Florida has quietly built one of the most dynamic cybersecurity leadership ecosystems in the United States. Anchored by global travel and hospitality giants, fast-growing digital platforms, financial services firms, and major academic institutions, the state demands security leaders who can operate at scale while protecting high-volume customer environments and critical operations.
The women featured here reflect that reality. They lead cybersecurity programs that span millions of users, complex regulatory environments, and always-on digital infrastructure—where resilience, trust, and execution are non-negotiable.
Margarita Rivera — SVP, Global Chief Information Security Officer, Carnival Corporation
Margarita Rivera serves as Global Chief Information Security Officer at Carnival Corporation, a role confirmed across both late 2025 company releases and 2026 profile coverage. She brings more than two decades of experience building enterprise security, privacy, and risk programs that align directly with business performance and customer trust.
Her leadership spans industries including banking, media, real estate, and retail, with prior roles at Lowe’s, Quarterra, Lennar, and Univision. Across these environments, she has consistently built and scaled security governance, third-party risk management, compliance, and privacy programs—positioning cybersecurity as both a defensive function and a business enabler in complex, consumer-facing organizations.
Jenn Aguinaga, MBA — Global Vice President of Information Security / CISO, Unique Vacations, Inc.
Jenn Aguinaga serves as Global Vice President of Information Security and CISO at Unique Vacations, Inc., where she leads enterprise cybersecurity across a global, customer-facing travel and hospitality environment. In this role, she oversees security strategy spanning cloud, identity, application security, DevSecOps, security operations, and risk management, helping protect high-volume digital platforms that support revenue-generating operations.
Her background reflects deep experience building and scaling security programs in consumer-facing organizations. Before joining Unique Vacations, Inc., she held senior security leadership roles at iHeartMedia, Royal Caribbean Group, Chewy, and AutoNation, where she drove major reductions in vulnerabilities and cloud misconfigurations, strengthened identity and access management, and embedded security into modern application and infrastructure environments. That mix of operational depth and business alignment makes her one of the most compelling women cybersecurity leaders in Florida today.
Melody Koenig — Chief Information Security Officer, FirsTrust, LLC
Melody Koenig has served as Chief Information Security Officer at FirsTrust for over a decade, overseeing the protection of information assets that support the firm’s investment and wealth management operations.
Her career blends deep technical roots in software and systems analysis with long-term cybersecurity leadership in a regulated financial environment. That combination has enabled her to build and sustain security programs aligned to evolving SEC expectations, operational risk, and client trust—making her one of the more established CISO figures within Florida’s financial ecosystem.
Tammy Loper — Chief Information Security Officer, University of Tampa
Tammy Loper serves as Chief Information Security Officer at the University of Tampa while also holding broader executive leadership responsibilities across IT and security. Her work focuses on modernizing institutional technology environments, driving cloud-first strategies, and embedding security into academic and operational systems.
Previously, she spent more than a decade as CISO at Georgia State University, where she led one of the earliest ISO/IEC 27001-certified university security programs in the United States. Her career reflects a rare depth in higher education cybersecurity, where governance, compliance, research systems, and open digital environments must all be secured simultaneously.
Alicia Lynch — Former Global Chief Information Security Officer, TD SYNNEX
Alicia Lynch brings more than 25 years of cybersecurity leadership across commercial enterprises, government, and national security environments. TD SYNNEX publicly identified her as Chief Information Security Officer following her 2024 appointment, though there are indications of a transition to an advisory role in early 2026—making this one worth a final check prior to publication.
Her background includes senior security leadership roles at Cognizant, SAIC, and Accenture Federal Services, alongside a distinguished career in the U.S. Army where she retired as a Colonel. That combination of military, intelligence, and enterprise cyber leadership makes her one of the most strategically seasoned figures connected to Florida’s cybersecurity landscape.
Christine Vanderpool — VP & Chief Technology Officer, Florida Crystals
Christine Vanderpool is included as a strong adjacent leader for a broader women-in-cyber framing. She currently serves as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Florida Crystals, and previously held the role of VP, IT Strategy, Architecture & CISO within the organization.
Her earlier experience includes serving as Chief Information Security Officer at Molson Coors and Deputy CISO at Kaiser Permanente. Combined with her recognition as a multi-time cybersecurity leader of the year, she represents the growing class of executives whose responsibilities now span both cybersecurity and enterprise technology strategy.
Securing Florida’s Always-On, Customer-Driven Economy
What stands out about Florida’s cybersecurity leaders is the environment they operate in. These are organizations built around constant customer interaction, high transaction volumes, global operations, and strict regulatory expectations. Whether securing cruise lines, hospitality platforms, financial systems, or universities, these CISOs are responsible for protecting trust at scale.
That makes Florida more than just a regional hub—it’s a proving ground for cybersecurity leadership where execution, resilience, and business alignment are tested every day.
For Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting female cybersecurity leaders shaping the future of security across industries and regions. Explore more features in our Women’s Month series.