core sector communique

KnowBe4 Sponsors Front Row Tampa Bay in Support of Tampa Bay Community

KnowBe4 will help broaden Tampa Bay’s national business reputation during the Republican National Convention as Community Sponsor of Front Row Tampa Bay

(Clearwater, FL) August 14, 2012 – KnowBe4, a security awareness training organization specializing in protecting small and medium sized businesses against cybercrime, is Community Sponsor for Front Row Tampa Bay. Front Row Tampa Bay is a four-day TV and Web event, taking place during the 2012 Republican National Convention, and created by the Tampa Bay Partnership, to promote Tampa Bay as a region of economic power and significance.

From August 27-30, viewers will hear from industry leaders and influencers on key economic drivers to the Tampa Bay Region including:

• Healthcare
• Technology and innovation
• Business, financial and data services
• Marine/environmental.

The web-television program will include exclusive pre-taped and live interviews with political players and industry leaders from around the Convention and the region.

“Front Row Tampa Bay will be showcasing all of the benefits for businesses in the Tampa Bay area that many people from around the country may be unaware of. With the world watching, people will learn that Tampa Bay is a profitable and successful place to start and grow a company,” commented Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4.

One of KnowBe4’s secret weapons in boosting the local economy is its partnership with former hacker Kevin Mitnick. Sjouwerman and Mitnick recently created Kevin Mitnick Security Awareness Training, which trains people on the mechanisms of spam, phishing, spear-phishing, malware and social engineering, in order to protect their companies against cybercrime.

In IT circles, Sjouwerman is considered a serial entrepreneur. KnowBe4 is his fifth IT Company, which started on the heels of the successful acquisition of his former company - Sunbelt Software – by global GFI Software.

“I reinvested back into Tampa Bay because it’s is a prime location to build a new business,” Sjouwerman stated. “I created my new startup here because it’s easy to find or relocate qualified staff, the costs are relatively low, and the tax climate is business-friendly.”

As reported in the Tampa Bay Business Journal in March 2012, Tampa Bay’s cost of doing business in the corporate, international, financial and shared services sectors ranks least expensive among 22 U.S cities with populations over 2 million. Many other similar statistics will be presented during Front Row Tampa Bay’s four-day production that will ensure the world knows what a vibrant and viable business scene exists in Tampa Bay.

About Stu Sjouwerman and KnowBe4

Stu Sjouwerman is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, LLC, which provides web-based Internet Security Awareness Training (ISAT) to small and medium-sized enterprises. A data security expert with more than 30 years in the IT industry, Sjouwerman was the co-founder of Inc. 500 company Sunbelt Software, an award-winning anti-malware software company that he and his partner sold to GFI Software in 2010. Realizing that the human element of security was being seriously neglected, Sjouwerman decided to help entrepreneurs tackle cybercrime tactics through advanced Internet security awareness training. He and his colleagues work with companies in many different industries, including highly regulated fields such as healthcare, finance and insurance. Sjouwerman is the author of four books, his latest being Cyberheist: The Biggest Financial Threat Facing American Businesses Since the Meltdown of 2008.

About the Tampa Bay Partnership

The Tampa Bay Partnership is an organization focused on stimulating economic growth and economic development in the Tampa Bay area. It focuses on corporate relocation and business expansion. The Tampa Bay Partnership works with businesses in the counties of Citrus, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Hernando, Manatee, Polk and Sarasota, as well as the metropolitan areas of Tampa, St. Petersburg, Lakeland, Clearwater, Sarasota, Bradenton and Winter Haven, to attract relocating businesses and encourage corporate expansion into Florida by offering relocation assistance, commercial real estate services and other support.