The International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP; York, Maine) brings together industries with privacy concerns in order to discuss the development and maintenance of programs and privacy policies, according to its mission statement. As a new appointee to the Association's board, Kimberly Gray, chief privacy officer of Highmark (Pittsburgh; $75.7 million net 2003 income), brings to the table the special perspective of the health insurance industry as well as a personal perspective.

As Highmark's first chief privacy officer, Gray played a leading role in implementing the company's privacy compliance program, including workforce privacy and security training, a privacy and security breach complaint program, member rights, and privacy compliance monitoring and risk assessments. Gray says her view of privacy was shaped by her experience before she became an attorney. "I actually worked in a medical office for a number of years and I tend to look at things from a patient's perspective," she says.

That kind of customer orientation is a common goal of those from various industries who meet through the IAPP, according to Gray. "All of us who are involved with privacy are concerned from a customer-trust perspective - first and foremost, making sure we're doing the right thing for our customers," she says.

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio