
Atlanta CISO Community
Executive Summit
November 18, 2025 | Westin Atlanta Perimeter North
November 18, 2025
Westin Atlanta Perimeter North
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Atlanta's top CISOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.
Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CISOs today:
Strengthening Cybersecurity Influence as a Key Facilitator of Enterprise Risk Decisions
Enhancing User Access with Smart Solutions
Charting the Future of the CISO Role Amid Increasing Regulatory Scrutiny and Organizational Shifts
Atlanta CISO Governing Body
The Governing Body Co-Chairs shape the summit agenda, ensuring that all content is driven By CISOs, For CISOs®.
Governing Body Co-Chairs

Derek Benz
The Coca-Cola Company
CISO

Tim Callahan
Aflac
SVP & Global CISO

John Dickson
Insight Global
CISO

Meredith Harper
Synchrony Financial
SVP & CISO

Stacy Hughes
ABM
SVP & CISO

Bob Varnadoe
Kaiser Permanente
VP, Technology Risk Management
What to Expect
Agenda
8:00am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Brain-Driven Resilience — Neuro-Optimizing for Executive Edge

Megs Gelfgot
Two-time founder, TEDx, International and Fortune 500 speaker on neuroscience & resilience
Guest Speaker
In the high-stakes arena of billion-dollar enterprises, resilience isn't just an asset; it's a necessity. Learn how elite athletes, Navy SEALs, and top executives leverage cutting-edge neuroscience and cognitive training to elevate their relationship with adversity to yield more resilient outcomes. Cognitive training can help boost executive function and enhance decision making under pressure.
Join Megs Gelfgot, Tedx speaker and two-time founder, as she shares:
- Hacks for gaining a competitive edge
- Tactical resilience leadership strategies
- Ways to mitigate symptoms of cognitive decline
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Cyber Meets Cents — Dollars, Defense, and Dynamic Duos
The partnership between the CISO and the CFO is more critical than ever. By fostering open communication and mutual understanding, the CISO and CFO can ensure cybersecurity investments are strategic, measurable, and directly tied to organizational objectives. How can these two leaders join forces to build a collaborative framework that supports both robust security postures and sound financial stewardship, ultimately propelling the organization forward with confidence?
Join this session to hear more about:
- Strategies for bridging the communication gap between cybersecurity and finance teams
- Approaches to quantifying cybersecurity risks and investments in financial terms
- Best practices for aligning security initiatives with organizational growth and compliance goals
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Movers and Shakers — Mastering IAM in a Zero Trust World

Antonio Davis
Information Security Director/CISO
Northeast Georgia Health System
As organizations evolve their IAM strategies, CISOs are tasked with overseeing complex processes involving third-party vendors, lifecycle management, and role definition. The shift toward Zero Trust requires a holistic approach to identity governance—encompassing workplace, workforce, and workload segmentation—to ensure secure and efficient access controls. How can CISOs refine IAM processes to support Zero Trust principles, address challenges in role transitions, and manage entitlements across dynamic environments?
Join this session to:
- Examine strategies for implementing and governing IAM in support of Zero Trust architecture
- Explore best practices for defining roles, managing entitlements, and solidifying lifecycle processes
- Discuss challenges in workforce segmentation, especially in environments where professionals transition between multiple roles and require varying levels of access
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Executive Boardroom hosted by Minimus
Hosted by Minimus

John Morello
CTO
Minimus
Session details coming soon!
10:25am - 11:10am Networking Break
10:35am - 11:00am Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
11:10am - 11:55am Breakout Session
Over the Horizon — CISOs to Chief Cyber Resilience Officers
Hosted by Rubrik

John Murphy
CISO
Rubrik
The CISO remit increasingly includes GenAI governance, securing cyber-physical systems, and a range of value-driving services — yet its core charge remains safeguarding operations. As breaches become inevitable and board risk appetites shift, cyber resilience will demand even greater focus. CISOs must define recovery goals, guarantee reliable backups, and restore critical services with speed — focusing on measurable resilience to earn their future role as Chief Cyber Resilience Officers.
Join this session to learn about:
- Defining and measuring resilience for real business outcomes
- Orchestrating reliable backup and rapid recovery strategies
- Embedding resilience across teams as a cultural and leadership priority
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Reducing Application Delivery Tech Debt from the Inside Out
Hosted by Island
With high volumes of sensitive data now flowing through web browsers, three in five organizations say data leakage is likely given current IT and security infrastructures. Stop playing catch-up. Discover new approaches to enterprise operations to reduce risk while simplifying operations.
Join this session to discover:
- How disparate IT and security solutions create technical debt
- What challenges impact internal and end user stakeholders
- How simplifying IT can strengthen security, and boost productivity
11:10am - 11:55am Executive Boardroom
Ransomware Reality Check — From Panic to Preparedness

Sridhar Prabhakaran
CISO
WK Kellogg Co
Ransomware attacks remain a top concern for organizations, posing significant risks to business continuity, reputation, and regulatory compliance. As attackers use increasingly sophisticated tactics to exploit vulnerabilities across networks and supply chains, organizations must go beyond prevention and detection to ensure effective response and recovery. This includes comprehensive incident response planning, reliable data backup and restoration, clear communication protocols, and coordination with law enforcement and third-party partners. Building resilience against ransomware also requires strong executive leadership and ongoing business continuity planning to minimize operational and financial impact.
Join this session to:
- Understand the latest ransomware attack vectors and real-world incident case studies
- Learn actionable strategies for prevention, response, and recovery, including effective incident response planning and data restoration
- Gain insights into building organizational resilience, from business continuity planning to executive leadership and external collaboration
11:55am - 12:30pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Atlanta CISO Community Executive Summit.
Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.
Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.
Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.
Location
Venue & Accommodation
Westin Atlanta Perimeter NorthParking Information
Hotel valet - $35/car
Self- Park in the Concourse lot directly across from The Westin at a discounted rate of $5/day
The Westin Atlanta Perimeter North - Room Block Cancellation Policy:
- Any cancellations made after the Cut Off (October 27, 2025) are subject to a cancellation fee of one (1) night room charge plus tax.
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Westin Atlanta Perimeter North at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 888-627-8407 . Please mention Gartner Atlanta Executive Summit to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $199 USD (plus tax) is October 27, 2025.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.