EASE leadership as they advance cross-sector and energy industry threat information sharing.
“I’m pleased to join such a committed group of security advocates on the GRF board,” said Sample. “GRF has done a commendable job building sharing communities like EASE and uniting them to broaden collective defense across industries. I look forward to helping both organizations grow as they support members in their cybersecurity prevention and mitigation activities.”
Mr. Sample will act as a voice for EASE membership and provide strategic advice to GRF on their behalf. He will also help coordinate energy industry threat sharing and foster collaboration with existing stakeholders in the sector, like Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (E-ISAC) and European Energy ISAC. Concurrently, he will bring the perspective of EASE’s members to the GRF board of directors as it develops technologies and policies to further cross-sector cyber, physical and geopolitical threat intelligence exchange.
“Jamey brings significant energy industry and security operations know-how to GRF and EASE, having worked at some of the largest utilities companies in the United States,” said GRF Chairman and CEO Bill Nelson. “We’re very pleased to have his security guidance for such a critical industry, and to help us unite other vital sectors against the vast array of threats we face from criminals, hacktivists and nation-states.”
Sample serves as the chief security officer at Xcel Energy where he leads Xcel’s enterprise security risk management program, overseeing all aspects of security including cybersecurity, physical security, enterprise resiliency, and North American Electric Reliability Corporation critical infrastructure protection (NERC CIP) requirements. He joined Xcel from Ernst and Young (EY), a professional services firm, where he served as the Americas Energy Security and Operational Technology Leader. Prior to EY, James held senior leadership roles at several major utilities and an independent system operator, including as CISO at Pacific Gas & Electric and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
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Global Resilience Federation (GRF) is a non-profit hub and integrator for support, analysis, and cross-sector intelligence exchange among information sharing and analysis centers (ISACs), organizations (ISAOs), and computer emergency readiness/response teams (CERTs). GRF’s mission is to help assure the resilience of critical and vital infrastructure against threats that could significantly impact the orderly functioning of the global economy and general safety of the public. GRF members include Financial Services ISAC, Retail ISAO, Legal Services ISAO, Energy Analytic Security Exchange, Health ISAC, Professional Services Information Exchange, Oil and Natural Gas ISAC, Downstream Natural Gas ISAC, and Operational Technology ISAC. Learn more at www.GRF.org, by visiting @GRFederation on Twitter or Global Resilience Federation on LinkedIn. Questions may be directed to Patrick McGlone at pmcglone@grf.org
Energy Analytic Security Exchange (EASE) is a private sector non-profit organization that brings together energy companies to collect, analyze and share cyber and physical threat intelligence for mutual defense. EASE works with members to analyze and mitigate risks in ways that complement companies’ own efforts; from tracking systems vulnerabilities to providing in-depth reporting, EASE works to enrich security product. At its most tactical, EASE analysts evaluate and disseminate signatures and indicators. At a strategic level, EASE provides reports to CSOs and CISOs while sharing cross-sector intelligence in a multi-industry defensive network of thousands of organizations. Intelligence is also drawn from other ISACs and ISAOs, CERTs, government partners, and private vendors that monitor the Dark Web and geopolitical events, among other issue areas. Learn more on the EASE website or by visiting @EnergyASE on Twitter and Energy Analytic Security Exchange on LinkedIn.