Healthcare remains one of the most targeted industries in the United States, with health plans, hospital systems, and digital health companies all holding data and running systems where an outage can affect patient care. The five CISOs below protect a Blue Cross plan, three major health systems, and a digital health network that reaches tens of thousands of physician offices. Their paths into the role are anything but uniform. One started out managing a canine tactical unit for a security services firm in Vancouver. Another led the effort to rebuild Deutsche Bank’s infrastructure in Jersey City after 9/11. A third began in university infrastructure support and worked his way up through state agencies and children’s hospitals to the top security seat at a major health system.
Adrian Mayers – VP & CISO, Premera Blue Cross
Dr. Adrian Mayers began at Securiguard Services in Vancouver, developing security programs for 30 corporate clients and managing its mobile security and canine tactical units. Over 11 years with Nokia, he moved from contract regional security manager and senior information security specialist to director of corporate security for North America and regional director of security for the Americas, then supported Nokia’s integration into Microsoft’s Devices Group. He spent four years as CISO of insurance software company Vertafore before joining Premera Blue Cross as VP and CISO in November 2019. Mayers served on the boards of Health-ISAC and the National Technology Security Coalition and on the executive committee of the Health Sector Coordinating Council’s cybersecurity working group. He is a visiting fellow at George Mason University’s National Security Institute, advises investors including NightDragon and Madrona, and was named to the 2025 CISOs Top 100. He holds a doctorate in business administration and CISM, CISA, CCSP, CPP, and CFE certifications.
David O’Brien – VP, Information Technology & CISO, Covenant Health
David O’Brien began as director of online operations for an early AOL content partner, growing its membership eightfold. Over ten years at Deutsche Bank, he led the effort to rebuild infrastructure in Jersey City after 9/11, managed a divestiture that moved more than 2,600 employees to a new organization, and later led infrastructure service delivery as a vice president. At medical device maker Karl Storz, he spent 11 years leading technology operations and service delivery, building its information security team and serving as divisional CIO and information security officer across 12 countries with a $22 million budget. After leadership roles at Hyundai AutoEver America, The Meruelo Group, and CalOptima, where he served as interim CIO, O’Brien became VP of information technology and CISO at Covenant Health, East Tennessee’s largest healthcare enterprise, in January 2025. A recipient of the Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leaders and CIO 100 awards, he was named to the HotTopics Global CISO 100 in 2026. He holds an MBA from Pace University and CISSP and CHCIO certifications.
Srini Uppugonduri – SVP & CISO, Novant Health
Srini Uppugonduri started in infrastructure support at a university and worked as a network engineer before moving into information security, audit, and compliance consulting for the State of New York. He led information assurance at Amedisys Home Health and information security at UNC Charlotte, advised the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and managed the cybersecurity program at Texas Children’s Hospital. After security roles at GE Current and Cleveland Clinic, he spent four years as deputy CISO at Centura Health within CommonSpirit Health. Uppugonduri joined Novant Health in January 2025 as VP of information security, supporting strategic integrations and AI-driven operations, and was promoted to SVP and CISO in 2026, leading the system’s security strategy, governance, cyber operations, and resilience. He holds CISM, CISA, CISSP, and PMP certifications.
Jeff Aschenbach – VP, Cybersecurity, PatientPoint
Jeff Aschenbach began as a service desk manager and information security engineer before leading security and compliance at Kaplan Professional and Canopy Financial, where he delivered its first PCI DSS Level 1 audit within six months. At Orbitz he built a global security operations center that saved $500,000 a year and cut data loss incidents by more than 90% in a year. He went on to lead security at GoHealth, achieving ISO 27001 certification, and at Mediaocean, where he stopped an attempted company-wide ransomware attack and secured more than ten acquisitions. After serving as chief information security and privacy officer at Cooler Screens, Aschenbach became VP of cybersecurity at PatientPoint in May 2024, protecting a digital health network in 35,000 physician offices. He has doubled the security organization, cut detection and response times by 64%, built an AI risk governance framework, and chairs the board’s risk management subcommittee. He was named to the 2026 CISOs Top 100 and holds C|CISO, CISSP, and CISA certifications.
William Scandrett – VP, Information Security & CISO, Baylor Scott & White Health
William Scandrett started as a senior software developer at Accenture and a senior SOX IT analyst at GMAC ResCap. Over nearly eight years at Ameriprise Financial, he rose from information security compliance manager to director of governance, risk and compliance and then director of identity and access management. He moved into healthcare as CISO of HealthEast and spent nearly ten years as VP and CISO of Allina Health in Minneapolis. Scandrett became VP of information security and CISO at Baylor Scott & White Health in April 2026. He holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from Central Michigan University.
Protecting the Patient Journey
These five CISOs show how many routes lead into healthcare security. Mayers and O’Brien carried corporate security and IT leadership from telecom, banking, and medical devices into health plans and hospital systems, while Uppugonduri and Scandrett built long careers inside healthcare and financial services security. Aschenbach brought experience from travel, advertising, and payments to a digital health network. Together they protect the data and systems behind patient care across the country.
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.