When I began my term as ISACA Board Chair earlier this year, I wrote that major changes to technology and business models today call for ISACA to “break some glass” to enable our professional community to thrive in this new environment.
Breaking glass – in an ISACA context, referring to recalibrating systems and business processes for success in the modern era – can be tricky business. Being bold and taking risks are needed to meet the moment, but operating in that fashion calls for a high standard of diligence and responsible leadership.
That is why, as nominations open this week for the 2024-2025 term for the ISACA Board of Directors, excellent corporate governance is a must for ISACA to deliver for our members and engaged professionals in the way that we must.
The ISACA Board of Directors consists of committed professionals from many different domains who generously contribute a substantial amount of time to serve our global professional community. Board directors share a common objective of assuring the ongoing success of ISACA as an organization, delivering value to the membership, and growing ISACA’s impact and influence in the industry.
ISACA is not only an association of members, certification-holders and volunteers, it is a business. While ISACA is a non-profit, it is not a charity. ISACA is a real company that requires strong management, sound corporate governance, strategic wisdom and experienced executives on both the leadership team as well as the Board to advance its purpose and mission.
To that end, every year, ISACA engages in an extensive outreach program to solicit nominations for Board members from both inside and outside the association. It is important that we strike a constructive balance on the Board between the voice of our members, the voice of chapter leadership, the voice of enterprises and the voice of seasoned general managers. There are both commonalities and distinctions in the skill sets needed to successfully lead a chapter, to run an enterprise and to have a mindset grounded in corporate governance principles. All of these backgrounds and life experiences are valuable, and it is our intent to ensure the ISACA Board brings together these vantage points to result in the excellent Board leadership that ISACA deserves.
We also believe that a diverse Board – reflecting the diversity of the membership AND the various professional domains, geographies and business lines in which we operate – is important. We are making encouraging progress in this area. In June, ISACA added directors with global experience in networking technology, training and education solutions, as well as experience in AI, cryptocurrency and cybersecurity, who have operated across Europe and the UK, and from the Asia/Pacific region, namely Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The new board directors join existing board members who are from the US, Mexico, Israel and Germany.
We are distinct in the world of most membership associations in that we are actively looking to build a diverse board that represents not only the excellence and DNA of the membership, but also outside expertise in running or leading world-class, innovative, ground-breaking operations beyond that of ISACA. This diversity has the potential to create a wonderful blend of knowing where we have come from, our history and traditions, as well as where we must go in terms of innovation and ambition.
It has been great to be part of this fascinating collection of global perspectives. During my term as ISACA Board Chair, I have gained an even deeper appreciation for the ISACA professional community and its potential for major global impact. Under the leadership of ISACA CEO Erik Prusch and his talented team, ISACA is well-positioned to establish and reinforce the good practices that are so urgently needed in our complex digital ecosystem.
I look forward to the ISACA Board providing the support the organization needs to be at its best in the coming months and years. For the Board to be at our best, we need your help. If you know of an outstanding professional whose expertise would fit well on the ISACA Board, put their name forward, and help us make sure that when we break glass, we’re diligent about how we put the pieces back together.
Editor’s note: Learn more about the Board nominations process for the 2024-25 term here. Find out more about current ISACA Board directors here.