Chief Security Officer, John Anthony Smith, founded Conversant Group in July of 2009 as an outgrowth of his passion to cultivate people-focused business.

Engaged on numerous projects and consultations with companies both large and small throughout his over 30-year career, John understands the unique challenges of conducting business on a human-centric level — its strategy, quality, and process.  He especially understands the practice of law, as he has served law firms’ technological and business needs since 1998.

John started his IT career in 1994, at the age of 14, at Thompson Machinery Commerce Corporation of Lavergne, TN. While working with Thompson Machinery, John was involved with the initial rollout of multiple industry-leading technologies including: Citrix Winframe, IBM NetStation, Window NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT Terminal Services Edition, remote access via Shiva, ISDN Internet, and WebSense.

During his time at Thompson Machinery, John founded his first company, Computech, in 1996. In 2002, he founded his second company, NetAlliant Technologies, which he sold in 2008.

In 2009, he founded Conversant Group, a technology conglomerate based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving clients across North America.

John studied Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and holds a degree in Organizational Management from Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

CEO Mark Grazman is a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a track record of launching, scaling, and leading successful companies. Most recently, Mark was the CEO of an email security company named MessageControl where he led the organization through a successful exit to Mimecast (NASDAQ: MIME).

Mark’s commitment to driving growth as a leader, board member, and advisor has given him the experience (and grey hair) to build a culture of excellence while rapidly scaling companies. From his transformational tenure leading strategy and technology for CBIZ (NYSE: CBIZ), launching Banque Nationale de Paris’s emerging markets private equity group to his entrepreneurial success as the founder of an internet company in Europe – Mark has an impressive track record of success and innovation.

Mark first met John Anthony and the Conversant Group during his tenure at MessageControl where John was an early adopter, reseller, and eventually an investor. John made it clear back then he was investing in Mark and started recruiting him almost immediately to join him in leading Conversant Group to drive growth, strategy, and culture. If you get them both in a meeting, be careful – they both have a lot to say!

Mark graduated in 1994 from Duke University and was invited back as an adjunct lecturer in the Public Policy Department years later. Throughout his distinguished career, Mark most prides himself on giving great opportunities to the people he has worked with, the teams he has built, and the leaders that have emerged from his mentorship.

As Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Fenix24, Brandon is centrally responsible for ensuring the delivery of all consulting and managed services on-time, in-budget, and to the satisfaction of the customer.

Brandon started his professional career in 2003, after receiving a Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems. Upon graduation, Brandon accepted a network administration post at a Japanese automotive parts manufacturer in the Nashville area.

Shortly after meeting John Anthony Smith in 2006, Brandon signed on with NetAlliant Technologies, LLC, as a Network Engineer with a focus on network infrastructure design and implementation. In this role, Brandon performed an array of storage, networking, remote access, Exchange, and data center projects. 
After starting with NetAlliant, Brandon began delivering industry-leading consultation to companies large and small using Terminal Services, Citrix XenServer, Citrix Provisioning Services, Citrix XenApp (Metaframe/Presentation Server), and other core infrastructure products.

In 2012, Brandon joined Willis, a Nashville-based company, as a Citrix Administrator for the IT Infrastructure Platforms team. In this role, Brandon supported IT infrastructures across the globe — one of which included a global Citrix XenApp farm for approximately 13,000 users virtualized with VMware on Cisco UCS blade servers.

His Citrix support role led to Brandon and John crossing paths once again in early 2015 at a Citrix conference in Orlando, FL. Later that year, Brandon joined Conversant Group. He has led technical services for us ever since.

Heath Renfrow, co-founder of Fenix24, has more than two decades of experience as a high-level information security specialist, much of it as a chief information security officer (CISO) in the United States Department of Defense, where he addressed some of the nation’s most significant cyber challenges. In 2017 he was named Global CISO of the Year by EC-Council, the largest cyber-training organization in the world.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Heath was the vCISO at The Crypsis Group, one of the leading incident response firms in the country, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. He also served as the first CISO for U.S. Army Healthcare (the largest Healthcare organization within the Department of Defense and one of the largest providers globally), as CISO at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CISO at the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, and as chief joint security officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

A frequent public speaker on cybersecurity matters, Heath serves on a number of boards, including the National CyberWatch Center Foundation, the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security, the University of Indiana Cyber Advisory Council, and the Cyber Patriot Program Advisory Council.

Chief Security Officer, John Anthony Smith, founded Conversant Group in July of 2009 as an outgrowth of his passion to cultivate people-focused business.

