In-Person

Houston CISO Community

Executive Summit

December 3, 2025 | Hyatt Regency Houston West

December 3, 2025
Hyatt Regency Houston West

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Houston'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's influence as a key factor in business decisions

Establishing asset visibility and safeguarding data within a strong cloud governance

Building cyber resilience to withstand and quickly recover from attacks

Houston 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

Mike Coogan

Brinks Home
VP, IT Services & CISO

Doug Rinehart

Marigold
CISO

Anthony Souza

Corteva Inc
VP & CISO

Genady Vishnevetsky

Stewart Title Company
CISO

Joy Wangdi

LyondellBasell
Cybersecurity Trust Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CISO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Houston CISO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, 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.

Agenda

December 3, 2025

8:00am - 8:30am  Registration & Breakfast

8:30am - 9:15am  Keynote

Disruption Proof — High-Performing Teams that Conquer Change

Dr. Vijay Pendakur headshot

Dr. Vijay Pendakur

Leadership & Team Culture Strategy Advisor

Author, “The Alchemy of Talent: Leading Teams to Peak Performance”

In today’s fast-moving tech and security landscapes, disruption is inevitable—but it doesn’t have to derail your team’s performance. In this high-energy, 30-minute keynote, Dr. Vijay Pendakur will explore why disruption often leads teams to get stuck and how this stagnation threatens business success. Vijay will share his Alchemy of Talent model and explain how leaders can increase productivity and efficiency on their teams, even when it feels like we’re working in an endless earthquake!

Attendees will learn:

  • Why disruption can lead to stuck teams and how to avoid it
  • The critical impact of stuck teams on business performance and results
  • How to make your teams more resilient, adaptable, and willing to learn from failure

9:15am - 9:40am  Networking Break

9:40am - 10:25am  Breakout Session

A Real-World Playbook for Enterprise DLP

Barry Beckett headshot

Barry Beckett

Senior Director, CISO

Navitus Health Solutions

Chandni Alexander headshot

Chandni Alexander

Manager, IT Security

Navitus Health Solutions

Data doesn’t like to stay put—so how do you keep it safe in a fast-moving organization? In this compelling session, a seasoned CISO pulls back the curtain on his team's journey to implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) across the enterprise, sharing the real-life hurdles, practical tips, and lessons learned. 

Join this session for candid insights on enterprise-wide DLP implementation and key challenges, including:

  • Turning Resistance into Resilience: Proven strategies for building executive support, winning over skeptical teams, and fostering a security-first culture.
  • Making DLP Work for the Business: Practical approaches to data classification, policy enforcement, and aligning security controls with real-world workflows.
  • Moving Beyond Encryption to Observability: Plans for continuously improving enterprise DLP program in an AI-focused world.

9:40am - 10:25am  Executive Boardroom

Cyber Resilience — Meeting Security’s New Standard

Cherryl Freeman headshot

Cherryl Freeman

Director, IT Security & Compliance

Enterprise Products Partners

 With seemingly countless users and your operations now based in one or more clouds, the bar for what qualifies as a fundamental security practice must rise. Answering modern demands with anything less than enhanced visibility, offline protocols and proactively installed lines of C-suite communication could be the difference between your business’s survival and its indefinite interruption.

Join this session to discuss the following with your peers:

  • Cost-effective security practices applicable to multiple cloud environments
  • Leveraging innovation without neglecting data privacy standards
  • Proven methods for gaining the support of your executive leadership team

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

Industry Spotlight – How Healthcare CISOs are Securing Innovation

Gordon Groschl headshot

Gordon Groschl

CISO

Texas Children's Hospital

Mary Dickerson headshot

Mary Dickerson

AVP & CISO

UTHealth Houston

In the fast-paced world of cybersecurity, CISOs benefit immensely from sharing savvy strategies that enhance their organization's security posture. In this session, we turn the spotlight on an industry at the forefront of rapid change and technology advancements -- healthcare -- and invite infosec leaders from across this varied industry to each take the floor for 10 minutes share their best tips for securing innovation.

