IN-PERSON

Chicago CISO Executive Summit

May 13, 2025 | Convene at 233 South Wacker

May 13, 2025
Convene at 233 South Wacker

APPLY TO PARTICIPATE

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Chicago's top CISOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.

Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CISOs today:

The relationships, regulations and responsibilities that accompany elevated data protection

Exhaustive risk management framework development and beyond-response resilience

Process and technology introductions that remain dedicated to the needs of human talent

Chicago CISO Governing Body


The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CISOs, For CISOs®.

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Nidhi Luthra

Baxter
VP & CISO

JJ Markee

Danaher
Global CISO

Bill Podborny

Constellation Brands
CISO

Paolo Vallotti

Henry Schein
Global CISO

Angela Williams

UL Solutions
SVP, Global Chief Information Security Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CISO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Chicago CISO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda


May 13, 2025

8:00am - 8:30am  Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am  Keynote

Leading Resilient Teams Through Unpredictable Adversity

Lisa Thompson headshot

Lisa Thompson

Author of "Finding Elevation: Fear and Courage on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain"

Guest Speaker

Lisa Thompson is a high-altitude mountaineer and former healthcare executive who beat cancer months before standing on the summit of Everest. Lisa later became the first all-American woman to summit K2, which is considered the deadliest mountain in the world. In her talks and book, “Finding Elevation,” Lisa shares the experience of climbing the toughest mountains in the world and the importance of teamwork, resilience and defining boundaries.

Join this keynote session to learn about the importance of:

  • Embracing change and overcoming challenges
  • Creating a supportive environment inside and outside the office
  • Defining clear roles and goals to build a strong, communicative team

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Reducing Application Delivery Tech Debt from the Inside Out

Shawn Surber headshot

Shawn Surber

VP Solutions Engineering

Island

With high volumes of sensitive data now flowing through web browsers, three in five organizations say data leakage is likely given current IT and security infrastructures. Stop playing catch-up. Discover new approaches to enterprise operations to reduce risk while simplifying operations.

Join this roundtable to discover:

  • How disparate IT and security solutions create technical debt
  • What challenges impact internal and end user stakeholders
  • How simplifying IT can strengthen security, and boost productivity

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Enhancing Security Through Strategic Collaboration

 In today's fast-paced threat landscape, security depends on collaboration between technology and business teams. Tool consolidation is crucial to reduce noise, optimize resources, and ensure robust security. This session explores strategies to bridge security and business gaps, focusing on practical approaches to engage developers and leverage tools, including AI, to proactively address risks before they escalate.

Join this session to:

  • Explore collaboration methods to boost security
  • Understand strategies for tool consolidation
  • Align cyber efforts with business goals

10:25am - 11:10am  Networking Break

10:35am - 11:00am  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Evanta’s Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Streamlining Compliance for Operational Excellence

Tony Lauro headshot

Tony Lauro

Director of Security Strategy

Akamai Technologies

Compliance doesn’t have to slow your business down. With the right tools and strategies, enterprises can turn regulatory challenges into opportunities for operational efficiency. Discover how unified security platforms and proactive threat hunting can reduce the burden of compliance, enhance productivity, and enable faster responses to emerging threats.

Join this session to explore:

  • Consolidate security management to reduce operational firefighting
  • Leverage AI-powered tools for real-time API protection
  • Achieve compliance while boosting productivity and resilience


11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Identity Security in the Agentic AI Era

Mike Towers headshot

Mike Towers

Chief Security & Trust Officer

Veza

 The rise of Agentic AI is increasing risks and complexities for Non-Human Identities (NHIs) in cloud environments. AI agents need extensive NHI access, posing new challenges in identity governance and security.


Join this roundtable to discuss:

· Exponential NHI growth impacting security

· Management of AI access models and permissions

· Complex AI interactions affecting identity management

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

True Defense Against API & Application Incidents

Larry Maccherone headshot

Larry Maccherone

Dev[Sec]Ops Transformation Architect

Contrast Security

 Cybersecurity measures are adept at detecting and responding to incidents across various layers, but the application layer often remains vulnerable. Many organizations have a massive vulnerability backlog that demands timely and effective defense.

