Hermann B. Ries is a lead auditor for TÜV SÜD America Inc. He has more than 10 years of regulatory and quality management systems experience, including second- and third-party audits in telecommunications, information technology, software/hardware development, engineering services, food safety, and finance. Ries has assisted in the certification of food producers, exporters, and distributors, and participated in numerous nationwide training activities for food safety initiatives. He has 15 years experience in public education. His auditor accreditations include RAB lead auditor, TÜV cert auditor, HACCP trainer, TL 9000 qualified expert, and ISO 9001:2000 and SQF training.