Rich Bates

Mr. Bates has over 35 years of IT experience in public, private, and government sectors. As the CIO, he leads the Information Services Department. A member of the Executive Team, Mr. Bates focuses on Information Assurance and Data Privacy matters. Over his career, he has been involved with multiple aspects of information technology from hardware deployment to data center operations. Mr. Bates was part of the team in charge of standing up operations for the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Customer Support Center and the Chief of Naval Operations’ consolidated Network and Customer Support Center. Prior to joining Zeiders, Mr. Bates was the Vice President of Technical Operations for a highly secured data center in Northern Virginia where he guided the organization through five consecutive, very successful SAS 70 (SSAE 16/SOC) and SysTrust audits as well as DITSCAP and DIACAP reviews. Mr. Bates holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration in Information Technology and Master of Science in Information Systems from the George Washington University and is certified in Risk and Information Systems Controls (CRISC) by ISACA. The son of a career Naval Officer and father of a Naval Aviator, he understands the needs and concerns of the Military and Veteran communities.