Executive Dinner

Bradley J. Schaufenbuel is currently Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at Paychex. Prior to his current role, he held security leadership positions at Paylocity, Midland States Bank, Midwest Bank, Zurich Financial Services, Experian, and Arthur Andersen LLP. Bradley is the author of multiple books (including two "For Dummies" titles) and has had numerous articles published in professional journals on a wide variety of topics related to information security and governance. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is a member of the United States Supreme Court Bar. Bradley holds twenty-five professional designations in the areas of information security management, IT compliance, information privacy, fraud examination, IT audit, computer forensics, ethical hacking, business continuity planning, project management, cloud security, and process improvement, including the C|CISO, CISSP, CISM, CISA, CCSP, CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM, CSSLP, PMP, CRISC, CGEIT, ISSMP, ISSAP, CFE, C|EH, CBCP, CCSK, CDPSE, DFCP, CIFI, CSOXM, CSOE, ITIL v3 Foundation, and Six Sigma Black Belt. He holds an MBA from DePaul University's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and a JD and an LLM in information technology and privacy law from the University of Illinois at Chicago's John Marshall Law School. Bradley has served as a director on several corporate and non-profit boards, is a regular speaker at industry conferences, and has served numerous clients in the legal, financial services, and healthcare industries as a freelance consultant. He is an advisor to YL Ventures GP, Ltd., Glilot Capital, Eclipz, Inc., Great North Ventures, EventCombo, AttackIQ, Eclipz,io, Privatise, WireX Systems, Menlo Ventures, and ThirdPartyTrust. Bradley was recognized as the Chicago CISO of the Year in 2018, as one of the Top 100 CISOs by Cyber Defense Magazine in 2020, and as the North America Information Security Leader of the Year by GDS in 2021.

Grant Ecker is a senior technology executive leading Enterprise Architecture and Integration at Ecolab, managing a global team of architects and integration leaders. With 20+ years of experience, he drives transformation and innovation across billion-dollar IT portfolios, building proactive architecture communities and aligning technology strategy with business value. Grant is also the Founder and Chairman of the Chief Architect Network, the largest vendor-neutral community for Chief Architect executives, connecting 600+ members across 400+ Fortune 500 companies. Through this network, he leads global virtual and in-person events, sponsors specialized topic groups, promotes diversity in architecture, and shares thought leadership via publications and conferences, further advancing the profession and enabling architects worldwide to drive impactful business outcomes.