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.