Keith Brautigam CIO

About Keith Brautigam CIO

Keith Brautigam CIO is an IT and cybersecurity expert with years of experience in identity and access management. He has worked his way up from systems administration to leadership roles, including Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and Interim Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Penn State University. Keith has led projects to strengthen security, streamline IT systems, and ensure compliance across various organizations.

Keith Brautigam was born in San Diego, California, and moved to the East Bay Area of San Francisco when he was two. He was introduced to technology through friends whose families owned early Amiga and Atari computers. Although he initially enjoyed playing video games, it didn’t take long for him to become more interested in optimizing computer performance to enhance his gaming experience.

The Brautigam family moved again when Keith was in high school, this time to Iowa City, Iowa. While there, he pursued a Communication and Media Studies degree at the University of Iowa, allowing him to study abroad in Mérida, Venezuela.

After completing his degree, Keith faced a tough IT job market as the 1990s eCommerce bubble had just burst. He moved to Research Triangle in North Carolina, where he worked as a supervisor at a Borders bookstore. While it was not the career he had envisioned, Keith credits the customer service and supervisory training at Borders as incredibly valuable. He later returned to Io wa City to visit and, unexpectedly, was offered a position at the medical research center where he had worked as a student.

At the medical research center, Keith took on the role of an IT Systems Administrator, a position that would define his future career. During this time, he realized the growing importance of IT compliance and data security, especially with the onset of HIPAA regulations. Keith managed secure systems used in clinical and research environments, specifically lung imaging. His work focused on enabling researchers to find cures for diseases like emphysema.

After several years, Keith sought a new challenge and transitioned into higher education. He joined a team working in research administration, which modernized its internal processes and moved everything to online systems. This role gave him early exposure to Agile SCRUM software development practices, and he became familiar with newer web technologies. His skills quickly caught the attention of the central IT department at the University of Iowa, where he was recruited to join their Identity and Access Management (IAM) team.

Keith’s career in IT continued to evolve, and in 2014, he was recruited to a management position at Penn State University. Over the next several years, he was promoted multiple times, advancing from Manager to Director, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), and Deputy CIO. In 2023, Keith was appointed Interim Chief Information Officer (CIO), leading the university’s information technology enterprise. He earned several professional qualifications during his tenure, including his Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, an MBA, and a Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership.