Coalfire, a leading independent IT governance, risk and compliance (IT GRC) firm, has named Larry Jones to the newly created position of executive chairman. Jones has been on Coalfire’s board of directors since August 2011.

Jones has more than 25 years of experience building, operating and growing both public and private companies in a number of industries, including enterprise software, IT and marketing services and business process outsourcing. He has served as the CEO of six companies and as a director for 13 private equity, public and VC-backed companies, and two in an executive chairman capacity.

“Larry is a long-time advisor and friend, and I’m confident in his ability to help lead Coalfire to even greater success,” said Rick Dakin, Coalfire’s CEO and co-founder. “Our client list already includes many of the world’s most respected firms who count on Coalfire to help them manage risk and stay compliant while they adopt exciting new technologies, including mobile and cloud applications.”

Coalfire’s success in 2012 demonstrates a growing need for independent IT GRC services. In 2012, the company:

• Added nearly 300 new clients;
• Completed over 2,000 client projects;
• Opened new offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.;
• Acquired the Silicon Valley-based IT GRC firm Digital Resources Group;
• Became one of the first certified FedRAMP 3PAO assessor firms in the country;
• Launched a major initiative to upgrade and expand Navis, Coalfire’s IT GRC solution.

“Rick Dakin has an incredible passion for clients and IT security best practices, and it’s an honor to join him and the rest of the Coalfire team,” said Jones. “I look forward to working with the executive team to drive growth through new strategic business initiatives, M&A and new capital. I am also excited expanding the next generation of our Navis services, which we expect to become the industry’s leading compliance management SaaS offering by 2015,” he added.

About Coalfire

Coalfire is a leading, independent information technology Governance, Risk and Compliance (IT GRC) firm that provides IT audit, risk assessment and compliance management solutions. Founded in 2001, Coalfire has offices in Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and completes thousands of projects annually in retail, financial services, healthcare, government and utilities. Coalfire’s solutions are adapted to requirements under emerging data privacy legislation, the PCI DSS, GLBA, FFIEC, HIPAA/HITECH, HITRUST, NERC CIP, Sarbanes-Oxley, FISMA and FedRAMP. For more information, visit www.coalfire.com.