Join your CISO peers in healthcare as they:

  • Introduce practical tools, techniques and ideas that can be implemented to enhance cybersecurity, and discuss their effectiveness in different organizational settings.
  • Identify common challenges faced by CISOs, such as limited resources and evolving threats, and offer insight on strategies to overcome these obstacles.
  • Share their experiences and successes, promoting knowledge exchange and continuous improvement in cybersecurity practices.

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Securing Data Flow in the AI-Quantum Era

Steve Riley headshot

Steve Riley

VP & Field CTO

Netskope

 Sensitive data movement can be risky but restricting it outright can create operational and security challenges. In an era of agentic AI, generative AI, and emerging quantum computing, organizations need security frameworks that protect data while ensuring agility. This session explores how modern security platforms enable secure data flow, adapt to diverse use cases and prepare for the post-quantum encryption (PQE) shift.

Join this discussion to learn:

  • How to choose the right secure access method for each use case
  • Why security must be adaptive to risk, user behavior and AI-driven interactions
  • How to prepare for post-quantum encryption and its enterprise security impact

11:10am - 11:55am  Executive Boardroom

Managing OT to Fully Secure the Business

Nibin Philip headshot

Nibin Philip

Head of Information and Cyber Security

STP Nuclear Operating Company

For most organizations, the number of connected, essential devices is growing by the second. In response, the CISO's jurisdiction is changing just as rapidly. Now, as in the case of any security issue, the rest of the C-suite may be looking to you for answers.

Join this session and share your perspective on:

  • Your new or growing operational technology responsibilities
  • What you can do to smoothly plot and control your OT workload
  • How you can best juggle IT and OT security simultaneously

11:55am - 12:30pm  Lunch Service

12:30pm - 1:05pm  Keynote

Cyber Groundhog Day

Nate Chessin headshot

Nate Chessin

SVP, Worldwide Sales Engineering

Proofpoint

We’re told to do the “basics” right to mitigate the majority of our risks and are harshly criticized when they prove impossible to implement at enterprise scale. But some of those orthodoxies no longer make sense, or perhaps never did. 

Join this session as we question some of the assumptions that we’ve lived with for decades:

  • Patching/alerting - hamster wheels or key controls?
  • Data - why classify when no one has succeeded at scale?
  • People - are humans destined to remain the weakest link or will AI replace us there too?

1:05pm - 1:30pm  Break

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Breakout Session

It's Time to Re-Evaluate How We Communicate Cyber Risk

Eddie Contreras headshot

Eddie Contreras

Sr. EVP/CISO

Frost Bank

Cybersecurity is inherently complex, with lots of technical components and layers of risk to explore. As a result, the "story" of cyber often reads more like an operational manual rather than the kind of compelling narrative that boards and executive leadership teams want to engage with. For Eddie Contreras, a tenured CISO, the solution is simple: limit the "cyber" in your cyber metrics reporting.

Join Eddie as he shares insights from his own experiences reporting to and engaging with boards and other senior leaders on the complex concepts and concerns of cyber risk, including: 

  • Communicating cybersecurity in the language of the business, not technical jargon
  • Bringing any audience along into the story of cybersecurity and making it personal to them
  • Recognizing -- and pivoting -- if you feel like your messages are falling on deaf ears

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

The AI Tightrope — Balancing Accountability with Responsibility

CISOs are increasingly caught in a challenging dilemma as organizations push to adopt agentic AI to drive efficiency, innovation, and competitive advantage. On one hand, business leaders often see agentic AI as a way to streamline operations, reduce costs, and respond quickly to evolving threats. On the other hand, CISOs recognize that cybersecurity is not just a technical problem but a human one, requiring judgment, context, and ethical reasoning that AI cannot fully replicate.

