The CISO 3.0

Walt Powell is an experienced executive coach and CISO advisor who has extensive experience working with countless CISOs and developing cybersecurity programs. Walt helped pioneer the role of Field CISO and is a founding member of the Global Security Strategy Office at CDW. Walt now leads a team of Field CISOs, composed entirely of former executives, who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to their clients, underpinned by unique insights gained from contributing to and learning from the strategies of hundreds of chief information security officers (CISOs) and chief information officers (CIOs) across every size of organization and vertical. Walt and his team leverage this wealth of knowledge and experience to provide executive coaching, support, and mentorship to elevate other CISOs, their programs, and organizations, sharing lessons and providing strategic guidance that would typically take several careers to acquire.

Prior to his role at CDW, Walt was the owner and vCISO at Left Brain Security, which is now Left Brain Security Media. He has served as an award-winning cybersecurity leader, advisor, architect, and pre-sales engineer and has also served as a professor of networking and security at Wright College. Walt firmly believes in the importance of giving back to the industry, which is why he taught in CISSP and CISM boot camps and contributes as a certification exam development committee member for numerous organizations. He holds an impressive array of professional certifications, including CISSP, CISM, CCISO, Carnegie Mellon CISO, and the Stanford Advanced Cybersecurity Certificate, and numerous technical and sales certifications from leading cybersecurity firms. Walt also leads a cybersecurity book club, which is being launched as a podcast.

A proud Mensa member and futurist, Walt is deeply invested in exploring the implications of emerging technologies on cybersecurity. He actively contributes to the cybersecurity community by writing and speaking at industry conferences such as BSides, CypherCon, and CrowdStrike Fal.Con; sharing white papers; and authoring articles on critical security topics. Beyond his professional life, Walt is a former professional musician and multi-instrumentalist who cherishes spending quality time with his children, traveling, and learning new languages.