Switching industries as a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) involves transferring skills, understanding the business, and managing risk in new environments.
Despite reaching the top of their field, many security leaders find it challenging to move to a new role in a different industry. Executives and recruiters often assume a CISO's experience is only applicable within their current sector.
“You see people staying within the same industry … it seems like those in the startup world stay in the startup world, those in software development stay there. Once you get to larger enterprises, you tend to stay in those larger enterprises.”
Marc Ashworth, CISO of First Bank, has experienced this firsthand, having worked in aerospace, healthcare, and finance.
CISOs face challenges when transitioning between industries due to the perceived lack of transferable experience.
Author's summary: CISOs struggle to switch industries due to perceived experience limitations.