“40 under 40” Class of 2019 — Ryan Schonfeld, 33

Ryan Schonfeld is founder & CEO of RAS Security Group, which includes RAS Consulting & Investigations and RAS Watch, two companies dedicated to helping end users conceptualize, implement and run tech-forward security programs.

“I founded RAS Consulting in 2014 after running Security Technology for a large global Fortune company,” he explained. “The idea behind RAS is working with end users to bridge the gap between physical security philosophies, policies, training and technology that enables scale and conformance with the intricacies of a company's culture. To date, RAS has worked with some of the fastest growing and highly capitalized companies in the world, enabling them to focus on their core mission while ensuring that their people and assets are protected. Because RAS is a licensed private investigations agency, we also serve the corporate investigations function for our clients.”

While Schonfeld was in law enforcement, he got my master's degree in information systems design from George Washington University, and shortly thereafter began consulting for the U.S. State Department training foreign, allied nations' law enforcement in high-tech investigations.

“During this period, it became immediately apparent how far behind technology the law enforcement and security communities were,” he said. “My transition to the private sector made it even more apparent how antiquated much of the industry's approach to security was, failing to account for the proactiveness, scalability, technology and cultural fit that's so essential in designing a security program for an organization. I founded RAS to address those needs for our clients, who are some of the fastest growing companies in the world.”

Schonfeld said security technology “is at a point that it can offer value to organizational functions beyond security. In an age of social media, that can be critical to protecting an organization's assets and brand.”