Spotlight on Rey Rahbar

I am an electronic engineer with a background in telecom and radio, and I’ve spent 25 years in various leadership roles across major global enterprises such as Ericsson, Nokia, Scandia, H&M, SVT, Electrolux, and Husqvarna. Over the past decade, I have held executive positions at the CIO and CISO level, focusing on technology leadership, cybersecurity, and driving digital transformation. My career combines deep technical expertise with extensive experience leading complex organizations through change.

Learn more about the Nordic CISO community here.
 

Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.

I started my career in R&D working on smartphone technology, but my curiosity for how things could be improved—both in technology and in how people collaborate—pulled me toward broader leadership roles. I gradually moved into governance, change management, and IT strategy work, which led me into the CIO network and eventually to the CIO role at SVT. From there, I transitioned to Electrolux as Head of Global Security to build the security function from scratch. That success established me in the security field and led to my next challenge at Husqvarna, where I continued building and strengthening security capabilities.
 

What is one of your guiding leadership principles?

People first—listen, adapt, and be brave. I believe a clear vision supported by data matters far more than long activity or status lists. When people understand the direction and feel empowered, real progress happens.
 

What is the greatest challenge CISOs face today, and how are you addressing it?

My biggest challenge is unifying a scattered security story into one clear picture of how secure we really are. Security isn’t just the CISO’s responsibility or budget—every part of the business needs to invest. I’m addressing this by creating a single, shared narrative that drives ownership across the whole organization.
 

What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CISO?

Build trust early—it’s your most valuable currency as a C‑level leader. And remember, you don’t need to know everything. Reach out for support, involve people, engage, and truly listen.
 

How do you measure success as a leader?

I really measure success by how my people grow and how we move forward together. If the team feels trusted, supported, and confident to lead on their own—that’s real success to me.
 

What is the value of being a member of Gartner C-level Communities?

Networking and connection.
 

Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.