The cybersecurity world talks endlessly about the skills gap, but what if the real issue is a fit gap? In an industry obsessed with job titles and hard skills, we forget a basic truth: there is no single, ideal CISO profile. Every organisation is different; its business goals, risk appetite, digital maturity, culture and their external environment. And yet we keep looking for “The CISO” as if it’s a one-size-fits-all role. Based on exclusive research involving 28 in-depth interviews with CISOs and board members, and data from 45 questionnaires, this session dismantles the myth of the universal CISO and presents a practical, human-focused framework to help organisations identify the right security leadership for their specific context. We’ll explore the impact of organisational design, talent strategy, and digital maturity on CISO success, and the high cost of misalignment. The CISO isn’t broken, but the way we define, recruit, and support them is. Expect to walk away with:
• A new lens on cybersecurity leadership as a key human role, not a vacancy checkbox.
• Insight into how mismatched expectations fuel burnout, turnover, and failed security strategies and what to do about it.
• A ready-to-use model to rethink how we define, hire, and empower CISOs across diverse organisations.
