Curtis L. Blais is a distinguished IT professional with nearly 35 years of experience in the industry. He holds multiple certifications including CCNA, CCNP, GCIA, GCFW, WCSP, CISSP, CRISC, and CCSK, and is cleared to Secret in Canada. Throughout his career, Curtis has excelled in a wide range of IT disciplines, encompassing application development, design and operations of internetworking environments, and the construction and maintenance of information security architectures. His expertise extends to governance, risk, and compliance consulting, enterprise risk management, and strategic security leadership as a shared Chief Information Security Officer.
Curtis has served every level of government and held significant positions in the private sector, including Board of Director roles for privately held corporations and a non-profit organization. He complements his certifications with a master’s degree in leadership and organizational change from Royal Roads University. Curtis is the author and creator of a Risk-based Information Security Model and has completed Harvard’s Cyber Risk Management program at the top of his cohort. He is also the principal author of the National Cybersecurity Assessment Report on the state of cybersecurity in higher learning in Canada for the years 2022 and 2023.
An active voice in the industry, Curtis has spoken at multiple conferences and participated in numerous security industry panels. His dedication to service is demonstrated through his leadership of humanitarian aid teams in Central America. Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Curtis is married to his wife Laureen of over 30 years. Together, they have three grown sons, Nathanial, Zachary, and Timothy, and two beloved grandchildren.