CISO Think Tank

With almost 20 years of financial and insurance experience, I strive to provide strategic analytical and consulting services to clients and prospects seeking to mitigate credit, political, financial, property/causality and human capital risks. My professional expertise encompasses a broad portfolio of critical business development and organizational risk categories for both large and middle sized corporations especially those with international exposures. Industries of specialization include Retail, Technology& Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Automotive, Banking and Finance, among others.

Ray Austad began his IT and Information Security career in Higher Education and Non-Profit, and pivoted over to financial enterprise after 18 years. Commencing his career with Zurich Farmers Insurance’s Group Information Security as a Business Information Security Officer. In 2014 he joined the Farmers Insurance Group Business Unit to lead Cloud and Application Security, Vulnerability Management, and Incident Response. In 2020 Ray took a different view of Cybersecurity and risks to business by moving over to Farmers Risk Management team. As Director Information Security and Risk Management, the next chapter started with being able to evaluate the organization with a new and intriguing lens. The first quarter was allocated to learning more about Enterprise Risk Management and adjusting to a role of business assurance, opposed to operational execution. The second quarter changed the organization and our personal lives with the pandemic, and provided new, unforeseen challenges. However this offered new opportunities to calculate organization and supplier risks, and view business resiliency differently. Heading into the third quarter, the focus will be on continued improvements with information security risk baselines, collaboration with our operational and business partners to monitor pandemic impacts, and evaluate new and emerging risks.

Known for his ability to communicate both technically and conceptually in an authoritative yet entertaining style, Dale “Dr. Z” Zabriskie has consulted with IT professionals across the globe, advising on implementing effective cyber security strategies. He is a CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional) and certified in Cloud Security Knowledge (CCSK). In his 20-year cybersecurity career, Dr. Z has advised major healthcare, public sector, finance, retail, entertainment, and manufacturing organizations in over fifty countries. He has also been a popular moderator and participant in numerous industry panels. His expertise is supported by career experience in information technology, regulatory compliance, research and development, marketing, and sales.

James Christiansen is Netskope’s vice president of cloud security transformation and leader of the Chief Strategy Office. He is focused on enhancing the sales staff reach into Netskope’s global clients and helping drive thought leadership in cloud security transformation. James brings extensive expertise as a global leader in information security. Prior to joining Netskope, he was vice president CISO at Teradata where he led the global security, physical, and information security teams. Previously, James was vice president of information risk management at Optiv, chief information risk officer for Evantix, and CISO at Experian Americas, General Motors, and Visa International. As a sought-after expert speaker on security, James has been featured at numerous prestigious events, including the Business Roundtable, Research Board, American Bar Association, American Banker, the RSA Conference, BankInfoSecurity, ISSA, ISACA, HIMSS, and MIS Training Institute. He has also been featured in The New York Times and quoted as an expert in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, United States Cybersecurity Magazine, Bloomberg, and Healthcare IT News. James is a patent inventor and has received three innovation awards in cyber security, GRC, and cloud computing. He is the author of the Internet Survival Series and contributing author of CISO Essentials, as well as numerous industry papers.

Passionate and innovative Information Security leader. Continuous learner and pragmatic strategist, always seeking to balance security with practicality and business process.

Senior risk management leader with 15 years of progressive experience delivering information security and regulatory compliance services. Proven record of achieving results, advising leadership, developing successful teams, and serving the community.

Dr. Lin is focused on improving patient care...currently as the CIO and CMIO at UCR and UCR School of Medicine. Previously Dr Lin served as Segment Chief Information Officer - Research & Innovation at Nationwide Childrens Hospital. A growth-oriented CIO. Named 2018 Innovator of the Year by CHIME. National thought leader on digital transformation. 20 years of experience. Acknowledged for providing vision and leadership in IT to drive business growth in large, complex and highly distributed environments. _______________________________________________ His Specialties include: Digital Transformation, Data-driven Innovation, Change Management, Process re-engineering, Data Science, Data Lake, Artificial Intelligence, NLP, Design Thinking, and User Experience.

I am an accomplished business and technology executive with a broad range of experience in enterprise technology. My vast experience in business applications and enterprise systems has enabled me to adapt to diverse and dynamic environments — the ability to form motivated teams that overcome complex challenges. Strong background in driving programs and services, I strive to manage technology initiatives effectively by orchestrating the contribution of diverse groups across the enterprise. I am experienced in establishing a technology governance mechanism, a realizable value proposition that should demonstrate capability enhancement at a reduced cost and risk. I subscribe to an integrated portfolio management approach looking at Infrastructure rationalization roadmaps aligned to application consolidations, Process standardization, and efficiency improvement strategies. Specialties: CRM/CEM/MDM: Siebel, Oracle CRM, Microsoft CRM, RightNow, Peoplesoft, Pivotal, Salesforce.com, SAP, Guidewire, Oracle WebCenter ECM, Portal ERP: Oracle, MS Dynamics-Great Plains, Lawson, SAP, Ariba HCMS: Oracle, Peoplesoft, Workday, Callidus CWS: Beeline BI: OBIEE, SAP Business Objects QA: HP ALM-Quality Center, Jira IT Governance, Demand and Delivery Management, Project and Portfolio Management HP PPM, Clarity, IT Strategy, Cloud Computing, Strategic Planning Six Sigma, Lean, Process Excellence, TPS Marketing Automation: Siebel Marketing, Eloqua, Aprimo SAP SRC, Hyperion, GRC Enterprise Risk Management, Cybersecurity, Incident Response, Information Security EMC, NetApp, Cisco, VMware, Cloud (Public, Private, and Hybrid) Mobility(MDM), Delphix AWS, Azure, Oracle, and GCP

As a highly experienced software executive, I build, coach, and mentor local and global level teams of engineers to deliver great software that solves client and company challenges while adding business value. I practice servant leadership, so I work predominantly as a facilitator and process innovator so that the teams reporting to me have everything they need to be successful in their role. A big part of this includes improving pathways of communication across the business spectrum whose professions often have very different vocabularies. During my managerial experience, I have handled the financial aspects from department budgets and tracking investment costs per project, to handling capitalization of software development costs and R&D tax credits.

Paul Valente is the current CEO & Co-Founder of VISO Trust. He was also the former CISO and built successful security teams and programs at ASAPP, LendingClub, and Restoration Hardware. Paul's third-party risk management programs have been vetted by hundreds of Fortune 1000 companies and his teams have vetted thousands of third parties.

Highly accomplished innovative Technology Executive with proven record of driving business strategy utilizing technological solutions, product creation and ERP application delivery. Transformative visionary specializing in collaborating with C-level executives, elected officials, senior business management and business users to exceed business goals and objectives. Executive leader responsible for business-driven technology transformation, digital platform creation, product development, cross-functional team leadership, and technology innovation. Demonstrated ability to lead large scale projects. Experienced in gas and Utilities, Aerospace and Defense, Financial, Manufacturing, Transportation, Logistics, Marketing, Construction and Healthcare.

A senior AI and Data Analytics Executive with demonstrated success in data science, machine learning, AI, Generative AI, data and AI strategy, ML and AI platform, data management, data governance, and analytics across Tech, Media, and Financial Services industries. I have a strong blend of strategic and visionary thinking, business acumen, and technology leadership skills, with a proven ability to collaborate with and influence senior executives across the organization. Throughout my career, I have delivered high-impact data and AI solutions that drive digital transformation and business growth. I'm an inspirational leader, known for attracting top-tier talents, and have built high-performing data and AI teams.