Taylor Devine - Board Member

Taylor Devine started his career in 1963 with Saga Corporation in contract management services and chain restaurant management. Over an 18 year period with Saga, Taylor progressed from unit management to the executive level, serving as that company’s first Director of Strategic Planning, later as a Marketing VP, and then as a Division VP and General Manager. Taylor helped build two divisions on a national basis. Saga reached the $1 Billion revenue in 1983 and was sold to Marriott in 1985. During his last two years with Saga, while working full-time, he also earned his MBA from the University of Chicago. Leaving Saga in 1981, Taylor joined Arthur D. Little, Inc, world headquarters in Acorn Park, MA (Boston suburb) as a Senior Consultant, Strategic Management Unit. Specialized practice area: The Strategic Management of Technology on a national basis. The skills and knowledge gained in that practice in the early 1980’s help CDI’s technology Clients today. In late 1982, a then young couple by the name of Debbi and Randy Fields wanted experienced leadership in building and expanding a very small but very special company that had just 35 stores at that time. Debbi, Randy and Taylor all moved to Park City UT to build a national and later international chain: Fields Financial Corp, dba: Mrs. Fields Cookies (MFC). Over the next 41 months, with Taylor as the EVP and COO, they built MFC from 35 units to 255 units across the United States. All company owned at that time. Having invested the prior 22 years building and consulting for others, in 1986 it was time start his own enterprise. Combining technology and management, Taylor recruited the Salt Lake City IBM Branch Manager and they formed one of the first voice mail and IBM 36/38 data input/output service bureaus in the United States. In late 1987, another company builder / entrepreneur by the name of Wayne Huizenga and friends purchased controlling interest in a then 19 store chain. Wayne knew how to recruit people who knew how to build and operate national chains where there was a finite time window of opportunity to win the war. In October 1987 Taylor joined Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, parent of Blockbuster Video, with responsibility for approximately 1/3 the United States. Taylor and his team proceeded to open 176 stores in 12 months, or approximately 1 new store every 48 hours. This included company owner stores, franchisee owned stores, joint-ventures and acquisitions. Near the end of the first 12 months, Taylor was promoted to a corporate officer and given responsibility for 5 of the 7 operating regions in the United States. Within the next six months, Taylor was again promoted to Vice-President, International Operations. Taylor moved to London, England as the International Corporate Officer with marketing, operational, financial and real estate and construction responsibility for Europe, Asia, and South America. Over the next several years, using London as his base, Taylor opened company, franchised, joint-ventured, and/or acquired operations in 9 countries outside North America, with due diligence going on in another 12 countries, and on the largest competitor in Europe, having 850 stores. Taylor returned to the US in 1992, investing in and taking Board seats with several entrepreneurial companies headed for national and international expansion. It was during this period that Taylor moved to Portland, OR, as President and CEO of a young, pre-IPO company by the name of Coffee People, Inc. Taylor again built a management team and architected a national expansion. After closing a Private Placement Memorandum and leading a successful IPO, Taylor expanded the company organically and thru a strategic acquisition. In late 1998 a large international based company wanted a public stock vehicle as an entry into the United States. Taylor managed that sale transaction. In 1999, Taylor returned to east coast to become Chairman and CEO of ICTS Inc. Innovative Community Technology Services, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, and in partnerships with Colleges and Universities, trained people so they could earn computer, IT and security certifications from organizations like CompTIA, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco. With campuses in Baltimore, Md, Alexandria, VA, Hampton Roads, VA and Atlanta, GA, in the next two years, Taylor and his management team increased Revenue from approximately $12 Mil to approximately $16 Mil. In mid-2001, a company intent on doing a technology certification training roll-up made a highly desirable offer for ICTS. Again, Taylor managed that transaction. Having enhanced the value, purchased and sold several companies in the United States and Internationally, and desirous to stay in the Northern Virginia area, in late 2001, Taylor established Corporate Development International, LLC, dba The CDI Group. The CDI Group is a financial and consulting services company, organized to serve the needs of business owners, those who want to be business owners and corporate leaders who want to increase the value of their company, and/or outsource the M&A function. Taylor understands business owners, those who want to be and corporate executives, because he has been and is one.

