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HotTopics.ht is proud to announce the Global CISO 100 2021, a celebration of security leadership, resilience and innovation in the face of industry, national and international disruption.
We received many terrific CISO nominations and equivalent security leaders from our community of business leaders and their networks all over the world, but ultimately, these had to be condensed into 100 individuals.
That mighty task fell to the official Judges of the Global CISO 100 2021, whom HotTopics.ht would like to take this opportunity to thank once again. Our Judges this year were:
George Eapen, CIO & Group CISO, Petrofac; Mansi Thapar, CISO, Jaquar Group; Louisa Perry, Head of Technology & Digital, Savannah Group; and Les McCollum, Managing VP, CISO, ICMA-RC.
Together, they have allowed us and the rest of the world to help discover and celebrate some of the leading security voices and talent in the world today, whilst being mindful of HotTopics.ht’s quest for diversity and inclusion. They judged the final 100 into place by analyzing the following criteria:
- Building a security strategy that mitigates risk and maximizes business performance;
- Has a proven track record compassionate and inclusive leadership style;
- Overseeing disruptive change under transformation and/or remote working;
- Championing a culture of security internally;
- Representing their companies on current and future state cybersecurity topics.
The Rationale
These security leaders will have gone above and beyond to help drive business success. The paradox of keeping a business secure while fueling its growth is the essence of why cybersecurity is a vital function worth celebrating.
This is made all the more stark by the shadow cast by the pandemic over the last 18 months and its subsequent ramifications. The growth trajectory of any business lies within its technology, its processes, data and infrastructure, but above all in its people, who have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The resultant lurch to hybrid working has proved an incredible feat for security chiefs the world over, but it also presents a clear and present danger that a remote workforce is all the more isolated in the presence of opportunistic hackers and antagonists.
It’s important therefore not just to celebrate these individuals, but to learn from them. HotTopics.ht will be following up with a number of these CISO’s to understand the lessons to be learned from their experiences and tactics so our community may be able to take action.
Furthermore, our event, The Studio: October Edition, which brings together over 100 CIOs, CTOs, CISOs, and data leaders, will include a number of these award-winning security leaders and feature them on exclusive roundtable discussions that will be broadcast at a later date to the wider public, for total dissemination of thought leadership from these eminent executives.
To learn more about The Studio, click here.
The CISO 100 Story
Although this is part of our annual search for the Top 100 Global CISOs, the remarkable changes to our industry mean it may well be a very different list from previous endeavors! Leaders across the technology function are working closer and closer together to create seamless strategies that protect and propel firms. And whilst CIOs become the face of innovation and a vital partner to growth, and digital and data leaders emerge with control of the currency on which decisions are made, the CISOs role can be labelled as proactively defensive. They must consciously protect the business from attacks, trying to preempt threats rising in intelligence, whilst building up a culture of protection within its teams. Ensuring the business has this culture increases the resilience of the business as it fights against a worryingly complex security situation.
At the start of 2021, many organizations were implementing the business-critical cybersecurity measures after a whirlwind 12 months of dissonance—from employees, governments and customers—and disruption—from cyber hackers capitalizing on the discord with coordinated, sophisticated attacks, most notably on the US energy grid. The dies have been cast: CEOs need to have their CISOs close in order to weather the coming storm.
The Global CISO 100 2021 builds on the success of our 2017 list, which then formed the first ever global CISO 100 list, and the 100 Global CISOs 2020. As we have established, it is not just a bellwether campaign highlighting some of the best security individuals and strategies happening in the world today, it is a celebration of one of the rising executives of any successful business.
