Ed Goetz, Vice President, Corporate and Information Security Services, Exelon Corp.

Intelligence Driven

In March 2012,Exelon merged with Constellation Energy to become the nation’s largest competitive energy provider. The merger posed operational and transitional challenges for the integration of the two companies’ security groups. Ed Goetz, vice president, Corporate and Information Security Services at Exelon, was tasked with managing security for the new company.

Goetz’s Corporate and Information Security Services group is a converged cyber and physical security management organization with broad responsibility for preventing, detecting and responding to security incidents, regardless of the medium. The group is also responsible for assuring compliance with security-related regulations including NERC CIP, Sarbanes Oxley, the Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards, Pipeline Security, and the Maritime Transportation Safety Act.  

“Historically, security emphasis was placed on reactive investigations of localized security events,” Goetz says. “While these incidents still occur and must be addressed, the primary focus of corporate security has shifted to proactively identifying and mitigating national and potentially international threat vectors. The greatest threat to our company and customers is the Advanced Persistent Threat. So it is more important than ever, as a security leader, that I focus on the use of cutting edge technology and fostering relationships with governmental agencies and industry groups to mitigate threats to our critical infrastructures and national interests.”

To facilitate such a broad charge, the security organization is divided into four groups including:

• Client Services, which is composed of investigators/physical security specialists and guard force management.

• Compliance Services to ensure security controls adherence, compliance program management and audit support.

• Support Services is responsible for the 24/7/365 operations center, access management, business continuity and threat and intelligence analysis.

• Information Security Services for cyber, malware and vulnerability management as well as incident monitoring and response.

For Exelon, the security of the company requires regulatory compliance.

“This growing compliance issue continues to provide challenges to all lines of business,” Goetz says. “By uniting our security and compliance programs in a synergistic effort, we have been able to close the gap between our operational efforts to secure the enterprise and our ever-evolving need to maintain compliance with regulated security standards. This will help to reduce costs associated with potential regulatory fines and improve our compliance posture.”

Exelon’s C-Suite executives understand security risk and have dedicated the necessary resources to enable Ed and his team to achieve their goals.

“They expect us to provide exemplary service and have invested to ensure we have the necessary resources,” Goetz says. “With the resources available within our security program, we have the depth and breadth required to provide an intensive focus on security threat analysis, mitigation planning and execution. My team is expected to leave no investigative avenue unaddressed or preventative solution unexplored in an effort to protect Exelon from emerging and existing threats or comply with new and existing regulations.  

 “In this day and age, security is not optional; it is an essential component and fiduciary responsibility of the corporation. Innumerable laws, pending legislation and shareholder expectations have placed the responsibility for securing the critical infrastructure, assets, people and data of the corporation. Security is security; the only difference is what you are protecting: people, property or information.”

Goetz enjoys addressing the wide range of issues he encounters on a daily basis.  The converged cyber and physical security structure ensures that each day is different. 

“The security organization touches almost every facet of the Exelon enterprise in some form or fashion, resulting in an ever-changing list of challenges to overcome, often in unique and innovative ways,” he says. “Security is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone has a role in keeping our people, property and assets safe and secure. That is the reason behind our intelligence based model: to look over the horizon, to prepare and prevent. We do not want to react to events.”

Goetz says his past professional experiences prepared him well for his current role. After a highly decorated career at the FBI, Maryland State Police and Baltimore City Police, and a secondment with the CIA, he joined Constellation Energy in 2009. “I enjoyed my work in the government and consider it an honor to have served my country,” he says. “In my new role, I leverage the things I learned in my previous career; combine them with an understanding of the issues facing Exelon, in order to put in place a comprehensive risk mitigation approach to security.”

Married with three sons, Goetz is an avid mountain biker and student of European history, and enjoys reading and conversing in German.

•           Revenue/Budget: $32,700,000,000

•           Security Budget: More than $30 Million

•           Critical Issues:

            – Cyber Threats

            – Regulatory Compliance

            – Hiring Employees with Cyber Security Experience

•           Asset Protection/Loss Prevention

•           Brand Protection

•           Business Continuity

•           Corporate Security

•           Cyber Security/IT Security

•           Disaster Recovery

•           Drug and Alcohol Testing

•           Emergency Management/Crisis Management

•           Intellectual Property

•           Investigations

•           Physical Security/Facilities

•           Regulatory Compliance

•           Safeguarding Shareholder Value

•           Workforce/Executive/Personnel Protection