Lou Vescio - Board Member

Lou Vescio is a managing and founding partner of Agency Brokerage Consultants. He is a Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), a certified Merger and Acquisition Master Intermediary (M&AMI) and licensed real estate broker in Florida. Lou also serves on the board of directors for the International Business Brokers’ Association (IBBA) and has been elected its Chairman for 2017. Lou graduated college and joined the US Air Force as an aviator where he flew both F-4 and C-141 aircraft, including a combat tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict. Upon separation from active duty, Lou transferred to the reserve forces and continued flying for the Air National Guard until his retirement in 1994.In 1977, Lou joined Texas Instruments and worked in a variety of managerial positions to include manufacturing engineering, production control, operations analysis and product marketing. When he left the company in 1992, he was a Marketing Director for the Defense Electronics Group. Lou and his wife Maggie then started a franchised computer training business and grew it to one of the top five franchises in the country within the first year. He later co founded a high-end computer training business which grew to $11.5 million in sales in five years. Lou and his partners sold both businesses by 2001.After a brief retirement, Lou began employment with Sunbelt Business Brokers in Florida and was quickly recognized as one of the “top fifty” brokers in the Sunbelt Business Brokerage Network, which was comprised of more than 300 offices throughout the U.S. and 25 foreign countries. Lou later founded Agency Brokerage Consultants which specializes in insurance agency/broker M&A transactions and helped grow the firm to become ranked as one of the top insurance M&A firms in the country. Lou’s formal education includes a BS in Mathematics from Clarion State College and attending graduate schools at Webster College and the University of Dallas with specialties in Business Administration and Economics. Lou teaches professional courses and conducts seminars for business intermediaries, and has been quoted in numerous publications to include the New York Times. Lou and his wife, Maggie, have two grown sons and live in Indian Harbour Beach, FL.

Jim Wiggins - Board Member and Chairman of the Board

Jim has over 26 years of direct experience in the design, operation, management, and auditing of information technology systems, with the past 21 years focused on information systems security. He has an extensive background in technical education and specializes in security certification courses targeted at federal and government contracting clients.

Today, Jim is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Federal IT Security Institute (FITSI). FITSI is a 501(c)(6) non-profit certification body accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) under ISO 17024:2012. FITSI provides a role-based IT security certification program targeted at the federal workforce. More information on FITSI can be found at: https://www.fitsi.org. https://www.fitsi.org.

Jim is also the Founder and Executive Director of the FITSI Foundation. The FITSI Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that focuses on cyber education and serves as the philanthropic sister organization of the Federal IT Security Institute. The FITSI Foundation operates the Wounded Warrior Cyber Combat Academy (W2CCA). More information on the FITSI Foundation can be found at: https://www.fitsifoundation.org.

Additionally, Jim is the Founder and Principal at Securible, LLC. Securible is an information security service provider offering cyber training programs to organizations of all sizes. At Securible, Jim has taught IT security certification courses such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, Ethical Hacking, RMF, Security+, and other courses requested by Securible's clients. Currently, Jim provides education and training support for the National Risk Management Center (NRMC) at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). More information on Securible can be found at: https://www.securible.com.

In 2020, Jim launched a TV show about cybersecurity called "Cybersecurity Today," which can be viewed in the Washington, DC area. Episodes can also be streamed online at the following website: https://www.cybersecuritytoday.org.

In 2019, FCW named Jim to the "Federal 100" for his tireless efforts to promote cybersecurity education across all branches of the federal government.

In 2011, the Federal Information Systems Security Educators' Association (FISSEA) named him "Educator of the Year" for the ongoing impact he has made in the federal workforce.

Jim holds the following IA/IT security certifications: CISSP, ISSEP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, CDPSE, CGRC (CAP), CySA+, SCNA, SCNP, IAM, IEM, SSCP, CEH, ECSA, CHFI, LPT, TICSA, CIWSA, Security+, and MCSE: Security and FITSP-M.