Richard Purcell is a leading voice in addressing consumer privacy and data protection challenges, domestically and internationally.

In 2003, Mr. Purcell formed Corporate Privacy Group, an independent consulting firm focused on establishing sustainable, affordable privacy programs. Mr. Purcell advises Fortune 100 corporations and government agencies about achieving the twin goals of respecting and protecting personal information. Through seminars, lectures and writings, he promotes leading practices for consumer data protection and security.

In addition to program reviews and advice, Privacy Directions™, a training curriculum for corporations designed to institutionalize privacy awareness, practices, and compliance throughout their employee base, has become a landmark offering from his company.

As Microsoft's original privacy officer, Mr. Purcell designed, developed, implemented and oversaw one of the world's largest and most advanced privacy programs, spanning software development, web deployment, infrastructure management, workforce management, and consumer data handling practices. His corporate office developed and monitored a distributed team of privacy managers throughout the enterprise, including global subsidiaries.

Mr. Purcell holds several significant privacy appointments. He is Chairman of TRUSTe, sits on the Privacy Certification Advisory Board of the Int'l Association of Privacy Professionals, a member of the Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee for the Dept. of Homeland Security and a Fellow at the Ponemon Institute.