In-Person

Toronto CISO Community

Executive Summit

December 3, 2025 | Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre

December 3, 2025
Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Toronto'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:

Recalculating risk appetites across the C-suite and strengthening relationships accordingly

Streamlining user access through intelligent technologies

Balancing security best practices with business needs to drive innovation and resilience

Toronto 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

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 Toronto 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

December 3, 2025

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

8:30am - 9:15am  Keynote

Brain-Driven Resilience—Neuro-Optimizing for Executive Edge

Megs Gelfgot headshot

Megs Gelfgot

Two-time founder, TEDx, International and Fortune 500 speaker on neuroscience & resilience

Guest Speaker

 In the high-stakes arena of billion-dollar enterprises, resilience isn't just an asset; it's a necessity. Learn how elite athletes, Navy SEALs, and top executives leverage cutting-edge neuroscience and cognitive training to elevate their relationship with adversity to yield more resilient outcomes. Cognitive training can help boost executive function and enhance decision making under pressure.

Join Megs Gelfgot, Tedx speaker and two-time founder, as she shares:

  • Hacks for gaining a competitive edge
  • Tactical resilience leadership strategies
  • Ways to mitigate symptoms of cognitive decline

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Gartner Breakout Session

Human Leadership—A New Mandate for CISOs as People Leaders

Jérôme Mackowiak headshot

Jérôme Mackowiak

Director, Business and Technology Insights, Human Resources Practice

Gartner

Chris Grove headshot

Chris Grove

VP, Information Security and CISO

IA Financial Group

Today’s CISOs are not just guardians of technology and enterprise risk—they are people leaders at the heart of organizational resilience. But the unique pressures, expectations, and backgrounds associated with the CISO role often make it challenging to embrace a human leadership approach compared to other enterprise leaders. Drawing on Gartner’s latest research and insights, this session is a call to embrace the new mandate of CISO leadership: securing the future through empowered, resilient teams. 

Join this session for guidance and insights on: 

  • Understanding why people leadership is now just as critical for security success as any technology solution 
  • Expanding a technical problem-solving mindset to also prioritize authenticity and empathy 
  • Balancing the high-stakes nature of enterprise cybersecurity with necessary people-centric initiatives

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

AppSec Revolution—Driving Efficiency with Context and Culture

Larry Maccherone headshot

Larry Maccherone

Evangelist

Contrast Security

Traditional security practices are struggling worldwide against modern threats and the rapid pace of software development. The solution lies in leveraging production data, which enables effective Application Detection and Response (ADR) by integrating real-time insights into code behavior, vulnerabilities, and attacks. This approach empowers development and operations teams across borders to collaboratively enhance security.

Join this roundtable to discuss:

  • Identifying what’s wrong with the current approach to protecting Apps and APIs
  • Enhancing vulnerability scanning with real production insights
  • Strengthening attack protection with contextual awareness

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Reframing the Identity Management Conversation

The path to a stronger IAM strategy lies within an agile digital system. Identity-first strategies are focused equally on security and business enablement. Security leaders must implement the right tools and processes to guarantee that the appropriate individuals have access.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

  • Evolving strategies to address the growing sophistication of cyber threats
  • Breaking with outdated processes and legacy technology
  • Optimizing user experience when adopting a user access program

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

Better Together—Internal Audit and Cybersecurity

Stephen Kerkmann headshot

Stephen Kerkmann

CISO

Extendicare

Norilyn De Vera headshot

Norilyn De Vera

Information Technology Audit Manager

Extendicare

Traditionally, the relationship between audit and cybersecurity teams has been marked by a degree of tension—each function operating with distinct objectives, priorities, and perspectives. However, as cyber threats evolve and regulatory pressures mount, CISOs have a unique opportunity to transform this dynamic into a strategic partnership.

Join this session to:

  • Learn how integrated approaches to controls testing, vulnerability management, and incident response can uncover blind spots, streamline compliance, and drive continuous improvement
  • Talk through a real-world example of a successful partnership, common challenges, and actionable strategies for fostering trust and communication between these critical functions
  • Discover how aligning audit and cybersecurity not only strengthens defenses, but also delivers greater value to the business

11:10am - 11:55am  Breakout Session

Fraud Redefined — The AI-Driven Future of Fraud & Risk Management

In a landscape where fraudsters are leveraging increasingly sophisticated tools like Artificial Intelligence, deep fakes, and synthetic identities, executive leaders face a critical inflection point. This session will unpack how AI is transforming the fight against fraud, offering new opportunities and new challenges for executive decision-makers.

Join this session to explore:

  • The latest AI-driven approaches to fraud detection and mitigation
  • Emerging fraud vectors and executive-level risk management priorities
  • Strategies for fostering cross-functional collaboration and board-level engagement

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Cyber Resilience— Beyond the Breach

Brent Maynard headshot

Brent Maynard

Senior Director, Security Technology and Strategy

Akamai

Aamir Bhaijiwala headshot

Aamir Bhaijiwala

Director, Information Security

Chartwell Retirement Residences

Organizations face complex threats that can overwhelm defenses and expose critical assets. Cyber resiliency helps organizations withstand and recover from attacks, while compliance regulations further strengthen security. Are you ready to boost your organization’s cyber resilience?

