In an industry that is too often judged by its failures rather than its successes, for a second year in a row, we chose to celebrate the wins and innovation within our field, from which we emerge a stronger community.
In collaboration with Deloitte, the Team8 CISO Village Awards 2024 celebrated excellence in cybersecurity, highlighting the critical importance of innovation and leadership at a critical time when cyber threats continue to be increasingly sophisticated, fueled by AI and global geopolitical instability.
What an incredible night it was! Held at the beautiful 1440 Multiversity campus in Santa Cruz, California, honoring our community members that make a difference.
The Awards
Now, let’s get into the standout winners of the event!
The CISO Village Choice Award
This award was presented based on the CISO’s voting for the best pitch from start-ups, from both inside and outside the Team8 Ecosystem, during “Innovation Day” at the Summit.
It took a lot of resilience and confidence for each of these startups to present their companies in front of an audience of 100 CISOs.
And the winner was…Nagomi Security
Nagomi and their Co-Founder and CEO, Emmanuel Salmona, impressed attendees with their proactive security platform (that had just come out of stealth with a significant fundraise). Nagomi is fundamentally redefining how security teams optimize effectiveness and drive efficiency from their existing security tools. The technology helps security teams prioritize the most urgent risks based on an organization’s unique threat profile and provides prescriptive and actionable remediation plans to reduce threat exposure using existing tools.
Congratulations to the entire Nagomi team for their well-deserved win! We’re looking forward to seeing what you’ll come up with next.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award
The DEI Award recognizes individuals committed to enhancing the representation and engagement of underrepresented minorities in cybersecurity. It was presented by Tyson Kopczynski, former CISO/SVP at Aledade, and Team8 Managing Partner, Aviad Harell.
The winner was Nicole Dove, Director of Security Engineering at Riot Games. Nicole has dedicated her efforts to promoting the representation and engagement of underrepresented minorities in cybersecurity, providing mentorship, and raising awareness about the importance of diversity in our field. In 2016, she was invited to the White House to discuss The United State of Women. She hosts podcasts dedicated to DEI and leads outreach programs to support the inclusion and promotion of women.
Congratulations Nicole!
The Cyber Community Development Award
The Cyber Community Development Award recognizes leaders who have gone above and beyond in fostering a collaborative, thriving community within cybersecurity. This award is given to individuals who have made a significant impact in their organizations and dedicated their expertise to uplift their peers and elevate the entire ecosystem.
Yuval Shachar, Team8 Managing Partner, and Executive Chairman, along with David Cross, CISO at Oracle, announced the winner: Gary Hayslip, CISO at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Gary’s contributions have not only impacted his organization but have also uplifted the ecosystem through his support and innovative practices. He has consistently raised the bar for CISOs through his co-authored books, including the “CISO Desk Reference Guide: A Practical Guide for CISOs” and “Develop Your Cybersecurity Career Path: How to Break into Cybersecurity at Any Level.”.
Thank you for being an inspiration to us all, Gary!
The Thought Leadership Award
This accolade was given to an individual whose thought-provoking work on a wide range of cybersecurity policies has profoundly impacted the community through writing, campaigns, or speaking engagements.
Amir Zilberstien, Team8’s Managing Partner, and Oliver Newbury, Barclays Global CISO, announced the winner on the night: Diego Souza, CISO at Progressive Holdings.
Diego was recognized by his peers for his impactful public speaking, mentorship programs, and active role in shaping cybersecurity discourse. His commitment to advancing the field is evident through his initiatives, including his involvement with the Hispanic C-Suite Corporate Council.
The Startup-CISO Collaboration Impact Award
This award recognized an impactful collaboration between a veteran CISO and a company at the earliest stages. Present the award was Adnan Amjad, US Cyber & Strategic Risk Leader at Deloitte and a long-time partner of Team8’s.
And the winner was Steve Sparkes, EVP, Chief Information Security Officer at Scotiabank, nominated by Orchid. Roy Katmor, Co-founder & CEO of Orchid went on stage to accept the prize.
In their nomination, Orchid mentioned Sparkes for his unique capability to identify business technological pains and foster a collaborative innovative environment. He was also recognized for advising, instructing, and harnessing valuable resources to the startups’ strategic objectives, resulting in an exceptional business market fit.
Lifetime Accomplishment Award
The Lifetime Accomplishment Award was presented to Marene Allison, former CISO at Johnson & Johnson, by Team8 Managing Partner and Co-founder Nadav Zafrir, and Kristen Davies, Global CISO at Unilever. Marene’s career has been marked by exceptional leadership, innovation, and a profound impact on the industry.
Aside from her role at Johnson & Johnson, she has served in the US Army in the Military Police, on the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services appointed by the Secretary of Defense, and the Overseas Security Advisory Committee appointed by the Secretary of State. Marene is a founding member of West Point Women and currently serves on their Board of Directors. She also serves on the Board of Directors for H-ISAC (Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center) and ASIS International.
Strategic Partnerships and Giving Back: Powering Progress
Our industry’s progress requires a village, as Deloitte proved for the second consecutive year as our strategic partner. The event highlighted innovative technologies and the leaders driving them forward, emphasizing the need for broader coalitions to stay ahead of increasingly savvy attackers.
This coalition must include all areas of society, especially those on the fringes or less involved. Like last year, each winner donated their prize money to a nonprofit of their choice. This year, nonprofits such as Cyversity, which focuses on increasing diversity in cybersecurity, and the PROG Foundation, which enhances socioeconomic opportunities, benefited from these generous donations.
See You Next Year
Events like these play a crucial role in promoting a standard of excellence and fostering a community dedicated to advancing cybersecurity. Congratulations to all the winners and participants for their invaluable contributions, may this only be the beginning of our journey.
Stay connected with Team8 for future events and updates by following us on Linkedin. If you are interested in joining the CISO Village, reach out to us at [email protected]