Engaged on numerous projects and consultations with companies both large and small throughout his over 30-year career, John understands the unique challenges of conducting business on a human-centric level — its strategy, quality, and process.  He especially understands the practice of law, as he has served law firms’ technological and business needs since 1998.

John started his IT career in 1994, at the age of 14, at Thompson Machinery Commerce Corporation of Lavergne, TN. While working with Thompson Machinery, John was involved with the initial rollout of multiple industry-leading technologies including: Citrix Winframe, IBM NetStation, Window NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT Terminal Services Edition, remote access via Shiva, ISDN Internet, and WebSense.

During his time at Thompson Machinery, John founded his first company, Computech, in 1996. In 2002, he founded his second company, NetAlliant Technologies, which he sold in 2008.

In 2009, he founded Conversant Group, a technology conglomerate based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, serving clients across North America.

John studied Computer Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and holds a degree in Organizational Management from Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, Georgia.

CEO Mark Grazman is a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist with a track record of launching, scaling, and leading successful companies. Most recently, Mark was the CEO of an email security company named MessageControl where he led the organization through a successful exit to Mimecast (NASDAQ: MIME).

Mark’s commitment to driving growth as a leader, board member, and advisor has given him the experience (and grey hair) to build a culture of excellence while rapidly scaling companies. From his transformational tenure leading strategy and technology for CBIZ (NYSE: CBIZ), launching Banque Nationale de Paris’s emerging markets private equity group to his entrepreneurial success as the founder of an internet company in Europe – Mark has an impressive track record of success and innovation.

Mark first met John Anthony and the Conversant Group during his tenure at MessageControl where John was an early adopter, reseller, and eventually an investor. John made it clear back then he was investing in Mark and started recruiting him almost immediately to join him in leading Conversant Group to drive growth, strategy, and culture. If you get them both in a meeting, be careful – they both have a lot to say!

Mark graduated in 1994 from Duke University and was invited back as an adjunct lecturer in the Public Policy Department years later. Throughout his distinguished career, Mark most prides himself on giving great opportunities to the people he has worked with, the teams he has built, and the leaders that have emerged from his mentorship.

As Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Fenix24, Brandon is centrally responsible for ensuring the delivery of all consulting and managed services on-time, in-budget, and to the satisfaction of the customer.

Brandon started his professional career in 2003, after receiving a Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Computer Information Systems. Upon graduation, Brandon accepted a network administration post at a Japanese automotive parts manufacturer in the Nashville area.

Shortly after meeting John Anthony Smith in 2006, Brandon signed on with NetAlliant Technologies, LLC, as a Network Engineer with a focus on network infrastructure design and implementation. In this role, Brandon performed an array of storage, networking, remote access, Exchange, and data center projects. 
After starting with NetAlliant, Brandon began delivering industry-leading consultation to companies large and small using Terminal Services, Citrix XenServer, Citrix Provisioning Services, Citrix XenApp (Metaframe/Presentation Server), and other core infrastructure products.

In 2012, Brandon joined Willis, a Nashville-based company, as a Citrix Administrator for the IT Infrastructure Platforms team. In this role, Brandon supported IT infrastructures across the globe — one of which included a global Citrix XenApp farm for approximately 13,000 users virtualized with VMware on Cisco UCS blade servers.

His Citrix support role led to Brandon and John crossing paths once again in early 2015 at a Citrix conference in Orlando, FL. Later that year, Brandon joined Conversant Group. He has led technical services for us ever since.

Heath Renfrow, co-founder of Fenix24, has more than two decades of experience as a high-level information security specialist, much of it as a chief information security officer (CISO) in the United States Department of Defense, where he addressed some of the nation’s most significant cyber challenges. In 2017 he was named Global CISO of the Year by EC-Council, the largest cyber-training organization in the world.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Heath was the vCISO at The Crypsis Group, one of the leading incident response firms in the country, which was acquired by Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. He also served as the first CISO for U.S. Army Healthcare (the largest Healthcare organization within the Department of Defense and one of the largest providers globally), as CISO at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CISO at the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, and as chief joint security officer at the Defense Information Systems Agency.

A frequent public speaker on cybersecurity matters, Heath serves on a number of boards, including the National CyberWatch Center Foundation, the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security, the University of Indiana Cyber Advisory Council, and the Cyber Patriot Program Advisory Council.

Jeremiah Clark serves as our Chief Technology Officer at Fenix24, where he focuses on cloud software solutions and creating software-enabled services. Jeremiah leverages his extensive background in cybersecurity and software development to drive innovation and ensure the highest standards of service for our clients.