Join this session to explore:

  • Strategies for minimizing attack surfaces
  • Methods for securing critical IT assets
  • Insights on leveraging compliance for stronger security

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Building a Secure Foundation for Data-Driven Digital Transformation

Karim Jessani headshot

Karim Jessani

Principal & CISO, Data & AI Practice

Kainos

Establishing a secure data governance and protection program that successfully aligns with business priorities is paramount — especially as organizations race to identify as many use cases as possible to leverage GenAI. How can security leaders support and enable the digital processes, interactions and transactions that drive their business? By establishing a secure, modern governance framework that protects high quality data throughout its lifecycle.

Join this session to discuss:

  • How to align security objectives with data governance principles
  • Strategies to ensure availability, integrity and confidentiality in data while mitigating risks for the long term
  • The importance of complying with data-focused regulations while creating value from a data governance framework

11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm  Keynote

Zero Trust & AI—Strengthening Security, Reducing Complexity, and Driving Innovation

Sam Curry headshot

Sam Curry

CISO

Zscaler

Businesses stand to benefit from AI in unprecedented ways, but only if security leaders overcome transformation challenges. This includes implementing a modern zero trust architecture to protect data and users, embracing AI while managing its risks, and handling the technical and financial implications of ever-expanding environments. A risk-based approach to security ensures CISOs deliver a secure, phased transformation.

Join this session to:

  • Understand how zero trust and AI together, unlike firewalls, provide the strongest cyber defense by stopping threat actors from lateral movement within networks
  • Learn strategies for protecting AI applications developed in data centers and the cloud, while preventing data leaks from public AI applications
  • Discover how eliminating costly legacy hardware simplifies environments while cutting network and security costs

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

Navigating the Risks vs. Rewards of GenAI

Craig Newell headshot

Craig Newell

VP, Enterprise Information Security

GDI Integrated Facility Services

As organizations continue to race to unlock business value from GenAI, information security leaders are tasked with navigating a complex landscape — balancing the promise of innovation with concerns about data integrity, trustworthiness, and operational risk. 

Join this session to hear a candid conversation between cybersecurity leaders about their experiences — and concerns — with leveraging AI’s opportunities and mitigating its risks in the context of enterprise cybersecurity, including:

  • Establishing effective governance frameworks
  • Fostering a culture of responsible AI use and adoption
  • Ensuring that the drive for business innovation doesn't compromise cybersecurity

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

Cyber Meets Cents — Benchmarking Security Investments

Cybersecurity is the No. 1 spend item on the IT budget, according to Gartner, but spend does not always equal protection. As security continues to evolve as a business-critical function, how are CISOs evaluating investments to ensure they're delivering the maximum business value without compromising on risk?

Join this session to discuss:

  • Benchmarking your security and IT budget against peers
  • Planning for resource allocation to maximize outcomes
  • Communicating the business value of security investments

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 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

Next-Level Security Transformation—Engaging Boards, the Business, and Beyond

Ragulan Sinnarajah headshot

Ragulan Sinnarajah

VP, CISO

Empire Company Limited

In today’s complex threat landscape, transforming an enterprise into a truly security-aware organization requires more than technical solutions—it demands a shift in business mindset and culture at every level, including the ELT and board. 

Join this session to hear from your CISO peers as they share:

  • Proven methods for engaging executive leadership and the board, ensuring security is aligned with overall business objectives and decision-making
  • Practical approaches to foster security awareness beyond compliance and technical controls, emphasizing the roles of people, process, and governance
  • Real-world experiences leading a cultural transformation, making security an integral part of enterprise strategy and daily operations

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Executive Boardroom

From Metrics to Narratives— Your Role as a Risk Storyteller

CISOs are evolving from technical experts into strategic storytellers, becoming vital advisors to the board. This transformation is essential in a constantly shifting regulatory landscape, with new reporting requirements and a renewed focus on accountability. 

Join this roundtable discussion with your CISO peers to discuss:

  • The art of clearly and accurately articulating the business impact of assumed risks
  • Positioning effective risk management as a competitive advantage
  • Keeping stakeholders informed on risk and response within a complex maze of legal, privacy, and regulatory challenges

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Breakout Session

Breakout Session

Session details coming soon!

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

Beyond Technical Excellence—How Emotional Intelligence Transforms Cybersecurity Effectiveness

Jamie Giroux headshot

Jamie Giroux

CISO

Platinum Equity

Perfectly competent technical teams falling apart under pressure. Stakeholder communications that create more problems than they solve. Incident responses where human factors turn manageable situations into organizational nightmares. Every CISO has seen or lived through each of these scenarios—and likely more than once.

As an industry, we've spent decades building amazing technical capabilities while ignoring the human elements that determine success or failure in critical moments. After 30+ years of battle-tested experience in the cybersecurity trenches, CISO Jamie Giroux realized that a new approach was needed to transform his security operations teams from merely technically competent to strategically exceptional. 

In this keynote, Giroux shares his elements of his game-changing framework specifically engineered to integrate emotional intelligence (EQ) with cybersecurity operations, including:

  • Why teams with higher emotional intelligence consistently outperform technically superior teams during actual incidents
  • What concrete steps for building EQ capabilities within existing security frameworks and operational constraints actually work
  • How organizations are achieving 15-25% improvements in key security metrics through human performance optimization

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

December 3, 2025

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

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

More Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Marriott Downtown at CF Toronto Eaton Centre at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 800-905-0667 . Please mention Toronto Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $289 CAD (plus tax) is October 30, 2025.

Your Community Sponsors

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Key Sponsor

Program Sponsors

Community Program Manager

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

Lynn Morrow

Senior Community Program Manager

503-805-5624

lynn.morrow@gartner.com