Victoria is a capital city, and its cybersecurity bench looks like one. Four of the five leaders below work for the provincial government, a crown corporation, a public pension manager, or the city itself, and the fifth defends the university that trains many of them. One has spent 23 years at that university. Another moved from the province’s top security seat into a municipal role. British Columbia’s public sector is the industry here, and its security leaders tend to circulate within it rather than leave.
Jillian Carruthers – ADM, Technical Direction, BC Public Service (Former CISO)
Jillian Carruthers began her public service career at the University of Victoria as an undergraduate records clerk in 2009, eventually directing records and graduation services for more than 20,000 students. She joined the BC Public Service in 2015 managing a portfolio of more than $35 million in annual IT capital, then led digital services for the Environmental Assessment Office and Mines before establishing a service transformation branch at the Ministry of Environment, where she led development of the CleanBC platform and co-chaired the BC Data Council. Carruthers spent nearly two years as Senior Executive Director of Digital Identity and Trust, building tools including the BC Wallet, before becoming Chief Information Security Officer and Senior Executive Director in February 2024. She led the Cybersecurity and Digital Trust branch through that tenure. She moved into acting ADM and Chief Technology Officer roles in November 2024, took the permanent ADM post for Technology Design, Architecture and Cybersecurity in May 2025, and has served as ADM for Technical Direction since April 2026.
Eric van Wiltenburg – Acting CISO, University of Victoria
Eric van Wiltenburg has worked at the University of Victoria for 23 years. He joined in 2003 as a network analyst, moved into security as a senior network security analyst the following year, and has managed the university’s Information Security Office since August 2008. He took on the Acting Chief Information Security Officer role in June 2022, now more than four years ago. During his tenure he has helped define and build the university’s information security policy, practices, and services. Van Wiltenburg also spent six and a half years as Security Officer for BCNET, the province’s higher education research network, giving him visibility into security across its member institutions.
Mark O’Regan – Director of Architecture, Information Management and Security (CSO), BC Pension Corporation
Mark O’Regan spent 20 years at ICBC, including 13 as an enterprise and solution architect working on initiatives valued between $1 million and $35 million. He defined enterprise security architecture standards there and provided strategic guidance for systems including enhanced driver’s licence and facial recognition programs. O’Regan joined BC Pension Corporation in 2019 as lead enterprise architect and became Director of Architecture, Information Management and Security in May 2021, carrying the CSO designation. He led a corporate-wide migration to Azure and M365 that delivered $1.2 million in annual savings while raising the organization’s cybersecurity maturity by 50%. His work spans security operations, information management, and architecture for a regulated financial services environment.
Shawn Jefferson – Director, IT Security and Compliance, BC Ferries
Shawn Jefferson has been at BC Ferries for more than 18 years, joining in 2008 as team lead for infrastructure security and becoming Director of IT Security and Compliance in April 2018. He leads a team designing, implementing, and administering enterprise security systems across the crown corporation, from perimeter defence to endpoint protection, and his work covers event analysis, incident handling, threat and risk assessments, and penetration testing. Before BC Ferries he spent three years as a senior systems administrator at National Money Mart maintaining server infrastructure for North American operations, and a year as a senior Novell administrator at Manitoba Blue Cross in Winnipeg.
Don Costello – Manager, Cybersecurity, City of Victoria
Don Costello spent nearly 15 years in provincial government security roles before moving to municipal work. He served as Ministry Information Security Officer starting in 2012, then as Director of Security, Privacy and Compliance for the social sector, then as Director of Information Security for more than five years, a role covering security architecture, advisory services, vulnerability and risk management, and security awareness across government. Costello served as Acting Executive Director and CISO for the BC Provincial Government from August 2023 to February 2024. He became Manager of Cybersecurity at the City of Victoria in October 2024. His earlier career included IT project management and desk-side support work with IBM Canada and the technology provider ITI.
A Public Sector That Keeps Its People
Victoria’s security community moves between institutions rather than out of them. Costello spent 15 years in provincial ministries, held the acting CISO seat for the whole government, and now runs cybersecurity for the city. Carruthers came up through the University of Victoria’s registrar’s office, spent a decade in the BC Public Service, and held the provincial CISO role before moving into technology leadership. O’Regan put in two decades at ICBC before joining the pension corporation. Van Wiltenburg has stayed at one university for 23 years, and Jefferson has been at BC Ferries for 18. In a capital where government is the largest employer, security careers are built by moving sideways across public institutions, and the people doing it tend to know each other well.
Discover more CISOs securing their organizations:
- Huntsville’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- Des Moines Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- Albany’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- Providence’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
- Built to Last: Winnipeg’s Cybersecurity Leaders to Watch
John Kevin Hao is a news and feature writer covering cybersecurity, technology, and business targeted for professional audiences.