Leading as a CISO with Karen Holmes.

Apex chats with Karen Holmes, the Vice President and CISO at global staffing company True Blue. Karen is on a mission to drive automation and orchestration, she is focused on improving overall seamless and secure user experiences while creating an innovative atmosphere of “I have a crazy idea that just might work.” Here Karen shares her experience as a CISO and offers her own advice on managing an enterprise team.

 

 

Q: What is IT security doing to support innovation in the enterprise? 

A: We just achieved an ISO 27001 certification for the organization, and this was both a heavy lift and a huge achievement. We knew we were following best practices, and felt it was time to “put our money where our mouth is” and get certified. This shows the Enterprise commitment.

 

Q: How has the role of the CIO/CISO changed over your career?

A: CISOs are more forward and customer/client facing than ever before. We can no longer stay in the background and practice “defense against the dark arts” potential clients and their teams want to know us and hear from us directly. We have a public face more now than ever before.

 

Q: What advice would you give an early stage CIO or CISO joining an enterprise organization?

A: Define success first. Naturally, you’re going to want to put your own ideas in motion, but don’t change things just to make your mark. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle. You know what success looks like, then you build the corners, building in from that vision. You don’t throw away the box and try to find the center as a place to start. And listen to your engineers, the people with their hands in the chompers every day. Don’t assume you  know everything, because you don’t.

 

Q: What are your top data priorities: business growth, data security/privacy, legal/regulatory concerns, expense reduction? 

A: All of the above actually. Security cannot be a speed bump, and we have to move, advise, respond and guide from a cyber and compliance perspective if we’re slowing the business moving forward. We can’t be a speed bump or a toll booth, we have to keep up with traffic

 

Q: What are some of the personal experiences — or compelling arguments — that have influenced your thinking around gender and technology and have motivated you to get involved in being an advocate for change? 

A: Everyone has unconscious bias, but the best advice I’ve given women coming up in Technology is to take their own bias out of the equation before you walk in the room. Don’t assume every man in the room is going to consider you “less” because of your gender, or that they’ll be making assumptions about your skill level . Walk in as the technology professional, not the female technology professional. Own what you know, and if they want to underestimate you? Well, let them. It’ll be fun to show them they’re wrong.

 

Q: Has security been more of a challenge to manage while your teams have shifted to a Work From Home structure?  

A: For parts of our organization who had been working in offices using desktops, certainly. I don’t think we’re unique there. Overall, I have always advocated a location agnostic approach to work. Hire the right person with the right skills, regardless of where they sit.

 

Karen Holmes – Vice President and CISO at True Blue

Karen Holmes is the Vice President and CISO at global staffing company True Blue, where she is responsible for Cybersecurity, Technology Governance, Risk and Compliance, Networking, and Telecommunications. On a mission to drive automation and orchestration, she is focused on improving overall seamless and secure user experiences while creating an innovative atmosphere of “I have a crazy idea that just might work.” Prior to taking on her role at True Blue, Karen gained experience at Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), Carnival Corporation, Holland America Lines, and JP Morgan Chase. Karen also serves as a Director with Kitsap Credit Union. She is a CISA, CISM, CDPSE, and CIPM.

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