Join us to explore:

  • Understanding the scale of the backlog and strategies to prevent exploitation
  • The intricacies of application and API protection within the security operations ecosystem
  • Benefits of having a comprehensive blueprint that reveals attack surfaces, defenses, dangers, and connections

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Leveraging AI to Better Prevent Data Loss

By analyzing and identifying patterns indicative of a potential data breach, artificial intelligence within a unified framework can dramatically improve your efforts to protect your organization's most precious data.

In this session, you and your peers will gather:

  • Practical steps for better protecting data integrity
  • How intelligent frameworks can augment and refine existing DLP efforts
  • Ways of using these AI-supported frameworks to strengthen overall resilience

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Executive Boardroom

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11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm  Keynote

Lunch Keynote by Zscaler

Jay Chaudhry headshot

Jay Chaudhry

CEO, Chairman & Founder

Zscaler

 More details coming soon!

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

Safe and Sound - Advice and Alignment on "Reasonable" Risk

Karen Habercoss headshot

Karen Habercoss

VP, Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer

UChicago Medicine

The level of risk one can comfortably accept might vary depending on the scope of their role. For example, those in the privacy space might be willing to take on more risk than those charged with securing or legally protecting the enterprise. A guaranteed point of agreement across all functions, however - The final word belongs to compliance regulators.

Rest easy as savvy practitioners and legal experts share:

  • Their knowledge of modern liability norms and how they're enforced
  • Ways of reconciling disjointed risk appetites across the business
  • Expected changes to current regulations in 2025


1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

Be Ready! Preparing Your People for a Cyber Crisis

Daniel Potter headshot

Daniel Potter

Senior Director, Cyber Drills & Resilience

Immersive

Security leaders face unprecedented challenges as evolving threats, including those posed by GenAI, rapidly increase enterprise risk. While new technologies offer defenses, they also introduce vulnerabilities. A cyber-ready workforce is crucial for organizational resilience, but how do you equip your organization to face the future of threats with confidence?

Join this interactive boardroom to discuss:

  • Acting decisively under pressure to manage and mitigate threats
  • Maintaining stakeholder confidence and protecting reputation during disruptions
  • Sharing threat intelligence and preparing for long-term attack consequences

2:15pm - 3:00pm  Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm  Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Evanta’s Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Breakout Session

Maturity & Modernity - The Value and Values of Your CISO Generation

Devin Rudnicki headshot

Devin Rudnicki

CISO

Fitch Ratings

Mark Morrison headshot

Mark Morrison

CISO

Options Clearing Corporation

Being a CISO is an experience that differs from one cyber leader to the next, with one of the most influential variables in how one might handle the role being when they assumed it. Veteran CISOs remember a time and culture newbies will only ever hear stories about, while new CISOs are already managing an unprecedented set of powers and responsibilities.

Together, in conversation, new and established CISOs will:

  • Compare their era-specific perspectives on the common issues of the role
  • Identify the drawbacks and benefits of decades-long industry change
  • Find where each can provide value unique to the other, be it wisdom or vision

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

Hurdles and Successes in AI Implementation

Daniel Mayer headshot

Daniel Mayer

CISO

Morningstar

 Details coming soon...

4:35pm - 4:45pm  Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

4:45pm - 6:00pm  Networking

Governing Body Reception

Finish the day sharing lessons learned with your peers over light fare and drinks at this closing reception hosted by your governing body members.

May 13, 2025

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering


Evanta cares about the health and safety of our community. Please review the following recommendations prior to attending the gathering.

Location


Venue & Accommodation

Convene at 233 South Wacker
MORE INFORMATION

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Key Sponsors
Program Sponsors

Community Program Manager


For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Nick Hall

Senior Community Program Manager

4253180488

nick.hall@gartner.com