John is Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for The PowerTech Group, a Seattle Washington area System i security software company. He has published numerous security related articles and columns for industry magazines, has presented hundreds of System i security sessions at industry conferences and user groups all over the world, and is a three time winner of COMMON's Speaker Excellence award. He also serves on the board of directors of COMMON in the U.S.

Mr. Earl has been working with IBM midrange systems since 1980, with particular focus being devoted to the areas of Security and System Management. He is the chief architect for a number of the PowerLock brand of security products, and is recognized around the world as a leading expert on System i security.

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