Cranes lift loads, pallets move goods, plants produce materials, and energy reaches homes and businesses. Behind each of those physical activities sit digital systems that have to stay secure and available. The five cyber leaders below protect companies whose work is tangible, from lifting equipment and industrial materials to energy and global supply chains, and their own paths into cybersecurity began in places as varied as corporate communications, a service desk, procurement, and the plant floor.
Heidi Valkama – CISO, Konecranes
Heidi Valkama spent more than eight years in communications at Konecranes before moving into security. She went on to lead information security programs there, spent a year and a half as cybersecurity officer at KONE, and returned to Konecranes as CISO in May 2023. In December 2025, the Finnish Information Security Association named her Information Security Manager of the Year, recognizing her ability to combine strategic vision with technical expertise and explain complex risks to senior management. The association pointed to ISO 27001 and IEC 62443 certifications Konecranes has received as concrete examples of how its security is managed systematically, and credited her with making cybersecurity part of the company’s culture and strategic decision-making. In her view, the job is to build a situational picture of the company’s environment so that changes in customer expectations, risks, legislation, and competition can be spotted in time to make the right decisions.
Janine Oosthuizen – Director OT Cybersecurity, CHEP
Janine Oosthuizen describes her work as operating “from plant floor to boardroom,” and her career shows how literally that applies. She started in IT support and software development for Sasol’s synfuels and mining operations in South Africa, then spent more than 12 years at Honeywell, integrating legacy control system networks, leading industrial network work across Sub-Saharan Africa, and consulting on OT security for energy, mining, chemicals, and manufacturing clients before leading Honeywell Connected Enterprise’s cybersecurity consulting in EMEA. At CHEP, she leads OT cybersecurity strategy across a logistics and supply chain footprint spanning more than 60 countries, including industrial network segmentation, secure remote access, threat detection, red and blue teaming, and incident readiness for OT environments. She became director of OT cybersecurity in February 2026 and sits on the steering committee of the Benelux Cyber Series.
Marta Majtenyi – Director of Information Security Office, Norsk Hydro
Marta Majtenyi has run an entire IT function, not just security. At Tungsram Group in Budapest, she served as CISO and core IT manager before becoming CIO. She joined Norsk Hydro in 2022 to lead cybersecurity services for its global business services, later adding IT governance, risk, and compliance, and in May 2025 became director of its Information Security Office. She describes her focus as safeguarding critical infrastructure and strengthening resilience against evolving threats. Her career began on the service desk: she led a round-the-clock helpdesk team at EDS, built a central EMEA service desk for Avis Budget Group, and then directed IT risk and compliance at GE. In October 2026 she joined a webinar on board expectations, AI trust, governance, and accountability.
Julia Preiss – Director, Cyber Security GRC (IT) & Information Security Officer Germany, Bayer
Julia Preiss came to cybersecurity through governance rather than technology. Over a decade at Bayer, she worked in procurement compliance and strategy, built the company’s global HR vendor management function, and led IT governance, strategy, and digital transformation, including serving as chief of staff to the senior vice president of strategy and digital transformation. Since July 2024 she has been director of cybersecurity governance, risk, and compliance and Bayer’s information security officer for Germany, providing oversight of adherence to standards including NIS2, DORA, NIST, and ISO 27001, counseling senior management on cybersecurity, and leading a team of experts. She describes the purpose as safeguarding the company’s license to operate. Before Bayer, she worked in sales and stakeholder management at Johnson & Johnson and in M&A advisory at Grant Thornton.
Giampaolo Tacchini – Group CISO & Quality Manager, Edison
Giampaolo Tacchini has spent more than 25 years at Edison, and he has led its cybersecurity for well over a decade. From 2011 he was both ICT service manager, responsible for data center, network, and end-user services, and group CISO in charge of ICT security and compliance. Since 2017 he has been group CISO and quality manager, and he chairs a security working group for EDF. His experience spans cybersecurity, infrastructure, compliance with GDPR, ISO 27001, and NIST, and the negotiation of IT outsourcing and software contracts, built in part during a decade as IT service manager and chief architect, managing services from major technology suppliers. He is listed among the speakers at Italian security events in 2026, including a case-study contribution as Edison’s global CISO.
Different Starting Points, Same Ground
Valkama started in communications, Oosthuizen in plant IT support, Majtenyi on the service desk, Preiss in procurement and governance, and Tacchini in IT services and architecture. Today each protects a company whose work happens in the physical world, where secure systems help keep equipment, materials, energy, and goods moving.
Discover more CISOs securing their organizations:
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John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.