Austin, Texas, USA (March 19, 2013) – The first woman to ever hold the position of White House Chief Information Officer, Theresa Payton will lend advice to CIOs and CSOs on protecting digital assets at the opening session of the 2013 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC®). Payton will speak to HITEC 2013 attendees on Monday, June 24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minn.  In addition, HITEC has scheduled two other keynote sessions featuring experts highlighting current business trends and practices.

Having administered the information technology enterprise for the president and 3,000 staff members for two years successfully, Payton will offer real-life, high-level solutions CIO to CIO. Prior to working in federal government, Payton held executive roles in technology at large banking institutions such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Payton is the founder of Fortalice, LLC, a security, risk and fraud consulting company that lends expertise to companies of all size, helping them to improve and protect their information technology systems. In 2010, she was named as one of the top 25 “Most Influential People in Security” by Security Magazine. Payton serves as a cyber-expert for the syndicated program America Now and is co-author of Protecting Your Internet Identity: Are You Naked Online?

“Those of us in the IT field are continuously seeking to stay ahead of the concerns affecting the industry’s ever changing information technology infrastructure,” said HITEC Chair Ken Barnes, vice president of Information Technology with White Lodging Services. “Experts like Payton will equip attendees with the tools necessary to engage their organizations in enhancing security posture and strengthening security measures.”

The Tuesday, June 25 HITEC keynote session will focus on digital money in a session centered on the provocative novel, The End of Money, presented by author and Wiredcontributing editor, David Wolman. Wolman will share highlights from his new novel and insights on how the current monetary revolution occurring promises to change how we use, save, spend and even define money.

Wolman has also written for such publications as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Outside, Newsweek, Discover, Forbes, New Scientist and Salon, and his work appeared in Best American Science Writing 2009.

On Thursday, after a full week immersed in Hospitality IT, attendees will cap their experience by spending quality time with Hospitality CIOs in a relaxed Q&A session. Upon examination, attendees will notice that many CIOs have not risen to their positions along the same paths, nor do their job descriptions align. But what they do have in common is the oversight of the IT infrastructure at a hospitality company. As IT becomes even more integral to operations and guests services, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from multiple perspectives the direction these top experts are taking their departments. Gain insight on strategy and tactics, staffing, innovative technologies, influence and more —attendees may just get the answer to that tech question they been dying to ask.

HITEC 2013, a service of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP®), is the world's largest hospitality technology exposition and conference. The conference is June 24–27. HITEC offers attendees essential education, access to experts and hospitality technology vendors, the opportunity to network with top leaders in the industry and the resources to find cost-effective ways to improve company bottom lines.

Attendee registration and the housing bureau are now available on the web site. VisitHITEC.org for complete information about all conference and exhibition events, including the conference schedule, a list of exhibitors, a map of the exhibit hall and the most current HITEC news.

For more information about HITEC, contact the HFTP Meetings & Special Events Department at [email protected], (800) 646-4387 or +1 (512) 249-5333.

HFTP, Austin, Texas, USA and Maastricht, The Netherlands, founded in 1952, is the global professional association for financial and technology personnel working in hotels, clubs and other hospitality-related businesses. HFTP provides first class educational opportunities, research, and publications to more than 4,800 members globally including, the premiere hospitality technology conference HITEC--founded in 1972. HFTP also awards the only hospitality specific certifications for accounting and technology ---the Certified Hospitality Accountant Executive (CHAE) and the Certified Hospitality Technology Professional (CHTP) designations. HFTP was founded in the USA as the National Association of Hotel Accountants. For more information, visit www.hftp.org.