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Company Leadership
Ray Potter | Managing Director and Founder
Ray Potter is the Managing Director of Apex Assurance Group and is responsible for the operations and delivery of the firm's consulting
and program management services. He was formerly the Manager of the Security Assurance Program at
Cisco Systems, where he was responsible for the direction, strategy, and operations of Cisco's global security certification
and assurance initiatives, including the FIPS 140, Common Criteria, and ICSA programs. He was the single point of contact for
standards bodies, Cisco's customers, and Cisco's product teams.
Prior to working at Cisco Systems, Ray was a consultant with a global management consulting firm, assisting Fortune 500 companies and government agencies implement IT solutions and process improvement initiatives.
Ray has been published in Information Security Magazine and is a frequent guest speaker in industry forums and conferences on the subject of Information Assurance, risk management, and FIPS 140/Common Criteria.
Wes Higaki | Director, Certifications Strategy
Wes Higaki is the former director of Product Certifications and Software Assurance for Symantec Corporation. He oversaw all of the company's Common
Criteria, FIPS-140, and ICSA certifications. Wes also managed the team responsible for the secure development of software products. He is the co-founder
of the Common Criteria Vendors' Forum (CCVF), an informal group of vendors dealing with Common Criteria evaluation issues, and he is the author and publisher
of Successful Common Criteria Evaluations: A Practical Guide for Vendors.
Wes has over 30 years of technical and managerial experience in the software industry and received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Science degree in computer science from the University of Santa Clara.
Robin Roberts | Director, Systems C&A
Robin Roberts leads the systems certification & accreditation activities for Apex. Prior to joining Apex Assurance Group, Robin
established and led the Security Assurance Program at Cisco Systems, where she was responsible for education, execution, and operations/customer
management for third-party security certifications. During her tenure at Cisco Systems, Robin served as a security subject matter expert, supporting
Cisco's Government Affairs on policy initiatives and legislative drafts related to software assurance, security, and cryptography. She worked with
product teams for special security applications, and she assisted European defense and government customers with the evaluation of commercial solutions
for unique government security needs.
Prior to Cisco, Robin was a Program Manager for a U.S. defense contractor, developing systems and software for special government customers. During her tenure, she co-authored the information security section of the Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 63 plan (critical infrastructure protection) for an Intelligence Community customer.
Prior to working in the private sector, Robin worked for the Central Intelligence Agency where she served as a subject matter expert in information security, security evaluation, and cryptography. She was the Chief of the Information Security Staff for the Office of Research and Development, overseeing a variety of research projects, and directing the development and evaluation of specialized encryption hardware and software.
Resources
Apex Assurance Group has strong software development resources with considerable development and leadership experience in FIPS 140 and Common Criteria consulting and support, including documentation, algorithm testing, source code analysis, and project management for a wide range of technology types, such as VPN routers, cryptographic libraries, embedded cryptographic accelerators, smart cards, and disk encryption software.
Our resources have a wealth of public and private sector information security experience that spans security technology strategy, policy and planning, assurance and evaluation, cryptography applications, and security research and development.