Hall of Fame award nominations are officially open, and we’re calling on you, your peers, teams and clients to recognize the individuals and organizations driving smarter, safer, and stronger cybersecurity strategies.
Get your nominations in today. The December 3 deadline is fast approaching.
Enter here: 2026 CSO Conference & Awards
Now entering its eighth year, the CSO Hall of Fame spotlights outstanding leaders who have significantly contributed to the practice of information risk management and security.
This award honors trailblazers (security leaders with 10+ years in a CSO, CISO or other C-level security position) whose careers have shaped the future of cybersecurity and risk management. Inductees are recognized for their lifetime achievements and enduring contributions to the profession.
Honorees will be recognized at the CSO Conference + Awards May 11-13, 2026 in Nashville, TN.
Over the course of the event, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with hundreds of peers, industry leaders, and security executives who will showcase demonstrable business value in their projects from AI to application security to zero trust.
2025 CSO Hall of Fame Honorees
Meg Anderson, VP & CISO (retired), Principal Financial Group
Bob Bruns, CISO, Avanade
Jonathan Chow, CISO, Genesys
Mignona Cote, CISO, Infor
Laura Deaner, Managing Director, CISO, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)
George Finney, CISO, University of Texas System
Michael Gordon, SVP & CISO, McDonald’s
Ron Green, Cybersecurity Fellow/Former CSO, Mastercard
Shawn Henry, CSO, CrowdStrike
Todd Lukens, SVP, Security & Infrastructure, Nationwide
Rishi Tripathi, SVP, CISO & CTO, Mount Sinai Health System
Marnie Wilking, CSO, Booking.com
Class of 2024
Jerry Geisler, SVP & CISO, Walmart, Inc.
Gary Hayslip, CISO, SoftBank Investment Advisers
Vaughn Hazen, CISO, CN
Jill Knesek, CISO, BlackLine
Susan Koski, EVP & CISO, PNC Financial Services
Michael Palmer, CISO, Hearst
John Schramm, Global Head of IT Risk and Security, Munich Re
Keith Turpin, CISO, The Friedkin Group
Phil Venables, CISO, Google Cloud
Teresa Zielinski, Global CISO, GE Vernova
Class of 2023
Rich Agostino, SVP & CISO, Target
Ed Amoroso, Founder & CEO, TAG InfoSphere
Devon Bryan, Global CIO, Carnival Corporation
Nicole Darden Ford, Global VP & CISO, Rockwell Automation
Keith Gordon, EVP & CSO, CIBC
Ben Miron, VP of Infrastructure & Cybersecurity, NextEra Energy, Inc.
Gary Owen, CISO & Chief Risk Officer, Capital
Holly Ridgeway, EVP & CSO, Citizens Financial Group, Inc.
Class of 2022
Marene Allison, CISO, Johnson & Johnson, Inc.
Bret Arsenault, CISO, Microsoft
James Beeson, SVP & Global CISO, Cigna
Derek Benz, CISO, Coca-Cola
Mark Connelly, CISO, Boston Consulting Group
John McClurg, SVP & CISO, BlackBerry
Tim McKnight, EVP & CSO, SAP
Chandra McMahon, SVP & CISO, CVS Health
Gary Warzala, Leadership Partner – Security & Risk Management, Gartner
Deborah Wheeler, SVP & CISO, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Class of 2021
Roland Cloutier, Global CSO, TikTok
Deneen DeFiore, VP & CISO, United Airlines
Andy Ellis, Operating Partner, YL Ventures
Bobby Ford, SVP/CSO, HPE
Renee Guttmann, CISO, Campbell Soup Company
Meredith Harper, VP/CISO, Eli Lilly and Company
Mike Towers, CISO, Takeda
Mark Weatherford, CISO, AlertEnterprise
Jason Witty, Global CISO, J.P. Morgan Chase
Class of 2020
Tim Callahan, SVP, Global CISO, Aflac
Dave Estlick, CISO, Chipotle Mexican Grill
Jamil Farshchi, CISO, Equifax
Emily Heath, Chief Trust & Security Officer, DocuSign
Brad Maiorino, CISO, Raytheon Technologies
Kathy Orner, VP, Chief Risk Officer, CWT
Jim Routh, Head of Enterprise Information Risk Management, MassMutual
Gregory Wood, SVP, Technology Risk Management & Security, The Walt Disney Company
Timothy Youngblood, Corporate VP, CISO, McDonald’s
In addition to the honorees listed above, CSO inducted Michael Assante posthumously for his work with the SANS Institute and Center for Strategic and International Studies.
*Editor’s note: The job titles and company affiliations listed here reflect the positions held by these individuals at the time they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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