Cloud services are at the heart of today’s digital economy, enabling organizations to scale, innovate, and transform faster than ever before. As businesses increasingly rely on cloud platforms, the role of cybersecurity leaders has become critical, not just to protect data, but to enable growth, resilience, and operational excellence. These five executives have proven expertise in cloud security, risk management, and organizational leadership, and their experience sets them apart as influencers in the cloud services sector.
Jason Lee – Co-Founder, HYV
Jason Lee brings extensive security leadership experience from Salesforce, Zoom, and Splunk to his current venture, HYV Social. As Co-Founder, he is building a secure social platform designed to connect people in real life while maintaining strong privacy and safety controls. Previously, Jason served as CISO at Zoom, where he led global security operations, and held senior security leadership roles at Salesforce and Splunk, overseeing incident response, threat intelligence, identity management, and cloud security programs.
Jim Higgins – Chief Information Security Officer, CoreWeave
Jim Higgins is a technology and business visionary with deep experience in product security, information security engineering, and cloud enterprise operations. He has a proven track record of designing robust technology architectures, improving operational efficiency, and delivering high-availability secure services. Jim’s ability to align security initiatives with business goals makes him a standout leader in cloud infrastructure and operations.
Andy Nallappan – President & COO, Cloud Software Group
Andy Nallappan merges operational leadership with cybersecurity expertise. Currently President & COO at Cloud Software Group, he oversees DevSecOps, CloudOps, CloudFinOps, and product security. Previously, Andy held the role of Executive VP, COO, and CISO, managing enterprise-scale cloud and SaaS operations while ensuring robust security and compliance. With over 30 years of experience, Andy is recognized for driving large-scale technology and security transformations while optimizing performance and costs.
Richard Marcus – Chief Information Security Officer, AuditBoard
Richard Marcus leads security for AuditBoard’s products, infrastructure, and corporate operations, driving risk management and regulatory compliance. Prior to his current role, Richard served as VP of Information Security at AuditBoard, where he leveraged the company’s own GRC platform to achieve SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO 27001 compliance. His extensive experience as a security leader ensures AuditBoard operates with both resilience and scalable cloud security practices.
M.K. Palmore – Founder & Principal Advisor, Apogee Global RMS
M.K. Palmore combines over two decades of cybersecurity, advisory, and leadership experience to help organizations manage risks across cloud and enterprise environments. Before founding Apogee Global RMS, M.K. held multiple senior advisory and global CISO roles, including leadership positions at Google Cloud. He partners with C-suite leaders to enhance operational resilience, develop top-tier cybersecurity talent, and implement strategic risk management practices in both public and private sectors.
Shaping the Future of Cloud Security
These five leaders exemplify the combination of technical expertise, operational insight, and strategic vision necessary to secure cloud services in a rapidly evolving landscape. From building secure platforms to leading enterprise-scale cloud transformations, their work enables organizations to innovate confidently while maintaining robust security and resilience. As cloud adoption accelerates globally, these CISOs, current and former, are setting the standard for excellence in cloud security leadership.