Compliance for the Modern MSP: Navigating Success with Vanta, BARR, and Electric

As founder and CEO of BARR Advisory, Brad Thies leads all aspects of the organization’s global client service delivery and security assessment services including SOC, ISO, PCI, NIST and HIPAA examinations, FedRAMP reviews and GRC consulting services. Under Brad’s leadership, BARR has become one of the most sought-after third-party assessors in the cloud computing space.

Brad is a recognized thought leader on security and compliance in the cloud computing space. He is a regular guest speaker at industry events, such as ISACA conferences and a member of the AICPA’s Trust Integrity Task Force. Brad’s professional advice has been featured in Entrepreneur, Cloud Computing Journal and Information Security Buzz. Prior to founding BARR, Brad managed KPMG’s IT advisory services division. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Information System Auditor (CISA).

Sam is an award-winning Security, Risk & Compliance leader with a proven ability to develop and lead people and programs that bring trust and assurance to the marketplace. Armed with “Big 4” and boutique consulting experience, industry positions at companies like SAP Concur and Smartsheet, and having crossed from Accounting to InfoSec, Sam offers the unique ability to translate complexity to both business and technical audiences, for companies in any industry, at all stages of growth (from pre-IPO to Fortune 5 Enterprises). Sam is charismatic, compassionate and collaborative, and embodies a growth mindset for every experience and challenge he takes on.

Sam’s mission is to bring trust and assurance to customers, investors and regulators globally, advance the security of the business, its operations, products, data, infrastructure, and people, and protect the brand and reputation, significantly reducing barriers to sale.

Volunteer activities include serving as an advisory board member for the University of Washington MPAcc program.

Specialties: Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), IT Security, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Compliance Management, Audit Management, Vendor Risk Management, Business Continuity Management, Policy Management, Identity Access Management, ISO27001, 27701, 27018, 27017, 22301, 20000, SOC-1 / SSAE16 / SAS70, SOC 2, SOX, FedRAMP, DoD IL4, NIST, PCI DSS, HIPAA, CPA, CISA, Network+, Accounting, GAAP, SEC Reporting, Consulting