The role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has evolved significantly in recent years, reflecting the growing recognition of cybersecurity as a critical component of an organisation's risk management and operational resilience.
With cyber threats becoming more sophisticated and pervasive, the CISO is increasingly seen as a key player in the executive team, contributing not only to the protection of technological assets but also to the overall strategic direction of the company.
Here, Technology Magazine highlights 10 of the leading CISOs from companies around the world.
10. Michael McNeil, Global CISO, McKesson
Michael McNeil serves as the Global CISO of McKesson, overseeing the company's information and operational technology security strategy and governance. Before joining McKesson, he held the role of Global Product and Security Officer at Royal Philips, where he deployed consistent security processes across the company's entire portfolio of healthcare products and services.
Earlier in his career, Michael held senior leadership positions at several other organisations, including Medtronic, Liberty Mutual Group, Pitney Bowes and Reynolds & Reynolds.
Revenue: US$301.5bn (2023)
Employees: 51,000
CEO: Brian S. Tyler
Founded: 1833
9. Andrea Abell, Chief Information Security Officer, Eli Lilly
Andrea Abell joined Eli Lilly as its CISO in May 2023 where she is responsible for tackling evolving security challenges that require balancing technology, business priorities and human nature. Prior to joining Lilly, she was CISO at NBCUniversal, responsible for protecting a global ecosystem spanning live broadcasts, filmed content, theme parks and streaming services, and previously spent 17 years at Lockheed Martin, holding various positions and earning a reputation as a cybersecurity thought leader who implements innovative, robust solutions.
Revenue: US$34bn (2023)
Employees: 43,000
CEO: David A. Ricks
Founded: 1876
8. Chandra McMahon, SVP & CISO, CVS Health
Chandra McMahon, SVP and CISO at CVS Health, has over 30 years of experience leading large, complex security programmes. Today, she oversees the company’s global security organisation, protecting the enterprise from cyber threats and supporting CVS Health’s mission of improving people’s health. Before joining CVS, McMahon served as SVP and CISO at Verizon and held numerous leadership roles at Lockheed Martin – including VP and CISO, and VP of Commercial Markets.
Revenue: US$357.8bn (2023)
Employees: 300,000
CEO: Karen S. Lynch
Founded: 1963
7. Guy Rosen, CISO, Meta
As Meta’s first CISO, Guy Rosen oversees the safety, security and abuse prevention for the company's products, infrastructure and information. Guy brings over two decades of cybersecurity, software development and product management experience. Since 2017, he has led an overhaul of Meta's approach to fighting abuse on the platform, building industry-leading teams that have pioneered methods to address complex challenges like harmful content, election readiness and adversarial threats. He first joined Meta in 2013 after the acquisition of Onavo, where he was co-founder and CEO.
Revenue: US$134.9bn (2023)
Employees: 67,317
CEO: Mark Zuckerberg
Founded: 2004
6. Phil Venables, VP - Google / CISO - Google Cloud, Alphabet
Phil Venables is the CISO of Google Cloud, where he leads the risk, security, compliance and privacy teams. He joined Google in 2020 after over 25 years as a CISO at multiple financial services companies, including a long career at Goldman Sachs, where he served as its first CISO. Venables is a specialist in information and cyber security, cloud services, enterprise risk, technology risk and business resilience, with experience spanning in-depth engineering to board-level management across multiple industries and geographies.
Revenue: US$307.39bn (2023)
Employees: 182,502
CEO: Sundar Pichai
Founded: 1998 (Google)
5. CJ Moses, CISO, Amazon
CJ Moses leads security engineering and operations across Amazon, enabling businesses by making the most secure path the path of least resistance. Before joining AWS in 2007, Moses had an extensive career in the US Federal Government, including roles at the FBI and as a US Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent. He served as AWS Deputy CISO before succeeding Stephen Schmidt as CISO in 2022, becoming Amazon's CISO in October 2023.
Revenue: US$574.76bn (2023)
Employees: 1.5 million
CEO: Andy Jassy
Founded: 1994
4. Basim Al-Ruwaii, CISO, Saudi Aramco
Basim Al-Ruwaii, the CISO of Saudi Aramco, is responsible for the company’s and its subsidiaries’ global cybersecurity programmes. He provides mature and resilient cybersecurity capabilities to safeguard the business and enable continuous growth. With over 20 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, and extensive experience in cybersecurity oversight, cybersecurity operations and information technology engineering and communications operations, he has held multiple leadership roles at Saudi Aramco, including managing its IT engineering, communications operations and information protection departments.
Revenue: US$440.8bn (2023)
Employees: 70,000
CEO: Amin H. Nasser
Founded: 1933
3. George Stathakopoulos, VP Corporate Information Security, Apple
George Stathakopoulos, the Vice President of Corporate Information Security at Apple, is an experienced executive with a strong background in the consumer electronics industry. Skilled in scalability, enterprise software, culture change, online services and vulnerability assessment, he is a military and protective services professional with a Computer Science degree from Portland State University. Prior to Apple, he held leadership roles including Vice President of Information Security at Amazon and General Manager of Product Security at Microsoft.
Revenue: US$200.6bn (2023)
Employees: 161,000
CEO: Tim Cook
Founded: 1976
2. Jerry Geisler, SVP & CISO, Walmart
Jerry Geisler serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Walmart's global information security department, where his responsibilities include ensuring data security for millions of Walmart customers and associates.
Under his leadership, Walmart's Information Security programme is considered a forward-thinking industry leader. It focuses on adopting emerging best-in-class information security practices, driving innovation and enabling business goals across IT, OT, cloud, platform and product security domains.
Jerry holds several prestigious positions outside of Walmart. He is an Enterprise Board member of Team8, an incubator and venture capital fund based in Tel Aviv. He also serves on the committee for the RSA Executive Security Action Forum and is a member of the University of Tulsa’s Board of Trustees. He is a United States Marine Corps veteran and has been with Walmart for over three decades, starting his career as a cashier in his hometown store.
Revenue: US$611.29bn (2023)
Employees: 2.1 million
CEO: Doug McMillon
Founded: 1962
1. Igor Tsyganskiy, CISO, Microsoft
Microsoft’s Global CISO since January 2024, Igor Tsyganskiy has an extensive background in technology and security.
In his role today, Tsyganskiy supports the tech giant in achieving further digital transformations and security measures. He is a technologist and dynamic leader with a career spanning high-scale and high-security environments, and holds knowledge and experience from his previous role as a Chief Information Strategy Officer, in addition to former positions outside of Microsoft.
Before joining the company, Tsyganskiy served as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Bridgewater Associates LP, a hedge fund that services institutional clients, including pension funds, endowments, foundations, foreign governments and central banks.
He has also worked as Senior Vice President of Product Management at Salesforce and was the head of SAP’s advanced technology group.
Revenue: US$212bn (2023)
Employees: 221,000
CEO: Satya Nadella
Founded: 1975
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