New (ISC)² Executive Director Introduction: Building on Our Successes & Striving for Excellence

I’m pleased to start off 2015 as the new (ISC)² executive director. As someone who has been entrusted with information security responsibilities throughout my career, I welcome the opportunity to speak out about the challenges we face on behalf of those working to keep our cyber world safe.

During my past two years as COO at (ISC)², I’ve seen the organization make positive strides toward establishing a member focus; however, this is a sustained commitment with more work to be done. I want to build on the momentum of our successes while continuing to evaluate areas that we need to improve so that we’re continually striving for excellence in everything we do.

As the new (ISC)² executive director, I want to continue on the path of success we’ve achieved under the leadership of Hord Tipton, whose boundless energy and enthusiasm for all things information security and (ISC)² are unrivaled in the industry. I understand that I have big shoes to fill.

My own background includes 14 years working with the U.S. Coast Guard before moving to the U.S. Department of Interior, where I ultimately served as deputy CIO. At both organizations, I was fortunate to work with some true visionaries who understood the role IT could play in these large, disbursed organizations with diverse missions. The last ten years of my government career, I served at the senior executive level before joining (ISC)² in 2012. My full bio can be found on the (ISC)²website at https://www.isc2.org/management-team.aspx.

Having worked in the profession and having dealt with the challenges of managing large infrastructure as well as the challenges associated with information security, I come into this role with passion and sincerity to advocate for the profession. I also have a sense for the hard work that goes into this across the board – not just the security roles, but IT professionals that may monitor and manage infrastructure that hosts or provides access to enterprise information assets.

I think there are some parallels between public service and a not-for-profit that’s membership oriented. We’re here on behalf of you – the global membership. The investments and decisions we make should stand up to the questions and transparency we need to demonstrate to our members and always need to deliver value.

I take my new responsibility of being the leader and public face of this organization very seriously. My first order of business will be to continue to advance our global partnerships to ensure a smooth transition and to continue building rapport with the lifeblood of our organization – the global (ISC)² membership. There’s certainly more work to be done on behalf of the membership to advance our mission globally, and I plan to roll my sleeves up to further that cause.

We have a broad range of initiatives underway, so I will ensure those projects come to fruition. It’s not always about adding new ideas to the pipeline. I’ve always respected people and organizations that demonstrate the ability to make great ideas a reality. During my tenure as executive director, I plan to advance the goals and objectives that our Board of Directors has put forth for the organization and its 100,000-plus global membership.

I look forward to this exciting new challenge of becoming the leader of (ISC)². Let’s make 2015 a prosperous and progressive year!

[(ISC)² Blog]