George Penguin is the Penguin of Awesome, promoting awareness of security practices at Akamai Technologies in Cambridge, MA. He travels with various members of the Akamai security team, recognizing individuals who have played a significant role in improving security. Once he has chosen an individual, he shows his support by shadowing that person for a week, letting everyone know how awesome that employee is!
George is highly visible within the corridors of Akamai, and it is well known that anyone graced by George’s presence must have done something noteworthy. By spending a week at a time with each recognized employee, George not only creates awareness of good security practices, he also learns how to pass these practices on to other employees.
In addition to his internal security awareness efforts, George can often be seen travelling with other members of the Akamai security team and has been on stage at security conferences such as RSA, Black Hat, Defcon, and several BSides. He is not in the least bit camera shy and you can often see him posing on stage before another security professional talks at these events.
Prior to Akamai, George honed his skills at the New England Aquarium, where he worked in outreach for the Rockhopper penguin community by encouraging visitors to purchase penguin related paraphernalia. George would tell you that before that he spent time at the South Pole, however his memory of those times is a little fuzzy.
Fun facts: It is George’s dream to visit all seven continents and be photographed with members of the Akamai Security team. While he loves to dance, George mostly shuffles and needs a capable partner to truly enjoy himself. George also has a cousin on the West Coast, Gracie, who also promotes security awareness within Akamai.
You can find George on LinkedIn or Twitter.