About

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.

Early Life and Education

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.

Early Career

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.

Transition to Higher Education and Leadership

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.

Leadership at Penn State University

As CISO, Keith Brautigam led Penn State University’s information security program, which supported over 200,000 students, faculty, and staff and protected over $1 billion in annual research expenditures. At Penn State, Keith played a key role in the development and execution of the university’s cybersecurity strategy and led several initiatives to enhance security across the organization. One of the most notable programs was the Shields Up initiative, which implemented CISA best practices for protecting the university’s network, devices, and business email systems.

Keith Brautigam, Deputy CIO, led the reorganization of Penn State’s 600-person central IT department, aligning services with key stakeholders and improving the span of control. When Keith Brautigam was at Penn State, he also led the implementation of a new Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) product to enhance security while saving the university $500,000 annually. One of his proudest accomplishments was the successful modernization of the Web Single Sign-On platform using Microsoft Entra ID, which transitioned over 500 applications from a legacy platform in just 12 months.

Another notable achievement under Keith Brautigam’s CIO’s leadership was implementing an enterprise Identity Governance system, which improved role-based access control and streamlined service provisioning and management of 1.2 million user accounts.

Moving to Hunter Douglas

At the end of 2023, Keith relocated to the Denver Metro Area to live near family. In March 2024, Keith joined Hunter Douglas, a leader in window coverings and architectural products in Broomfield, Colorado. Keith served as the Global Cybersecurity Director of Identity and Access Management at Hunter Douglas. His role was to quickly establish an IAM program that included strategy, staffing, and software. He led an aggressive implementation of a leading Identity Governance Administrative system across North America and EMEA, aimed at replacing legacy systems and ensuring compliance with SOX regulations.

Keith’s leadership helped design a solution architecture for global access management, which included privileged account management, unified single sign-on, and privileged remote access. He also partnered with IT and business leaders to improve the security of critical HR and finance systems, meeting complex regulatory controls across multiple countries. He was involved in the launch of a business-critical B2B service based on Salesforce with complex security requirements and led a team of full-time staff, contractors, and implementation partners.