Most recently for Washington State, Steve spearheaded the modernization of resident identity and access management by designing a data-driven framework that built consensus among WaTech leaders and administrative agencies. He developed strategic roadmaps, led multi-agency workshops, and crafted requirements for a $13M procurement package, driving the adoption of advanced CIAM solutions across the state.

Previously, Steve was a Sr. Advisor at Optiv, the largest holistic pure-play cybersecurity solutions integrator in North America, where he advised prestigious clients in the Pacific Northwest on solutions to reduce financial risk through the use of technology and business process optimizations.

Before that, he was the CEO of a seed-funded Seattle start-up, VeriClouds, a cyber threat intelligence company focused on making credential breaches a thing of the past. While at VeriClouds, Steve led a start-up team (of former Microsoft security researchers and product managers) pioneering the identity threat protection space. Notable project includes leading the ForgeRock integration to deliver the most comprehensive integrated threat intelligence solution for the ForgeRock Identity Platform.

Before leaping to the start-up world, Steve was a Director in Cybersecurity and Privacy at PwC. He worked with PwC clients on identifying, assessing, and treating risk, building security services, and incorporating long-term strategies that enable superior user experience and improved operational efficiency.

Before PwC, he was the global head of IAM at VMware. At VMware, Steve led global teams managing the operations and administration of standards-based identity and access management platforms, enhancing security and efficiency across the organization. He drove key initiatives to modernize VMware’s security infrastructure, significantly improving compliance, user access controls, and operational resilience during a period of rapid growth. His leadership in implementing cutting-edge IAM solutions positioned VMware at the forefront of secure, scalable access management.

Before joining VMware, Steve was a consultant at Oracle where he led deployments at strategic accounts in the manufacturing and high-tech sectors.

Steve has presented numerous times at Kuppinger Cole’s Consumer Identity World including on the topic of Building World Class Security Products with Privacy by Design (2018) and delivered a keynote on Risk Aware IAM (2017) in Bellevue, WA. In 2018, Mr. Tout moderated a panel of industry experts on the topic of Risk Informed IAM, Compromised Credentials and the Future of Authentication at Identiverse 2018 in Boston, MA.

As an advisory board member, Steve helps founders and executives with business development, innovation, and strategic marketing. Startups he has helped include VeriClouds, TrustLogix, and Palerra, the leading cloud access security broker and pioneer of the API-based CASB. (Palerra was acquired by Oracle in October 2016)

Steve received a BS in Information Technology from University of Phoenix, and an MBA with concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship from Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business.