At Candid CISO, our mission is to raise the game for cybersecurity leaders.
There’s no manual for sitting in the CISO seat. Leadership is forged under pressure—through blind spots, board meetings, and breach drills. Our exclusive content delivers unfiltered stories, practical guidance, and sharp insight from those who’ve led through it all. From identity to AI, we surface what matters most to those shaping security at the highest level.
Explore our full library of episodes, playbooks, strategic briefs, and hard-earned lessons here on Substack ➡️ https://candidciso.substack.com/
Leading Fearlessly in High-Growth Environments with Jimmy Sanders
Send us a text In this episode of the Candid CISO Podcast, John Donovan sits down with Jimmy Sanders, a cybersecurity leader whose journey from interning at a beef jerky company to leading security teams at Netflix and Samsung is nothing short of inspiring. Join us as Jimmy shares his experience of leading fearlessly in high-growth environments, where the pressure to innovate never stops and the stakes are sky-high. He reveals how he balanced security and rapid development, motivated teams be...
6 Nov 2024
Reimagining Risk and the Virtual CISO
Send us a text In this insightful Candid CISO episode, John Donovan interviews Carlota Sage, a vCISO with a unique, multifaceted background in tech and cybersecurity. They discuss the strengths and challenges of the vCISO role versus full-time CISO positions, emphasizing the flexibility and affordability vCISOs bring to organizations that can't justify a full-time CISO. Carlota shares her experiences at major security conferences, the increasing role of compliance in driving security initiati...
25 Oct 2024
The CISO Who Rebuilt Giants with Rinki Sethi
Send us a text In this episode of The Candid CISO, Rinki Sethi, a trailblazing cybersecurity leader, shares her incredible journey from an unexpected start in the industry to her rise as a prominent figure in security leadership with host John Donovan. Rinki opens up about the challenges she faced, the importance of mentorship, and how vulnerability and communication have been crucial to her success. She provides insightful guidance on building strong security teams, navigating crisis managem...
25 Oct 2024
Resilience On The Trails And In Cybersecurity: A Journey with Jason Elrod
Send us a text In this episode of the Candid CISO, Co-Host John Donovan sits down with Jason Elrod, CISO of MultiCare Health Systems, who shares how getting lost on a trail run and running barefoot for 19 miles became a metaphor for leadership in cybersecurity. Jason dives into the tough realities of protecting critical infrastructure, balancing security and compliance, and tackling imposter syndrome head-on. He also reveals why being fiercely dangerous (ethically, of course) is essential for...
11 Oct 2024
Innovating in Cybersecurity with AI and Inclusive Leadership
Send us a text In this episode of the Candid CISO podcast, host John Donovan sits down with Mandy Andress, an experienced CISO, investor, and board member, to explore her career journey in the cybersecurity industry. Mandy discusses how her diverse roles have shaped her perspective on implementing security measures tailored to different organizations, taking into account their culture, communication styles, and technological infrastructure. She also opens up about her personal experiences as ...
30 Sept 2024
Navigating Leadership in the Security World with Joel Fulton
Send us a text In this episode, John Donovan sits down with cybersecurity expert and entrepreneur Dr. Joel Fulton for an insightful conversation covering leadership, resilience, and career growth. Joel shares his journey from an unconventional upbringing to becoming a successful CISO and startup founder. He discusses the challenges of transitioning from individual contributor to leader, the evolving nature of the CISO role, and the importance of self-awareness in leadership. Listeners can exp...
29 Aug 2024
Rethinking Cybersecurity: The Power of AI and Preparation with Tyler Pinckard
Send us a text In this episode of the Candid CISO podcast, Tyler Pinckard, Head of Security and Data Protection Officer at Support Logic, shares his provocative insights on the evolving landscape of cybersecurity. Tyler challenges the traditional view of security as merely a cost center, arguing that when leveraged correctly, compliance and AI can become powerful competitive advantages. He delves into the critical role of preparation and rehearsals, emphasizing that many security failures ste...
16 Aug 2024
From Hacker to CISO: Carlos De Leon's Journey and Career Advice
Send us a text In this episode of the Candid CISO podcast, Co-Host John Donovan interviews Carlos de Leon, CISO at the Washington State Department of Revenue. They discuss various topics related to cybersecurity leadership and strategy, including the challenges and rewards of the CISO role, the importance of compliance, and the need for strong communication and people skills. They also touch on incident response and threat management, highlighting the lessons learned from the CrowdStrike inc...
30 Jun 2024
Cybersecurity Leadership: Humanity, Diversity, and Impact
Send us a text Steve Tout has a conversation with Aysha Khan, the CISO and CIO at Treasure Data in Mountain View, California. Aysha has 20 years of experience in Information Technology and Security at Fortune 500 companies. She is passionate about aligning strategy with agile execution to drive business results and customer satisfaction. Aysha has successfully built and led technology, security, compliance, risk, and operations functions from scratch. She has also turned around disjointed org...
30 Apr 2024
Leadership, AI, and Continuing Education with Chirag Shah
Send us a text In this episode, Steve has a conversation with Chirag Shah. Chirag is the the Global Security Officer and Data Privacy Officer at Model N, a publicly traded software company in San Mateo, California. Chirag is a security and technology leader with over 24 years experience building leading-edge information security, security compliance, IT & network initiatives from the ground up. He is an inclusive leader with a passion for information security management, cooking, and cont...
2 Feb 2024
Data Security and Privacy with Ganesh Kirti
Send us a text In this episode, Ganesh Kirti, the founder and CEO of TrustLogix, discusses the challenges of securing data in the cloud and the need for comprehensive data security solutions. He explains how the modernization of data platforms and the increasing amount of data being stored and accessed in the cloud has made data security a complex problem. Ganesh also highlights the importance of security observability and granular access controls in protecting sensitive data. Ganesh emphasiz...
2 Feb 2024
Candid Conversations with Chris Roberts
Send us a text In this episode of Candid CISO, host John Donovan has a conversation with Chris Roberts, CISO at Boom Supersonic. Together they discuss the importance of being candid and authentic in the cybersecurity industry. He emphasizes the need for CISOs to protect not only the organization but also the people within it. Roberts also shares advice for those looking to break into the security field, suggesting that they get involved in the community, contribute to research, and attend con...
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