Colin O’Connor credits his passion and supportive colleagues for helping him rise steadily through the ranks to the post of chief operating officer at ReliaQuest, the Tampa-based global cybersecurity firm. Throughout O’Connor’s career at ReliaQuest, he has taken on new roles and challenges and excelled at every level, helping to build the company into a leader in security model management. His contributions prove his ability as a gifted leader and motivated learner who continues to strive for more.

O’Connor joined ReliaQuest in the summer of 2008 as an intern and one of the company’s first inside sales representatives – progressing to outside sales and, eventually, to sales director. After graduating, he secured a full-time position with the firm and, in 2015, he became vice president of Delivery, and the following year, vice president of Security Operations, before achieving his current position in 2017. As COO, O’Connor is responsible for all technical operations of the company, which includes security operations, delivery management, business analytics, engineering/development, product management and account management.

ReliaQuest has earned numerous accolades from independent organizations, industry partners, community groups and civic leaders for its rapid growth and sustained success. It has consistently been named to various “Best Places to Work” lists, including Fortune magazine’s Top 100 Medium Workplaces and FSU’s Seminole 100 list of fastest growing businesses owned by alumni. In early 2016, the promise of ReliaQuest’s trajectory attracted $30 million from growth equity investment firm FTV Capital. This year, it launched an innovation that O’Connor helped shape – a cybersecurity platform called GreyMatter, which Fortune 1,000 organizations are rapidly adopting to better protect themselves against cyber threats.

O’Connor also has taken on leadership positions with community and industry organizations, including the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, the Information Systems Security Association, B-Sides Tampa and InfraGard. He is a member of the college’s Business Analytics, Information Systems and Supply Chain (BAISSC) Advisory Board and frequently advises students on career options and shares insights he has garnered as a student and young professional.