In today’s fast-paced tech landscape, rapid growth often comes with heightened security risks. Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) are no longer just guardians of data. They are strategic leaders, shaping policies, building resilient systems, and ensuring that innovation can scale securely. From AI platforms to global payment systems, these leaders are steering the security strategies that empower some of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies.
Dan Carmichael — Dataminr
Dan leads security, AI governance, privacy, and compliance at Dataminr, a company that leverages AI to detect breaking events from real-time data streams. He specializes in securing large-scale data platforms and innovative AI systems, ensuring compliance with global standards including SOC 2, ISO 42001/27000 series, NIST, FedRAMP, CMMC 2.0, HIPAA, GDPR, and CCPA. Dan has built a security framework that balances rapid innovation with enterprise-grade protection, enabling Dataminr to serve clients in finance, public safety, and media with confidence.
Latha Maripuri — Uber
Latha is a seasoned executive at Uber, where she serves as CISO and VP of Engineering. She builds high-performing technical teams that deliver measurable results across B2B and B2C markets. Her expertise spans AI strategy, cybersecurity, global product management, M&A integration, and product marketing. By embedding security into product and engineering workflows, Latha ensures Uber can scale its global platform securely while supporting new services and markets.
Jason Lau — Crypto.com
Jason oversees global cybersecurity and data privacy at Crypto.com, a cryptocurrency platform serving over 180 million users worldwide. Under his leadership, the company has achieved industry-first certifications including ISO/IEC 27001, 27701, 22301, PCI DSS Level 1, and SOC 1 & SOC 2 Type 2, alongside the highest NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Framework ratings. Jason’s work ensures that Crypto.com maintains a secure, compliant foundation while enabling rapid adoption of cryptocurrency services across the globe.
Ty Sbano — Webflow
Ty leads security at Webflow, guiding risk management and operational security for the web design and development platform. With certifications including CISSP, SSCP, CEH, CPT, CCSK, and NSA IA, he brings technical depth and strategic insight to the company’s security initiatives. Ty is focused on creating robust, scalable security programs that protect both enterprise clients and individual users while supporting Webflow’s rapid product innovation.
Elyse Gunn — Nasuni
Elyse serves as CISO at Nasuni, a cloud-native file services platform. She leads the company’s security strategy, ensuring that enterprise customers can store and access their data safely across global deployments. Elyse’s work focuses on aligning security with business objectives, embedding best practices across product development, operations, and customer-facing services, and supporting the company’s growth into new markets.
Ravi Soin — Smartsheet
Ravi holds dual CIO and CISO responsibilities at Smartsheet, bringing over 20 years of experience in IT and cybersecurity leadership. He has successfully built scalable IT and cybersecurity platforms for both SaaS and on-prem systems across public, private, and PE-backed companies. At Smartsheet, Ravi drives enterprise-grade security programs, global SaaS operations, and compliance initiatives, ensuring the platform’s collaborative and automation capabilities remain secure as adoption grows worldwide.
Jim Higgins — CoreWeave
Jim is a technology and business visionary at CoreWeave, a cloud infrastructure provider. He oversees product security, information security engineering, and cloud operations, focusing on building resilient architectures that support high-performance computing workloads. Jim emphasizes operational efficiency, cost management, and high availability while embedding security into the company’s rapid growth strategy.
Mrityunjay “MJ” Gautam — Instacart
MJ leads security engineering at Instacart, focusing on cloud and on-premises product security. His expertise spans applied cryptography, threat modeling, network and system security, and red teaming. MJ also conducts technical due diligence for M&A initiatives and develops product security programs that enable safe expansion of Instacart’s grocery delivery platform while protecting sensitive customer data.
Leslie Nielsen — Mimecast
Leslie brings over 25 years of cybersecurity experience to her role as EVP & CISO at Mimecast. She has held multiple C-level security positions and is a recognized speaker on security, privacy, and policy. At Mimecast, Leslie oversees enterprise security strategy, risk management, and compliance programs, guiding the organization through complex security challenges while mentoring the next generation of security leaders.
Josh Lemos — GitLab
Josh is CISO at GitLab, where he drives security strategy and engineering for the global DevOps platform. Known for building world-class cybersecurity, data science, and production engineering teams, he focuses on aligning security with business growth and operational efficiency. Josh has a track record of solving complex technical problems and implementing forward-thinking solutions that support multi-million-dollar business expansion.
Richard Marcus — AuditBoard
Richard oversees cybersecurity for product, infrastructure, and corporate operations at AuditBoard. He leads internal risk and compliance initiatives, implementing GRC programs that help the company achieve SOC 2, GDPR, and ISO 27001 compliance. Richard ensures that AuditBoard’s security strategy scales with the company’s rapid growth and supports enterprise customers’ trust and regulatory needs.
Justin Dellaportas — Syniverse
Justin is EVP, Chief Information Security & Digital Services Officer at Syniverse, guiding global cybersecurity programs and digital service security. He has led large teams and transformed security operations to enhance cyber resilience across complex, global networks. Justin also mentors early-stage professionals and advises startups, combining operational expertise with a commitment to industry-wide security development.
Bala Sathiamurthy — IVP
Bala is Operating Partner & CISO at IVP and former CISO at Atlassian. He manages enterprise cybersecurity programs, including AppSec, product security, corporate security, incident response, and threat detection. Bala ensures that portfolio companies are equipped with strong security frameworks while aligning risk management with business growth and enterprise customer needs.
Adam Glick — PSG
Adam serves as CISO at PSG, a growth equity firm supporting middle-market software and tech-enabled services companies. He guides cybersecurity programs through transformational growth, helping portfolio companies navigate complex security challenges while fostering scalable, risk-aware cultures and building high-performing security teams.
Montez Fitzpatrick — Navvis
Montez is CISO at Navvis, leading the company’s healthcare-focused information security strategy. He oversees a team of 14 and manages a $1.2M budget while ensuring compliance with HIPAA, SOC 2, and HITRUST standards. Montez drives enterprise-wide risk management, incident response, and security operations, while acting as the primary security advisor for clients. He created Navvis’s security risk management program from the ground up, enhanced the company’s control framework, and led security initiatives during M&A activities that contributed to a valuation increase to nearly $750M.
Why These Leaders Matter
These CISOs are shaping the future of enterprise security by aligning technical expertise with business strategy. They protect millions of users, enable rapid innovation, and build resilient security programs that scale alongside their companies. Their leadership demonstrates that strong security is not a barrier to growth, but a catalyst for sustainable, trusted expansion.