Julie Myerholtz
VP & CISO
Brunswick
Julie Myerholtz is the VP CISO for Brunswick, and a Governing Body Member of the Chicago CISO Community.
A few fun facts about Julie, she is a three-time CISO who loves to travel the world. She says, “However, in reality I spend most of my weekends in middle of nowhere towns in the mid-west supporting my twins in their various sporting events and extra curricular activities.”
Learn more about the Chicago CISO community here.
Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I started my career in IT risk management at PwC helping companies implement controls to mitigate risks. I then spent 13 years at First Solar, starting in the Internal Audit department and moving into IT where I was able to gain a breadth of experience leading the Office of the CIO, Infrastructure, and other areas ending my tenure there as the first ever named CISO of the company. I was recruited in 2021 to transform the cybersecurity program at Grainger. After three years leading information security at Grainger, I was recruited to transform Brunswick's Information Security program post-breach.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Leadership is all about humans. Everything starts with a human-centric approach that focuses on the “why” first and then the “what.”
What is the greatest challenge CISOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
I think the current state of the world is the greatest challenge. We are in a place where technology is advancing quickly introducing new threats such as AI. Additionally, with recent elections and other geopolitical realities companies are facing uncertain markets, budget restrictions, and potential increased threats from nation states.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CISO?
I don’t think there is one key to success for a C-level. However, two useful skills to making someone successful are being good at telling the story in a manner that people can understand and being authentic. Being a good storyteller helps with influence and buy-in as people understand the why. Being authentic helps people develop trust and support your agenda.
How do you measure success as a leader?
I measure success as a leader based on whether my team is happy and able to accomplish their goals. My job as a leader is to help teach my team and set them up for success. If they aren’t successful in their journey, I haven’t been successful as a leader.
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