The role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has fundamentally transformed from a technical functionary to a strategic business architect, essential for enterprise growth and innovation.
Now, the job of CISO has evolved beyond breach prevention to engineering enterprise-wide resilience, ensuring organisations can withstand and recover from attacks while protecting value and trust.
At Tech & AI LIVE London in May, cybersecurity leaders from Google Cloud, Virgin Media O2 and Risk Ledger shared insights on social engineering threats, AI risks and building cyber resilience.
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In this Top 10, Technology Magazine profiles some of the world’s leading CISOs, blending deep business understanding with technological vision and crisis command.
10. Angela Williams
Role: SVP and CISO
Company: UL Solutions
Angela is known for translating complex cybersecurity concepts into actionable business strategy.
By using analogies and storytelling, Angela educates and aligns business leaders, ensuring security is an integral component of corporate strategy, not a technical silo.
Her leadership in achieving complex, multi-subsidiary HITRUST certifications demonstrates her ability to execute large-scale, business-critical compliance and security initiatives, building customer confidence and creating a market differentiator.
9. Ricardo Lafosse
Role: CISO
Company: Kraft Heinz Company
At Kraft Heinz, Ricardo governs risk for a massive, physically distributed enterprise, protecting everything from corporate data to factory floor systems. He’s highly regarded as a leader for integrating security across both Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT).
With more than 19 years of experience across government, finance and healthcare, he has architected innovative programmes in incident management, application security and cloud security, making him a versatile and deeply experienced leader in enterprise-wide risk management.
8. Mandy Andress
Role: CISO
Company: Elastic
As Elasticâs first CISO, Mandy has built a formalised, enterprise-grade security programme from the ground up, guiding the company through its IPO and rapid growth.
Her unconventional background in accounting and law gives her a unique business- and compliance-oriented perspective on security.
She has successfully scaled the security posture to keep pace with Elasticâs evolution from a core product to a serverless AI platform, all the while demonstrating a remarkable ability to adapt security strategy to product innovation and emerging threats.
7. Lucia MilicÄ Stacy
Role: Global CISO
Company: Stanley Black & Decker
Lucia is a globally recognized CISO who excels at the intersection of technology, business and law.
With advanced degrees in Cybersecurity, Business and Law, she brings a holistic perspective to risk management at a Fortune 500 industrial giant.
Her extensive contributions, including board memberships on the National Technology Security Coalition and features in the Wall Street Journal, underpin her position as a prominent public voice on cybersecurity policy and a key shaper of industry best practices.
6. Tim Held
Role: EVP and CISO
Company: U.S. Bank
Known for exemplifying the role of CISO as an innovator, Tim blends deep technical acumen with strategic leadership at U.S. Bank.
His responsibility for a global, multidisciplinary security team covers the full spectrum from prevention to response.
He co-invented and was awarded a patent for Source Request Monitoring, an innovative process to detect and prevent fraudulent transactions, demonstrating a rare ability to not only implement security controls but to create novel intellectual property that directly addresses key business risks.
5. Adam Evans
Role: SVP and CISO
Company: Royal Bank of Canada
As CISO for one of Canadaâs largest banks, Adam is at the forefront of defending against next-generation financial cyber threats.
His vision and strategy are centered on leveraging advanced technologies like AI, ML and behavioural analysis to create adaptive cyber defences.
He leads RBCâs efforts in proactive threat hunting through red team exercises and incident response, building a programme focused on deep technical resilience and agility in the face of a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
4. Deneen DeFiore
Role: VP and CISO
Company: United Airlines
As CISO of United Airlines, Deneen is responsible for a complex ecosystem spanning corporate networks to connected aircraft.
She demonstrated exceptional command by leading the company’s technology crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rapidly enabling a secure remote workforce in a matter of weeks.
Her appointment to the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council underscores her status as a national expert on securing critical systems.
3. Chandra McMahon
Role: SVP and CISO
Company: CVS Health
As CISO of a Fortune 10 healthcare giant, Chandra protects the sensitive data of millions of Americans.
Her leadership philosophy combines deep technical expertise with a focus on mentorship and advocacy.
A CSO Hall of Fame inductee, she has a proven track record of leading through major crises, including thwarting an advanced state-sponsored cyberattack at a previous role.
Her work on the Aspen Institute Cyber Strategy Group also highlights her influence on national cybersecurity policy.
2. Phil Venables
Role: Strategic Security Advisor
Company: Google
One of the most influential figures in modern cybersecurity, Phil has spent his career shaping security practices at both the corporate and national levels.
As CISO-turned-Strategic Security Advisor at Google, he is responsible for securing one of the worldâs largest infrastructures. He was Google Cloudâs first CISO.
A former Partner and longtime CISO at Goldman Sachs, he co-founded the Center for Internet Security (CIS) and serves on the US Presidentâs Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), directly advising the White House on technology and security policy.
1. Jerry Geisler
Role: EVP and Global CISO
Company: Walmart
Jerry is in one of the most complex and demanding CISO roles globally, securing the world’s largest retailer.
He has actively re-architected Walmart’s security for the era of AI and automation. With a strategy focused on implementing a Zero Trust framework designed to manage risks from autonomous AI agents, Jerry’s forward-looking approach sets an industry standard.
By leading at such massive scale while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of security innovation, Jerry is the pinnacle of modern CISO leadership.
