Interviews
CIO Spotlight: Sumit Johar, Automation Anywhere
Looking back with 20:20 hindsight, what would you have done differently? “Early on in my career, I wasn’t as focused on networking with my peers in the industry. Over time, I realised that your network plays a big role in your growth…”...
Secret CSO: Mike Johnson, Fastly
What conferences are on your must-attend list? “I love the spirit and content of Security BSides events. Find the one closest to you, join that community, and attend!”
CTO Sessions: Ruchir Swarup, Addepar
What type of CTO are you? “As CTO, the most important thing for me is to make sure I’m creating a culture of camaraderie not competition…”
C-suite career advice: Eyal Benishti, IRONSCALES
What advice would you give to someone starting their career in IT/tech? “Jump right in, don’t wait until you feel ‘ready.’”
CIO Spotlight: Mark MacNaughton, EVERSANA
What advice would you give to aspiring IT leaders? “Technology will continue to evolve at a rapid pace, and you can’t stay still.”
Secret CSO: Todd Dekkinga, Zluri
What advice would you give to aspiring security leaders? “Learn as much as you can, get a mentor, network with other security folks.”
CTO Sessions: Danny Fields, Avalara
What is the biggest issue that you’re helping customers with at the moment? “We’re solving the 5,000-year-old challenge of tax for our customers by applying automation.”
C-suite career advice: Dave Grow, Lucid
What are some common misconceptions about working in IT/tech? “That tech companies are only cut out for highly technical candidates. The reality is that the vast majority of tech companies need great people in marketing, sales,...
CIO Spotlight: Chris Handley, Nazarbayev University
What does good culture fit look like in your organisation? “A moving culture is a thriving culture. For a culture to evolve and thrive it needs to be infused with the blood of continuous training.”
Secret CSO: Alex Tosheff, VMware
What advice would you give to aspiring security leaders? “If you don’t make the time to invest in yourself as a leader, a situation will force you to find that time in the most stressful way possible…”
CTO Sessions: Michael Smith, Neustar Security Services
What predictions do you have for the role of the CTO in the future? As Marc Andreesen said, ‘Software is going to eat the world’ and the CTO will be the driving force behind that.”
C-suite career advice: Jennifer Lee, Intradiem
Which would you recommend: A coding bootcamp or a computer science degree? “Becoming a balanced, effective technology leader rests on a combination of the broadest possible education and the most narrowly focused skills training.”
CIO Spotlight: Sean Mack, Wiley
What roles or skills are you finding (or anticipate to be) the most difficult to fill? “Security and privacy threats continue to grow and the market for this talent has become increasingly tight.”
CTO Sessions: Marc Harper, Lumi Global
Which emerging technology are you most excited about the prospect of? “Virtual reality continues to be an area that will expand rapidly and extensively.”
C-suite career advice: Aaron Goldman, Mediaocean
What are the three skills or abilities you look for in prospective candidates? “Passion, punctuality, and punctuation.”
Secret CSO: Yogesh Badwe, Druva
What do you feel is the most important aspect of your job? “The ability to dissect people, process or technology systems to their lowest micro level and to understand how systems work together…”
CTO Sessions: William Jones, Sano Genetics
Most people don't know that I… “…started my professional career in marketing at Google.”
C-suite career advice: Tony Whitelaw, Kyndryl
What tips would you give to someone aiming for a c-level position? “Ensure you know what value you bring to the business, and then make sure others can recognise that value, too.”
CIO Spotlight: John Matthews, ExtraHop
What does good culture fit look like in your organisation? “A sense of humour is required to survive in IT.”