Join this roundtable to discuss how CISOs are navigating this tension, diving into topics like:

  • Deploying agentic AI responsibly, keeping accountability top-of-mind
  • Preparing security teams to remain relevant and indispensable as AI capabilities expand
  • Assessing which cybersecurity functions are appropriate for agentic AI vs. those that require human oversight

1:30pm - 2:15pm  Executive Boardroom

Maturity & Modernity — The Value and Values of Your CISO Generation

Joshua Dray headshot

Joshua Dray

CISO

San Jacinto College

Being a CISO is an experience that differs greatly from one cyber leader to the next, with one of the most influential variables in how one might handle the role being when they assumed it. Veteran CISOs remember a time and culture much different to how cybersecurity is today, and those new(er) to the game had a much different experience coming up through the ranks and have assumed the CISO role at a time of unprecedented threats and responsibilities. Come together with CISOs from multiple eras to discuss how generational differences are impacting the cybersecurity field — not only at the top, but also across teams — including:

  • How generation-specific perspectives impact approaches to shared challenges
  • The drawbacks and benefits of constant, decades-long industry change
  • Ways to leverage the multiple eras of experience on your team to provide unique value

2:15pm - 3:00pm  Networking Break

2:25pm - 2:50pm  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.

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Executive Boardroom

What Keeps CISOs Up at Night? – Worries to Solutions

How do you know what you don’t know? What are your biggest blind spots and vulnerabilities? Dive into what’s top of mind when you wake up at 3am with CISO peers and discuss practical solutions to some of the toughest challenges in the back of your mind.  You might just find that helpful suggestion from a peer that could help you get a little extra sleep at night.

Join this roundtable to discuss:

  • Latest threat trends CISOs are watching– what to pay attention to and what to tune out
  • Solutions and products to help with challenges that are top of mind
  • Pressure as a leader and ways to protect yourself legally and from burnout

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Breakout Session

Cutting Through Complexity — Cyber Insurance Strategies for CISOs

Gabrielle Bryant headshot

Gabrielle Bryant

VP, Cyber Practice Leader - Cadence

Gallagher

Cyber insurance is more complicated than ever. With rising premiums, lengthy applications, and shifting requirements, navigating the cyber insurance landscape can feel overwhelming—even for seasoned CISOs. 

Join this session for a frank conversation on what CISOs need to know to cut through the complexity and make smart choices when it comes to cybersecurity insurance, including:

  • Keeping up with evolving insurer requirements for security controls and documentation
  • Ensuring cyber insurance is part of a broader risk management and resilience strategy, not a standalone solution
  • Interpreting and explaining the insuring agreements and emerging trends in coverage —not to mention the rising premiums—to leadership

3:00pm - 3:45pm  Executive Boardroom

Ransomware Reality Check — From Panic to Preparedness

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:

  • Share information on the latest ransomware attack vectors and real-world incident case studies
  • Discuss 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

3:45pm - 4:00pm  Networking Break

4:00pm - 4:35pm  Keynote

Making an Impact as a New CISO – Day 1, Day 101 & Beyond

Mario Chiock headshot

Mario Chiock

Schlumberger Fellow

SLB

Bryan Pate headshot

Bryan Pate

CISO

ExxonMobil

Erica Connor headshot

Erica Connor

CISO

Sempra Infrastructure

Julie Boehl headshot

Julie Boehl

Director, Cyber Security

CB&I

Stepping into a new CISO role might seem like you've finally reached that pinnacle of your career, but it's just the start of the next journey, one with just as many -- if not more -- challenges and hurdles as it took to get there.
 
In this session, a panel of some of Houston's newest CISOs -- either in their first CISO role or taking on a CISO role at a new organization -- will reflect on their own experiences and share how they might advise the next "class" of CISOs stepping into a new role. They'll discuss lessons learned from:

  • Navigating the process of landing their new CISO role
  • Working to ensure stability during the crucial first 100-days on the job
  • Charting their own courses as the new CISO to scale cybersecurity's business impact

4:35pm - 4:45pm  Closing Comments and Prize Drawing

December 3, 2025

We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming in-person gathering

Gartner cares about the health and safety of our community. If you are feeling unwell, please refrain from attending the conference. At this time, Gartner does not have any health-related requirements in place for attendance. Should this change, we will follow up with updated guidance.

Location

Venue & Accommodation

Hyatt Regency Houston West
More Information

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency Houston West at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 800-544-9288 . Please mention G-CISO to ensure the appropriate room rate.

Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $149 USD (plus tax) is November 10, 2025.

Your Community Sponsors

CISO Thought Leader

Key Sponsor

Program Sponsor

Community Program Manager

For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.

Caroline Timothy

Community Program Manager

8177732790

caroline.timothy@gartner.com