KEN KOUSKY:
 
Paul Horst




 
 
 
 
 
President and CEO of IP3 Inc. in Saginaw and CEO of the MidMichigan Innovation Center in Midland. IP3 is an information security consulting firm that provides strategic planning, architectural, and policy frameworks for enterprise information assurance and IT security. IP3's flagship seminar series, Strategy to Reality, begun in 2002, is now one of the world's leading executive and management forums, and is hosted by 20 of the nation's leading universities, many of them NSA Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. Kousky has successfully started three companies and been instrumental in two turnarounds and two IPOs. In 1988, he founded an IT services company, Wave Technologies, and within six years guided it through an IPO. The MidMichigan Innovation Center is a privately funded, nonprofit business incubator that assists entrepreneurs in creating and expanding their businesses. Kousky is a founding member and executive director of the BlueWater Angels Investment Network, a Michigan-based funding network that reviews more than 100 potential businesses annually. He is also executive director of Michigan EB-5, LLC, a global investment program, and serves on other committees involved in regional and statewide commercial development. In 2010, Kousky was named president of the Saginaw Public Schools Foundation. He currently chairs the board of Salare Security, is on the boards of Michigan Sugar Co. and the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest, and the advisory boards of Air Advantage and Duperon Corp. In addition, he has served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence for the Chicago Chamber of Commerce and its Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center. In 2007–10, Kousky served as Dow Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Saginaw Valley State University. He holds a patent and several professional technology certifications. Kousky has also taught at Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, he was vice president of Novell Inc., where he managed 20 worldwide offices and grew the company to more than 450 employees. Kousky has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and urban studies from Washington University and a master's degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.


WHERE BORN: “Chicago.”

MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS: “Ray Noorda, who was the chairman of Novell while I was there. He's an outstanding role model for aggressive business development. We were in the local area network marketplace, and he taught me that if you move fast, you get a lot more swings at the ball. He spent three to four days a week on the road with customers and never let the company become internally focused.”

LAST BOOK READ: “Thinking, Fast and Slow about experimental psychology and some new findings by Daniel Kahneman.”

WORDS THAT DESCRIBE ME: “Relentless, curious, inquisitive, ambitious.”

WHERE MY FIELD/INDUSTRY IS HEADED: “For security and information risk management, it's really a cyclical field – wait until bad things happen then a flurry of interest and activity and then start the cycle over again. In the whole field of computer security and information assurance, the gap is widening between the level of exploits and malicious activity and the resources needed to mitigate them. We're headed to rapid growth and expansion.”

FAVORITE TECHNOLOGICAL GADGET: “My iPad.”

FAVORITE PLACE: “Under water.”

FAVORITE HOBBIES: “Scuba diving and sailing.”

FAVORITE FOOD: “Falafel.”

MY HIDDEN TALENT: “I'm an avid magician but haven't done anything magical in a while.”

HOW I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED: “I hope that's premature and I don't have to worry about that for a couple of decades.”


Grant Thornton Website At the annual awards reception in April 2014, one Leader & Innovator from the previous 12 months will be selected as the Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.