Cybersecurity is now a boardroom priority, with Fortune 500 companies facing constant threats to their operations and data. At the forefront are CISOs and executive security leaders who not only defend against attacks but also drive strategic initiatives. From tech giants to energy and manufacturing leaders, these professionals are shaping the future of enterprise security.
This article highlights 15 CISOs and security executives who are redefining what it means to safeguard global organizations.
George Stathakopoulis
Vice President of Corporate Information Security, Apple
George Stathakopoulis oversees corporate information security at Apple, where scale, privacy, and resilience intersect daily. With a background spanning enterprise software, online services, and vulnerability management, he has played a key role in shaping Apple’s internal security posture as the company expanded its services footprint. Known for driving cultural change alongside technical rigor, Stathakopoulis represents the modern CISO: equally focused on systems, people, and long-term scalability.
James Jervey
SVP & Chief Information Security Officer, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
James Jervey brings more than 25 years of leadership experience to Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, where he leads cybersecurity strategy for a global insurance powerhouse. Widely respected for building high-performing teams, Jervey is known for aligning security with business growth rather than positioning it as a constraint. His approach emphasizes trust, empowerment, and sustainable execution, qualities that matter deeply in highly regulated financial environments.
Vinny Hoxha
SVP & Chief Information Security Officer, McKesson
Vinny Hoxha stepped into the CISO role at McKesson in 2024 after nearly two decades at General Motors, bringing deep experience in complex, global enterprises. At McKesson, he is responsible for securing one of the world’s largest healthcare supply chains, where cybersecurity directly impacts patient safety and continuity of care. Holding both CISSP and CISA certifications, Hoxha is recognized for operational discipline and risk-driven decision-making at scale.
Shazad Shafi
OT Chief Information Security Officer, ExxonMobil
As OT CISO at ExxonMobil, Shazad Shafi operates at the intersection of cybersecurity and physical operations. His remit includes protecting refineries, pipelines, and industrial systems where downtime is not an option. With decades of experience across engineering, manufacturing, and energy infrastructure, Shafi focuses on resilience, safety, and continuity, making him a key figure as industrial cybersecurity becomes a board-level priority.
Ajay Gupta
SVP & Chief Information Security Officer, Cencora
Ajay Gupta leads global cybersecurity at Cencora, safeguarding healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution across more than 50 countries. A Cyber Defense Magazine Top Global CISO, Gupta oversees a 370-person global security organization and a multimillion-dollar cyber portfolio. His leadership has emphasized AI-driven remediation, secure GenAI adoption, and board-level engagement, positioning cybersecurity as a driver of resilience and operational trust in healthcare.
Jon Raper
Chief Information Security Officer, Chevron
Jon Raper became CISO at Chevron in 2025 after serving in the same role at Costco Wholesale. He brings experience securing both global retail operations and energy infrastructure, two sectors with vastly different risk profiles. At Chevron, Raper is responsible for setting global security strategy and protecting critical operations, making him one of the more versatile CISOs operating at Fortune 500 scale today.
Brian Waeltz
SVP, CISO & Global Infrastructure Services, Cardinal Health
Brian Waeltz leads both cybersecurity and global infrastructure at Cardinal Health, a Fortune 15 company operating at the center of healthcare logistics. His role spans cloud, data centers, networks, and security, giving him end-to-end influence over platform resilience. Known as a servant leader, Waeltz is also deeply committed to developing the next generation of security professionals and advancing diversity within technology leadership.
Kristopher Fador
Chief Information Security Officer, Bank of America
Kristopher Fador leads Bank of America’s global cybersecurity organization, overseeing more than 3,000 security professionals across 17 countries. In addition to protecting one of the world’s largest financial institutions, he serves on the FS-ISAC Board and the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council. Fador is a strong advocate for diversity in cybersecurity and is widely respected for his sector-wide leadership beyond the bank itself.
Cheryl Thomas
Chief Information Officer, Valero Energy Corporation
Cheryl Thomas has led Valero’s Information Services department since 2011, overseeing a $100M operating budget, $30M annual CAPEX, and a team of 425 across 16 refineries, 10 ethanol plants, and logistics and marketing operations in the US, UK, and Canada. As a corporate officer and member of Valero’s Management Committee, she provides strategic and operational direction, ensuring secure and resilient IT infrastructure for this Fortune 50 company.
Alan Berry
SVP & Chief Information Security Officer, Centene Corporation
Alan Berry became CISO at Centene in 2025, bringing a philosophy centered on trust, balance, and business enablement. Known for blending technical depth with executive-level influence, Berry frames cybersecurity as a growth enabler rather than a cost center. His leadership focuses on embedding security from the boardroom to the front lines, particularly critical in healthcare and insurance environments.
Christopher Lanzilotta
Chief Information Security Officer, The Home Depot
Christopher Lanzilotta has served as CISO at The Home Depot since 2022, overseeing security for one of the world’s largest retailers. With a background spanning financial services, pharma, and technology, he brings a risk-management lens to large-scale retail operations. His work focuses on protecting complex global supply chains while enabling digital transformation across stores and e-commerce platforms.
Christopher Porter
Senior Vice President & Chief Security Officer, Fannie Mae
Christopher Porter leads cybersecurity, enterprise architecture, and physical security at Fannie Mae, a Fortune 27 organization underpinning the U.S. housing market. Known for his foundational work on the VERIS Framework and Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report, Porter brings rare industry-wide credibility to the role. He regularly briefs boards and regulators, shaping how systemic financial cyber risk is understood and managed.
Tyler Allison
Deputy CISO & Vice President, Walgreens
Tyler Allison serves as Deputy CISO at Walgreens, where he leads strategy and operations across identity, security operations, vendor risk, and cyber resilience. Managing a global team of approximately 80 professionals, Allison plays a critical role in translating long-term security strategy into execution. His work on enterprise-wide phish-resistant MFA adoption highlights the growing importance of identity-centric security leadership.
Mary Rose Martinez
Chief Information Security Officer & VP of Infrastructure, Marathon Petroleum
Mary Rose Martinez brings more than 30 years of IT experience to her role as CISO and VP of Infrastructure at Marathon Petroleum, a Fortune 20 company. Her dual responsibility for infrastructure and security reflects the convergence of resilience, availability, and cyber defense in energy environments. Martinez is recognized for building secure, scalable platforms that support both operational continuity and modernization.
David Reber
Chief Security Officer & Head of Product Security, NVIDIA
David Reber leads security at NVIDIA during a period when the company sits at the center of global AI and compute infrastructure. Responsible for both enterprise and product security, Reber’s role has direct implications for governments, enterprises, and cloud providers worldwide. His leadership highlights how product security has become inseparable from national and economic security in the AI era.
Why These Leaders Matter Now
What connects the CISOs on this list is not just the size of the organizations they protect, but the complexity of the environments they operate in. From safeguarding critical infrastructure and global financial systems to securing AI platforms and healthcare supply chains, their decisions ripple far beyond their own enterprises.
As cyber risk becomes inseparable from business risk, these leaders are setting the standards others will follow, how boards engage with security, how resilience is measured, and how trust is maintained at scale. In a world where disruption is no longer hypothetical, the CISOs to watch are the ones quietly ensuring that the world’s most important companies can keep moving forward.