Jeremiah began his career in the US Navy as a Cryptologist, supporting Cyber Network Operations with a focus on both offensive and defensive cybersecurity. After a decade of military and government service, he transitioned to the private sector, joining Microsoft as a developer. During his six years at Microsoft, he provided custom solutions to US Government partners and was a key member of the Global Incident Response team, directly assisting customers affected by cyber attacks.

Following his tenure at Microsoft, Jeremiah joined Carbon Black, a pioneering startup in the EDR market, where he served as an Engineer, Director, and ultimately Chief Architect. He then moved to Sevco Security as Chief Architect, leading the development of an innovative Asset Inventory product.

Jeremiah graduated in 2002 from the University of Maryland with a BS in Computer Science.

Mike Webb serves as our Chief Financial Officer for Fenix24, where he oversees Fenix24’s financial strength for our family of services-based sister companies (battalions). Mike sees two primary areas to serve as a Good Samaritan at Conversant: he leverages a wealth of expertise in scaling rapid-growth companies to serve our clients and team members and invests time and energy in helping the organizational and cultural health of the teams thrive.

Before joining the Fenix24 team, Mike served as the CEO/CFO of an MSP where he led the organization through a successful exit. After starting his career with Ernst and Young, LLP, Mike found what he loved to do; work with high-growth and startup companies. He invested 20+ years serving their financial strategy and leadership needs across the IT, healthcare, professional services, and governmental contracting industries.

Mike graduated in 1992 from Harding University with a bachelor’s degree in business – accounting and received his CPA license in the state of Tennessee.

Maria Chachas is Chief Operating Officer for Fenix24 responsible for driving operational strategy, optimizing cross-team efficiency, and accelerating the organization’s end-to-end execution to support rapid growth. She has over 12 years of leadership experience driving business efficiency and results in sales, operations, customer satisfaction, and revenue performance.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Maria was COO for Cymulate, a security posture management platform, and CRO for Digital Shadows, a security threat intelligence company. She holds an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Babson Graduate School and a BS degree in Finance from the University of Utah.

Mark M. Waxman is Chief Marketing Officer of Fenix24, bringing extensive expertise in marketing, sales, and branding. Previously, he served as Chief Marketing Officer for CBIZ, a publicly traded national business advisory firm with over 10,000 employees. For over two decades, he played a key role in CBIZ’s dramatic growth, building the marketing and business development teams and leading the rebranding of more than 200 independent companies acquired by the company.

Before joining CBIZ, Mark founded and led one of Silicon Valley’s most respected consulting firms. He also served as CEO and Creative Director of one of the region’s largest advertising agencies. A sought-after speaker, author, and advisor, he has contributed to numerous media outlets and provided strategic guidance to many early- and mid-stage companies.

Mark has held leadership positions as Chairman and/or President of organizations including: the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, Silicon Valley Creates, the San Jose Repertory Theatre, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Artsopolis.com, and the Silicon Valley Ad Club. He also serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations.

Abaigeal McCann is Head of People & Culture for Fenix24, responsible for tapping into the full potential of Fenix24’s people, fostering a positive and inclusive culture, and supporting company executives in resource planning and culture-related strategies.

Abaigeal has over 15 years of human resource experience. She has held numerous leadership roles directing regional and global HR strategies, including talent optimization, organizational structure, performance management, leadership development, strategic recruitment for growth, and total rewards planning.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Abaigeal was Director of Human Resources for Parker Wellbore, an Oil and Gas enterprise. She holds a BSc Honors degree in Nursing and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from Robert Gordon University, Scotland.

Nick Sioutis is VP of Service Delivery for Fenix24, responsible for leading a diverse team of engineering professionals delivering reliable, 24×7 operations to meet business expectations across the product/service portfolio while focusing on the core values of continuous improvement, scalability, and accountability.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Nick was VP of Security Operations at Deloitte, leading their Canadian managed security services operations. He has over 23 years of security, network, and leadership experience, working for industry-leading organizations, and a strong technical background as a network engineer. Nick holds CISSP and CISM certifications.

Edwin Covert is Vice President of Advisory Services for Fenix24, bringing over 30 years of experience in cybersecurity and information technology across the commercial and government sectors. Prior to joining Fenix24, he served as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Head of Cyber Risk Engineering at Bowhead Specialty Underwriters (BSU), a provider of cyber risk insurance.

In addition to his professional work, Ed is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Information Systems at California State University – Los Angeles (CSULA) as well as a published author and regular speaker at cybersecurity events and forums. He also serves as President and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles ISC2 chapter and is an active member of other cybersecurity-focused organizations in Southern California. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, he brings a disciplined, strategic approach to his work.

