
Minneapolis CISO Community
Executive Summit
June 18, 2025 | Sheraton Bloomington Hotel
June 18, 2025
Sheraton Bloomington Hotel
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Minneapolis'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:
Strengthening cybersecurity's influence as a key facilitator of enterprise risk decisions
Building cyber resilience to withstand and quickly recover from attacks
Recalculating risk appetites across the C-suite and strengthening relationships accordingly
Minneapolis 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

Vince Aimutis
Federated Insurance
VP, Director, Information Services & CISO

Peter Christy
Patterson Companies
VP, CISO

Mary Faulkner
Thrivent
VP, CISO & IT Operations

Jeff Johnson
Digikey
Director, IT Security

Aimee Martin
Data Recognition Corporation
CISO

Greg Matthias
Agiliti
VP, CISO

Tina Meeker
Sleep Number
VP, Information Security & Enterprise Architecture

Michael Rogers
Hormel Foods
CISO & Director Information Security & Compliance

Param Vig
Solventum
SVP, CISO
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
The Performance Paradox — Navigating Peak Performance with Mental Health in Mind
Hosted by Netskope

Kara Hardin
Registered Psychotherapist & Founder of The Practice Lab
Guest Speaker
In high-achieving environments, the drive to succeed often comes at a quiet cost: exhaustion, disconnection, and a sense that no matter how much we accomplish, it’s never quite enough. When productivity becomes the only measure of worth, rest feels impossible—and burnout starts to look like the norm. But it doesn’t have to be.
In this keynote Kara Hardin, former lawyer, and mental health educator explores why our current approach to performance is backfiring—and what we can do instead. Through research, relatable stories, and practical tools, we’ll unpack:
- How common ideas about time, efficiency, and productivity are quietly harming individual and collective well-being
- Why mental health isn’t the reward for high performance—it’s the foundation
- What leaders can do (for themselves and their teams) to build a healthier, more sustainable relationship with work
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Reimagining Recovery — From Tabletop to Reality
Hosted by Ping Identity

Noah Korba
VP, Cyber Security
General Mills

Billie Chock
Director, Cybersecurity
General Mills
As cyber threats escalate each year, organizations must evolve from traditional tabletop exercises to hands-on recovery practices to enhance resilience and technology recovery capabilities. This session will guide participants through the transition from theoretical planning to executing crisis-level recovery exercises. How can CISOs transform disaster recovery from a mere exercise into a strategic capability that addresses real-world threats?
Join this session to:
- Learn the benefits of moving from tabletop exercises to full-scale, hands-on recovery operations.
- Explore the process and challenges of rebuilding cloud environments as part of a robust disaster recovery strategy.
- Understand how to integrate recovery capabilities into organizational resilience planning to effectively counter evolving threats.
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
The Cloud Network Security Illusion ― Are You Really Protected?
Hosted by Aviatrix

Chris McHenry
Chief Product Officer
Aviatrix

Ed Moore
AVP, Security, Identity & Access Management
Carnival Corporation

Jeff Holschuh
CISO
Sun Country Airlines
CISOs today face an uncomfortable truth ― traditional cloud security models leave critical blind spots. Perimeter defenses and firewalls create a false sense of security while real threats move undetected within your cloud. Recent Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) reveal the limitations of static security approaches, proving that securing only the 'front door' is insufficient.
Join this session to discuss:
- Hidden risks inside cloud environments missed by traditional security
- The necessity of deep insights into data workloads, application security, and Kubernetes compliance
- Best practices to ensure control over your cloud security posture
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
AI and Data Intelligence for Smarter Security
Hosted by Abnormal AI & Cribl

Scott Deluke
Director of Enterprise Sales Engineering
Abnormal AI

Jon Zayicek
Deputy CISO
Cribl

Tony Taylor
CISO
Land O'Lakes

Jeff Johnson
Director, IT Security
Digikey
Today’s security teams are overwhelmed — not just by threats, but by the sheer volume of tools, alerts and raw data. To reduce risk and respond faster, leaders must shift from reactive noise management to proactive signal extraction. In this session, experts from Abnormal AI and Cribl will explore how leveraging AI (and other tools) can help security teams focus on what truly matters. You’ll discover how to elevate threat detection, increase visibility and control, streamline operations, and make high-impact decisions with greater speed and clarity.
Join this session to discover:
- How behavioral AI surfaces (and can even block) high-priority threats before they escalate
- Why data observability is critical for reducing risk and complexity
- Proven strategies to eliminate noise without sacrificing security
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Addressing Enterprise Risks with Automation
Hosted by Grip Security and Nagomi Security

Chris Zamora
VP of Global Executive Engagement
Nagomi Security

Mike Frost
Director, Information Security
Here Technologies

Arian Massoudi
Director of Solutions Engineering
Grip Security

Mark Sommers
Senior Director, IT Information Assurance & ProVision Security Solutions
Purpose Brands
Assessing risks across the enterprise is even harder with shadow SaaS sprawl and data fragmentation from tool sprawl. Proactive security requires automation and security assessments to scale operationally.
Join this boardroom to discuss:
- Strategies for proactive security versus reactive security
- What data silos can be leveraged for real-time, actionable insights
- Methods to prioritize and remediate gaps based on real business impact
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 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
The Discipline of Cybersecurity through Martial Arts

Peter Christy
VP, CISO
Patterson Companies
Like Cybersecurity, Martial Arts embodies the discipline of defense. This principle gradually evolves through focus and understanding. As a third-degree black belt in Karate, Peter Christy, CISO at Patterson Companies has learned the importance of preventing attacks, refining techniques, and accumulating knowledge and expertise over time.
Join this session to explore:
- Applying the Martial Arts mindset to security
- Building a culture of continuous improvement and learning
- Staying proactive, flexible, and resilient against an increasing threat landscape
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Strategies for Simplifying IT Complexity Through Consolidation
Hosted by Cloudflare

Rich McMunn
Director, Hyperscale Data Center Engineering
Cloudflare

Brad Abbott
CISO & Senior Director Information Security
Medica

Aaron Call
CISO
Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission
Platform consolidation is a strategic priority for security and IT leaders, driven by increasing tech stack complexity and economic challenges. Unfortunately, many consolidation projects struggle to meet expectations due to gaps between what platforms can do and what it should do.
Join this session to discuss:
- Simplifying the IT stack for cost savings, less complexity, and enhanced performance and reliability
- Overcoming organizational inertia and other common obstacles to platform consolidation
- Proving the ROI of a consolidated IT stack that fosters innovation and can better adapt to changing business needs
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Protecting Innovation — Rethinking Data Security Strategies
Hosted by Cyberhaven

Aman Sirohi
Moderator
Cyberhaven

Jason Meszaros
Director, Infrastructure & Cybersecurity
ATS

Greg Matthias
VP, CISO
Agiliti
AI makes creating and consuming data easier than ever, with shadow AI and dark data presenting new challenges to security teams. As the tactics for protecting data evolve, security leaders must adopt a risk-based strategy to protect mission-critical data and safeguard innovation.
Join this session to discover:
- Effective practices for ongoing monitoring to identify risks
- Rapid investigation and response techniques for insider threats
- Strategies for evolving your data protection approach
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Minneapolis CISO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Sheraton Bloomington HotelA block of rooms has been reserved at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 952-835-1900.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $173 USD (plus tax) is May 26, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.