CEO Of Cyber Security Company Helps Reclaim Internet Protection
TrackOFF is a Baltimore-based company focused on protecting against cyber security threats to ensure consumers maintain their privacy rights online. TrackOFF CEO, Chandler Givens, says he already knew he wanted to work in cyber security and technology by his early teens.
Givens has a Bachelor of Science in business information technology from Virginia Tech and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to TrackOFF, Givens worked as an attorney, focusing on consumer protection and technology cases. Often the litigations he handled centered on pursuing companies that were accused of violating consumers' privacy rights by collecting and exploiting massive amounts of personal user data.
What are the responsibilities of your current role?
"Like most start-up CEOs, my day-to-day responsibilities are subject to change by the hour. Broadly speaking though, I try to set short-term, intermediate and long-term goals, and then do whatever I can to help us get there. Having said that, it's almost never a straight line from conception to completion, so you really have to be willing to adjust and refine your approach as you go. My co-founder and chief technology officer, Ryan Flach, is able to roll with the punches better than almost anyone I know, so having him as a partner has really helped us accomplish a lot of our technical objectives quickly and effectively."
What is your favorite part about your daily duties?
"There's something deeply satisfying about creating a plan from scratch and seeing it through to fruition. It's an abstract answer, but more than anything, I enjoy working with others to creatively problem solve everyday."
How has your education and training prepared you for your current role?
"Some days, I'll spend the morning writing codes, and in the afternoon, I'll revise provisions in a vendor contract. So it's very apparent to me how valuable my education has been. I'll probably get in trouble for saying this because it's fashionable right now to bash legal education, but studying law was also incredibly helpful for me in terms of reasoning through problems."
What do you do to continue your education and training?
"I've found that in addition to staying current with the industry, I always benefit from reading about subjects outside my disciplines. I was very lucky to grow up with a dad that's scientific and analytical. And my mom has a wonderfully creative and artistic mind. Because of them, I developed a range of interests, and I'm always pleasantly surprised at the lessons that can be drawn from interdisciplinary study and then applied to one's own field."
Laura Catherine Hermoza has a lifelong love for writing. In addition to serving as a contributor to various media publications, she is also a published novelist of several books and works as a proofreader/editor. LC resides in Baltimore County.