Leading pharmaceutical CISO heads to Johannesburg for CISO Africa 2019

CISO Africa 2019 is a peer-led conference for IT security, fraud and risk professionals, showcasing pragmatic IT leaders’ strategies to mitigate threats, allay the bombardment of cyber-attacks and employ effective IT security management across the business.

Leading the international speakers’ roster is John Meakin, the current Group Chief Information Security Officer at GlaxoSmithKline from the UK. John’s career spans more than 30 years including IT security leadership roles across several industries including the likes of Standard Chartered, BP, Deutsche Bank, RBS, Richemont and Burberry. As a highly regarded speaker and industry thought leader, we are proud and privileged to have John participate his first ever event in Africa.

The biggest challenge for CISOs

The role of the CISO has evolved from managing security risk to an integrated business enabler. We asked John what he thought the biggest challenge was to his role currently: “The biggest challenge is the move towards the open, digitally transformed business, where you can no longer rely on control over the 'containing' computer (server, client or mobile) by virtue of the business owning it... in doing so you need to understand to a much finer detail the business and information flows that make up your business.”

John will be discussing how to get buy-in from the c-suite, and how to effectively communicate with the board and other stakeholders in the business. What is most notable is the ability to translate “tech speak” into quantified risk, language and numbers that are can be understood. His talk at the CISO Africa conference will also examine the “human factor”: “...you need to invest in monitoring, response processes and resources – and in vigilant people (both in the security team and the rest of the business) above all else...”

The CISO, and their teams, has the unenviable task of protecting the organisation from external threats, yet should possess the ability to articulate IT security priorities from a business viewpoint. Along with several other leading CISOs, John will be part an exclusive CISO VIP Dinner, going into detail on the leadership role within the business: “The CISO’s role in any breach is to provide strong steerage of the whole business reaction in line with the pre-defined incident or crisis management plan... good response can be the difference between loss of reputation – and loss of the CISO’s job!”

With more than 150 senior thought leaders set to attend the two-day conference and pre-conference focus day, CISO Africa 2019 is set to become the mainstay event for IT security leaders in the years to come. Including a compelling interactive agenda, a variety of speakers across industries, and reserved involvement of several solutions providers, the conference provides not on the opportunity to learn from others, but to share your own insights and opinions.

For more information go to www.cisoafrica.com. Please contact Rachel Paterson for any additional information moc.puorgmuiniroc@nosretap.lehcaR.