An unexpected call came to me today from a Chief Security Officer I provided Latin American Corporate Security talent for several years ago. The call covered significant ground and many different topics and obviously prompted me to write this blog.

A large part of our call focused on this Chief Security Officer (CSO) sharing his perspective on where the corporate security profession is headed. This CSO’s career started out in a federal agency nearly 30 years ago. He didn’t stay in the federal arena long. An opportunity surfaced nearly 30 years ago for this CSO to step into private industry. He wasted no time in pouncing on the opportunity and has never looked back.

This CSO’s career has covered what I would call traditional corporate security topics such as:

Executive Protection
Supply Chain Security
Protecting Intellectual Property
Risk Management
Investigations
Security Assessments
Business Continuity
Travel Security
Personnel Security
Crisis Management
And More

This CSO does not have an Information Security background. He does work closely with his organization’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) but his career did not grow up in technology.

Many times, the CSO told me that he wishes he had picked up more technology experience 10-15 years ago because everything in his business environment is now driven by technology of some kind. He is conversant when he sits at the table with his CISO counterpart but he sees a time in the not-too-distant-future when a position like his will report to the CISO in many companies.

I asked this CSO what advice he would give to a younger corporate security professional or to someone who is leaving a first career in law enforcement or some kind of federal agency. The CSO was quick to respond by telling me he would advise an up-and-coming corporate security professional to learn everything they could possibly learn about Cybersecurity and where it intersects with topics that used to be considered physical security such as the topics mentioned above.

Jeff Snyder Coaching found at JeffSnyderCoaching.com