CISOs in Cars

Kunal interviews Mike Butler, Director of Infosec at Spellman, in this unique subway-recorded session as they discuss his two decades of IT & cybersecurity evolution—from clunky, on-prem systems to modern, cloud-first solutions. Mike shares how they unified communications, overcame network challenges like China’s Great Firewall, and the balance between innovation and robust security.

Kunal sits in the dope.security Lamborghini with George Finney—CISO at University of Texas and best-selling author of Project Zero Trust—to explore why people are the most essential part of security. They discuss enabling the next generation of cyber talent through mentorship, bridging the gap between security and business operations, and reclaiming “Zero Trust” from the buzzwords. George also shares stories from his two decades at SMU, highlighting how strong leadership (and sometimes not-so-great bosses) shaped his perspective on security.

Kunal sits in the dope.security branded race car with Matt Adcock of NIQ as they discuss merging two very large organizations' cyber programs, bringing hiring diversity to cyber, and how decision-making works. Matt's tech journey stems from Blackberry which brought him into massive-scale technology and IT in the early days. They also discuss his community, CISO Crowd, out of the UK.

Kunal drives Rami El Outa of Luminor in a Tesla as they discuss the process & uniqueness of banking cybersecurity, as well as being in Estonia, the overall tech journey that brought him from Lebanon to Amsterdam to Estonia, and the recommendations he would make for folks who want to be in his position in the future.

Kunal brings Jamie Whitcombe-Jones, ex-CISO of Allianz in a classic London black cab as they discuss the evolution of purchasing name-brand companies to procuring startups, how and why to engage the local CISO community, and why venture causes cyber innovation. They also discuss the cyber skills “gap” in the industry and whether or not it exists.

Kunal brings Paul Colnan, Cyber at JPMorganChase and ex-CISO of Revolut, in a classic London Taxi as they discuss the connection between US and UK cybersecurity, how to approach the financial services cybersecurity practice and the value the startups bring to the technology landscape. They also talk about the importance of building relationships.

Kunal drives Fortune Barnard, CISO at Virgin Media, in a Rolls Royce around London as they discuss the business-first mentality that cybersecurity professionals should think through, becoming a CISO and the path around it, and looking at cyber from a customer/employee experience perspective. They talk about connectivity as a verb in the context of Virgin Media.

Kunal drives Brian Fricke, CISO of City National Bank of Florida, in a Tesla Cybertruck around SF at the RSA Conference as they discuss Fricke’s path to becoming a CISO from the Military to Banking, his vision for the relatively young CISO-as-a-career-path, and the risks involved of being a public CISO and how to counteract those. They also discuss the evolution of cyber including the ins and outs of the RSA conference.

Kunal drives Kelly Haydu, VP, Information Security, Technology & Enterprise Applications at CarGurus, in a Tesla Cyber Truck around SF at the RSA Conference as they discuss building rapport with engineers, building a data privacy practice, and moving from QA to head of cybersecurity. They talk about data breach reporting and how public companies can approach cybersecurity.

Kunal drives David Christensen, CISO of PlanSource, around Boston as they discuss the integrity and honesty required to make it as a cybersecurity startup, how it can be applied to partnering with customers in solving a business problem, and his mentality in onboarding new-age technologies into companies. They talk about value-added resellers like Guidepoint and advisory firms like Gartner, and how they can be best leveraged in cybersecurity.

Kunal drives Royce Markose, CISO of Vistrada, in a Lamborghini around Dallas, as they discuss Royce's journey in cybersecurity to becoming a Virtual, or Fractional CISO. Learn about the Dallas CISO scene, the journey from individual contributor to CISO, and how it's unique as well as how can product companies work better in today's world and succeed in the market.

Kunal drives Kayla Williams, CISO of Devo, as they discuss Kayla’s journey in cybersecurity, the evolution of CISO mentalities, and everything one wants to know about SOC-2/FedRAMP compliance, more than just a high-level description. From Mountain View to Boston, they kick off in a Lamborghini around town discussing what it means to be a hands-on Boston CISO.

Kunal drives Travis Farral, CISO of Archaea Energy, as they discuss the specifics of OT-IT Cybersecurity, growing into a CISO role, and choosing a startup that passes the vibe check, more than just whether they have a feature you want. From Mountain View to Dallas, they kick off with a discussion on all kinds of CISO topics including communities like CISO XC.

Kunal drives Jeff Moore, CISO of Staples, as they discuss how there’s a lack of real cyber innovation, broken vendor promises and their vaporware, and an important need for empathy when Sales reaches out to CISOs. From Mountain View to Boston, they kick off with honest opinions on how everyone can do better and be better in cybersecurity.

Kunal drives Steve Zalewski, ex-CISO of Levi’s, as they discuss how customers have been negatively impacted by cybersecurity commercialization, why vendors need to stop fighting amongst each other and unite, and the impact of a “Less is Less” mentality. They talk about achieving excellence and what is realistic for cybersecurity professionals.

Kunal drives Michael Keithley, CIO of United Talent Agency, as they discuss the path to becoming a cybersecurity-bred CIO from starting in aerospace and expanding to all things technology at one of the world’s biggest talent agencies. They talk about delightful user experiences, passion in what you work in, and differentiating yourself in your career; this is the intersection of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.

Kunal drives David Cook, CISO of Sequoia, as they discuss the path to becoming a cybersecurity professional from hacking and how that builds a perspective of what makes a CISO worth their salt. They talk about the modern day CISO’s job, the decision making process behind it, and the vendor-CISO relationship.

Kunal drives with Rohit Parchuri, CISO of Yext, as Parchuri reflects on his evolution over the decade from Security Engineer to CISO for a public company. The stakes are higher with the new SEC guidelines, but he's up for the challenge! They discuss Parchuri’s laundry list of things to do once becoming CISO of Yext, how he balances the strategic and tactical, and what he considers to be a Gen-3 Cybersecurity Product.

Kunal drives Ty Sbano, CISO of Vercel, as they discuss empathy and caring about your constituents as a cybersecurity professional—it could be the customers, their apps and data, the company and its security, or the employees and the user experience. They talk how to set yourself up for success as a CISO, whether or not you should become one, the integrity behind product management, and some cyber BTS.