Ray Cloud
Group Senior Vice President, Loss Prevention, Organizational Safety and Security at Ross Stores, Inc.
Ray’s retail Loss Prevention experience spans 30 years. Presently, he is Group Senior Vice President of Loss Prevention for Ross Stores, Inc. He is responsible for all aspects of Loss Prevention, Investigations, Safety and Security for over 1800 Stores, 6 Distribution Centers, and 5 Corporate or Buying offices.
Ray’s career began with the Target Division of Dayton Hudson’s, where he was promoted to District Assets Protection Manager in the market expansions of Chicago and Washington D.C. before serving four years as Regional Assets Protection Manager for the Hudson’s Division of Dayton Hudson’s (Marshall Field’s). He then worked as Loss Prevention Divisional Director, for the Home Depot and the Group Assets Protection Team Leader, Midwest Region, for Target Corporation before assuming his current role.
Prior to working with Target, Ray volunteered for service in the U.S. Army. The experience played a tremendous role in shaping his leadership skills, instilling in him discipline, resilience, and the ability to work well with teams. After three years of service, Ray received an honorable discharge and obtained a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
Ray has served on the Loss Prevention advisory committee for the National Retail Federation since 2008. Ray has also been an active member of the International Organization of Black Security Executives (IOBSE) since 1995 and has formerly served as president. Ray resides in the Bay Area and has been married for over 30 years to his wife Lisa. They have 2 children.
Will Baker
Group Vice President – Field Loss Prevention at Ross Stores
Will is a retail executive with cross-functional experience that spans Store Operations, Loss Prevention, and Human Resources. Prior to beginning a career in Retail, Will spent time in Criminal Justice at the State and Local Levels. Will is a former Board Member/President of the IOBSE and was attracted to the organization after attending a conference in 2005 and seeing the impact the that conference had on the students in attendance. Will continues to give back on the organization as an advisor to the Board of Directors.
Keith White
Global Chief Security and Safety Officer, Salesforce.org
Previously, Keith was the EVP, Global Sustainability, Gap Foundation, and Loss Prevention at Gap Inc. and led the execution of the company’s sustainability strategy focused on driving socially and environmentally responsible business practices at Gap Inc.’s global operations, supply chain and products. Keith also took on the responsibility of overseeing Gap Foundation’s portfolio of global community investments.
Under Keith’s leadership, the loss prevention division have implemented best-in-class strategies to address loss. Keith led the transformation of business continuity planning, establishing a company-wide plan and structure for emergency preparedness and response.
Keith chaired the Diversity Council at Gap Inc., serves on the Year Up Bay Area Board, East Bay Regional Parks Foundation Board, is the former chairman of the Board of Directors for the Bay Area American Red Cross Chapter, and is also an advisor and past President to the International Organization of Black Security Executives Board of Directors.
Venus Finley-Akins
Corporate Security Manager and Operations at Gap Inc.
Venus’s retail Loss Prevention experience spans over 30 years she and is presently the Corporate Security/Operations Manager at Gap Inc. based in San Francisco, California. Venus is responsible for the safety and protection of 1400 employees. With a long career, she has led a field staff of several hundred Assets Protection and Loss Prevention Professionals. Venus’s career began with the Mervyns, part of Target Corporation. While at Mervyns, she was promoted to numerous positions at Mervyns including District Assets Protection Manager in the market expansions of Chicago and Washington DC.
Don Knox
Sr Manager, Enterprise Security, Crisis Management, Business Continuity at TE Connectivity
Don is Global Security, Enterprise Risk and Crisis Management professional with over 20 years of experience. Don is currently Sr Manager of Security, Crisis Management and Business Continuity for TE Connectivity. He previously held senior level roles at Sears Holdings, Caterpillar and State Farm. Don is also a 2 term IOBSE Past President and ASIS Council Vice President. He is a graduate of Illinois State University with degrees in Criminal Justice Science and Computer Science. He is also a board certified as a Certified Protection Professional and Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist.