I’m not the type to do something half-way. When I take an interest in something, I dive in deep, try to learn all I can and be the best I can be.
I’ve been that way since I was younger and pursued a ham radio license (including learning Morse code) at the age of 12, and it hasn’t changed as an adult. It’s how I’ve approached my career as an audit and security professional. It’s how I am as an outdoorsman. It’s how I am as a father. And it is why I have devoted so much time and passion into my years with ISACA, which began before ISACA was even called ISACA and will continue long after my term as Chair of ISACA’s Board of Directors ends this month.
ISACA has been there for me throughout my whole career, going way back to when I answered a newspaper classified ad for an EDP auditor job at a bank fresh out of university (yes … back when you could actually find an IT job in the newspaper!). Back then, ISACA was still called the Electronic Data Processing Auditors Association (EDPAA), and the organization helped me understand this new field of which I knew little, become better at it, provide my first professional certification (CISA) and help me establish my professional network.
When I moved to Detroit, Michigan (USA) a couple years later, ISACA helped me establish local networking connections, learn more about the regional industries and businesses, and helped me land my dream job of working for a global audit and consulting firm. I became even more active in ISACA when I later moved to Denver, Colorado (USA), spending 15 years in leadership roles for the fast-growing ISACA Denver Chapter, meeting many new people and adding new certifications to advance my professional development (I am a proud holder of the CISA, CISM and CRISC credentials).
In addition to benefiting from the leadership experience, relationships and knowledge I have gained through ISACA, I’ve come to deeply appreciate our purpose of helping people achieve the positive potential of technology. When you work in the audit and security fields, you’re often considered a professional skeptic since you’re always questioning what can or should be done. Many may perceive that as pessimism or negativity, but I actually think that questioning legacy procedures and technologies can bring about important transformations that organizations need to adapt to today’s challenges. We should always be learning and looking for positive ways to make things better.
That’s the approach I’ve taken during my year as Board Chair, when I’ve focused on supporting CEO David Samuelson and his leadership team in transforming the organization, while in parallel advancing changes to ISACA’s Board of Directors and continuing to improve how we prepare our chapters for future success and partnerships. It has been great to see all three of those initiatives (I call them “ships”) set sail during this past year.
The courage to embrace change is important for all of us and that has become more important as companies and their leaders address digital transformation opportunities and react to the latest challenges presented by current events. Courage and leadership applies to my career, as well. I am currently VP & CISO for Customer Services at Oracle Corporation, and there is no doubt ISACA helped me grow my leadership skills.
Developing into a leader did not happen without a lot of work and focused effort. I’m actually an introvert, and it requires work and effort to overcome that natural tendency. That is probably one of the main reasons why I gravitate to outdoor activities when I’m not working. I love anything that involves big, open spaces or water, especially going fly fishing and bird hunting with my dog, Bronner. Bronner is a German Shorthaired Pointer and he is an outstanding upland bird hunter. That’s pretty much the apex of bird hunting – getting your own dog and training it to hunt. Like I said, when I do something, I’m all in. It’s the same way with fly fishing. I’ve fished all over the world, I tie my own flies, and I even shoot my own birds for the feathers to tie the flies for fishing!
Even when I’m spending time outdoors, though, I can’t completely erase work challenges from my mind – or at least off my phone. The cliché that “security never sleeps” is true, so you have to get used to being available all the time. I have taken urgent work phone calls from a river bank in the UK, floating down a river in a raft in Colorado and in the middle of hunting a vast wheat field in South Dakota. But the truth is, when I’m walking through a huge field hunting birds or enjoying a fishing trip on some beautiful river, I don’t mind thinking through some of the big challenges and transformation opportunities that make the information security field so fascinating.
It’s been a great year as ISACA’s board chair. Working closely with David and his team, the board has worked hard to position ISACA to build on its 50-year legacy and become an even more valuable resource for professionals and organizations in the future.
I plan to stay involved with the ISACA Board going forward, but the great thing about ISACA these days is there are so many ways for people to find their own way to make an impact – we have a new philanthropic foundation (One In Tech), a growing array of global volunteer opportunities, and becoming involved with your local chapter remains a terrific way to make connections and hone your leadership skills. My ISACA journey has been one of the best experiences of my career, and has reminded me that when you go all in on whatever you’re doing, you will always reap the rewards.