A Career Built
at the Intersection of Tech & Business
IDC Adjunct Research Advisor · CISSP · C|CISO
Dr. Ken Knapton has spent more than two decades in C-level IT roles, leading transformation across industries as varied as financial services, mortgage origination, healthcare, and high-tech. He is known for one core ability: making technology legible — and accountable — to the business leaders who fund it.
His career began in software development, with early work on enterprise security solutions that were eventually acquired by Symantec and shipped as Norton Anti-Virus Corporate Edition. He has since held CIO and CISO roles at organizations including Merrick Bank, Progrexion (Credit.com / CreditRepair.com), W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital, Access Data, Content Watch, and Avalon Healthcare.
One of his most distinctive achievements: helping design and architect the global banking system currently in use for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — a platform supporting 127 currencies across as many countries.
Today, Ken is active across multiple lanes simultaneously. In his operating role, he serves as CIO at Win Brands LLC, the hospitality company behind Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill and FatCats Family Entertainment venues — leading enterprise IT strategy, security, and operations across a multi-brand, multi-location organization. He also advises small and mid-market businesses through Rocky Mountain CIO, contributes published research as an IDC Adjunct Research Advisor for IT Executive Programs, and teaches graduate-level cybersecurity as faculty at ECPI University.
He holds a Doctorate of Information Technology from Walden University, with a dissertation focused on big data governance and the ethical use of personal information. He also holds an MBA from Brigham Young University, an MS in Strategic IT Leadership from Walden University, and a BS in Computer Science and Information Systems from Utah Valley University.