Ed holds a Master’s degree in Information Technology Management from Colorado State University, specializing in organizational leadership and change management. He earned his undergraduate degree in cybersecurity from the University of Maryland and holds multiple industry certifications, including CISSP and ISSAP from ISC2, CISM and CRISC from ISACA, and the Qualified Technology Executive (QTE) designation from Digital Directors Network, among others.

Brian Duke is Managing Director of US and Americas for Fenix24, bringing 20 years of leadership experience from firms such as Integreon, Hippo Insurance, and Marsh, where he led efforts to bring to market cutting-edge technologies and reduce customer risks.

In his previous role as Vice President, Cyber Solutions Strategy, at Integreon, Brian drove sales and was recognized as the top performer for four consecutive years, consistently exceeding sales targets and working with high-performing teams, demonstrating his exceptional leadership skills and ability to deliver outstanding results.

With a deep interest in disruptive technologies and a proven track record in the insurance, cybersecurity, and SaaS software industries, Brian brings a unique blend of expertise in business development, strategic planning, and managing high-level negotiations and M&A activities. His ability to navigate complex challenges and drive multimillion-dollar revenue growth across multiple sectors makes him an invaluable asset to the advancement of Fenix24’s market expansion in breach recovery services.

Marko Polunic is Fenix24’s managing director based out of Munich, Germany. Marko leads efforts to expand Fenix24’s offering into the EU and globally by fostering relationships with ecosystem partners—such as DFIR firms, law firms, insurance brokers, and cyber insurance carriers.

Marko has a deep history (10+ years) in the insurance and incident response industry, leading the cyber and IoT practice for the largest cyber reinsurer, Munich RE. Following his time at Munich RE, Polunic became CrowdStrike’s Director of Business Development for the EMEA region. In that capacity, he built and maintained a broad network of trusted partnerships across the insurance, legal, consulting, and private equity spaces while also acting as a trusted point of contact to C-level decision makers.

Marko holds a diploma degree in quantitative business administration from the University of Tübingen, Germany.

Joe Schneiders is a Fenix24 Technical Captain responsible for leading the overall excellence of client engagements, from client relations, to guiding technical teams, to managing the collaboration between Fenix24 and the many external parties that come together during disaster restoration events.

Joe has over 20 years of experience in IT, primarily in consulting roles. Prior to joining Fenix24, Joe was Managing Director at HBR Consulting, which he joined as part of their acquisition of Keno Kozie Associates. Joe’s 17-year career prepared him to participate in the transition management team that led Keno Kozie through the HBR transaction. He has led large and small clients through their day-to-day support needs and strategic planning as well as their project planning and execution.

Joe earned his Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Iowa State University.

Pio Stroligo is the Chief of Staff for the Fenix24 team, responsible for synchronizing efforts across internal operations and external engagements with clients.

Prior to joining Fenix24, Pio was a Senior Military Analyst in the Operational Research and Cyber Analysis division of Metron, responsible for future capabilities development in the Information Warfare arena supporting the Department of the Navy. He later joined the Nou Systems team as senior systems interoperability analyst supporting the Missile Defense Agency and international partners for operational, flight test, and ground test events of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).

As veteran of the U.S. Navy, Pio has over twenty years’ experience in networked weapons and sensor systems interoperability and data analysis. He led, managed, and integrated people, processes, capabilities, and network architectures supporting all branches of the Department of Defense and international coalition partners in support of military operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Indo-Pacific regions.

Pio has a Bachelor of Science degree from Excelsior University, New York.

Ron Zollman is General Counsel for Fenix24/Conversant Group and its battalions. Ron has been a legal leader in technology firms for more than 20 years. He provides overall leadership for contracts, compliance (including privacy), risk management, disputes, intellectual property, as well as support for strategic transactions and employment matters. Ron was Chief Legal Officer and Secretary for Boomi, the global cloud data integration leader, and General Counsel and Secretary for Iomega, provider of Zip drives, network storage, and small business IT services. He was named a NextGen Legal Leader at Dell Technologies and was Associate General Counsel at EMC Corporation, the business IT powerhouse. Ron is active with TechGC and is CIPP/US certified.

Ron has tried multiple cases, negotiated thousands of transactions, and served on various boards. He was a founding chair of a startup that has grown to $100 million in annual revenue; and he and the team he assembled supported 500% growth of sales at a global SaaS firm. In alignment with Conversant’s dedication to being Good Samaritans, Ron is on the Board of Directors of the National Homelessness Law Center, the Board of Governors of his former law school, and is a recurring volunteer with former foster youth.

Ron graduated from UCLA (Economics) and from UC Law San Francisco (with honors).