
Toronto CISO Community
Executive Summit
June 25, 2024 | Westin Harbour Castle
June 25, 2024
Westin Harbour Castle
Collaborate with your peers
Get together with Toronto'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:
Creatively spurring diligence and communicating the importance of cyber hygiene to the organization
Outmaneuvering threats posed either by external parties or internal users of varying access
Thoughtfully leveraging AI to develop needed, business-enabling tools and processes
Toronto 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

Sandra Liepkalns
Choice Properties REIT
VP, Information Security & Data Governance

Ranjika Manamperi
Ontario Power Generation
CIO
What to Expect
Agenda
7:45am - 8:30am Registration & Breakfast
8:30am - 9:15am Keynote
Remarkable Resilience - Tools for Combating Toxic Stress & Burnout
Hosted by CyberArk

Sheila Hamilton
Mental Health Thought Leader and Author of "All the Things We Never Knew"
Guest Speaker
Today’s CIOs & CISOs face daunting challenges. As the business leader in charge of adding value to the company, finding the right talent and inspiring technology innovation, there’s an incredible amount of pressure. It’s no surprise that CIOs & CISOs are experiencing burnout at unprecedented rates. While taking care of employees is important, how can CIOs & CISOs make sure they are taking care of themselves to help make their careers sustainable while maintaining a sense of well-being?
Join this keynote to explore:
- Evidence-based strategies that can help alleviate burnout
- How to recognize the signs and symptoms of toxic stress and burnout
- How to remain engaged, energized, and focused during turbulent times
9:15am - 9:40am Networking Break
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
Endpoint, Cloud and the Board — Identifying Risk that Matters
Hosted by Qualys

Corey Smith
Vice President of Solution Architects
Qualys

Tahmeed Khan
Director, Global Information Security
Celestica
Prioritizing and eliminating the cyber risks that matter most is the ultimate goal of security leaders. But how do you validate that your efforts are hitting the mark? It all comes down to well-crafted measurements: metrics that are reliable and easily understood by all stakeholders across the business.
In this session, we will discuss:
- Cybersecurity risk assessment essentials and which risks truly carry weight
- Concrete approaches to determine effectiveness of security capabilities
- Creating simple "metric cards" to communicate across stakeholders
9:40am - 10:25am Breakout Session
30-60-90s for the Newly Hired or Nearly Retired
Hosted by Wiz

Bill Dunnion
CISO & VP Information Security
Mitel

Michael Dundas
AVP, Information Security and Risk
IGM Financial
The importance of a 30, 60, or 90-day plan is a message largely reserved for incoming executives. There's a lot to say, however, for their benefit to more comfortable, veteran CISOs.
Join this interactive conversation to consider:
- How writing a 30, 60, or 90-day plan could impact your program, new or established
- Ways to ensure your plan isn't just effective, but excellent
- When and how to check your plans in-practice effectiveness
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
The Business of Security — Bridging the Gap Between Cyber Initiatives and Business Impact
Hosted by Expel

Qais Sattar
Principal Solutions Architect
Expel

Daniel Zaman
Director, Cyber Security, Operations and Infrastructure
Holt Renfrew

Gennady Duchovich
Head of Cybersecurity
Haventree Bank
Economic trends have tightened purse strings everywhere, leaving CISOs and security leaders to demonstrate ROI and defend their budgets. But ROI is notoriously tough to quantify when the primary return for security investment is reduction in risk. As a result, bridging the gap between security investments and actual business impact can be easier said than done, particularly if your cybersecurity spend doesn’t clearly map to organizational goals.
Join this session to discuss:
- Identifying the right metrics for quantifying security ROI and business impact
- Positioning security as a business enabler, rather than a cost center
- Aligning security investments to organizational goals
9:40am - 10:25am Executive Boardroom
Threat Intelligence and Third-Party Risk ― Doubling Down on Critical Vulnerabilities
Hosted by RiskRecon, a Mastercard Company

Peter Ling
VP, Global Cybersecurity Partnerships & Cyber Resilience Programs
RiskRecon - A MasterCard Company

Craig Peppard
VP & CISO
ivari

Grace Kennedy
VP, IT, Risk and Governance, CISO
Empire Life Insurance
The complete entanglement of cyber risk with business risk is becoming increasingly more visible. CISOs now have an opportunity to better pinpoint third parties that present a threat to the organization. Yet the increasing complexities of third party, and even fourth party, risk management, prompted by a wide range of evolving threats, demands heightened attention. How can CISOs ensure they have a clear overview of the threat landscape and vulnerabilities across ecosystems and supply chains?
Join this session to discuss:
- Identification of vulnerabilities across your vendor landscape to prioritize response efforts
- Best practices for mitigating a new wave of sophisticated attacks to keep assets safe
- The role threat intelligence plays in risk management strategies to safeguard your digital ecosystem
10:25am - 11:05am Networking Break
10:30am - 10:55am Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Peer-to-Peer Meetings
Connect with like-minded peers in a one-on-one setting through Evanta’s Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.
11:05am - 11:50am Breakout Session
The Art of Data Security — Protecting Your Most Important Asset
Hosted by Cyera

Tamar Bar-Ilan
Co-Founder & CTO
Cyera

Mike Melo
VP Technology Shared Services & CISO
LifeLabs
As a security leader you’re being asked to find ways to securely enable your business to use data to drive innovation - and become a data master. But this takes a fundamental understanding of what data exists within your environment, where it's running, its risk level, who has access to it, and how it's being used. This interactive discussion will cover the challenges and solutions CISOs use to discover their data attack surface, monitor, detect and respond to data threats - including the scope of breach identification - and ensure data compliance.
Join this session to discuss:
- Gaining data visibility as a foundation for data governance
- Managing the evolving landscape of laws, regulations, and industry standards around data security
- Working with the right tools and teams across a shared responsibility model to ensure compliance
11:05am - 11:50am Breakout Session
CISO Priority Workshop & Industry Small Groups
Hosted by Illumio

Puroo Maheshwari
CISO, Portfolio Value Creation
CPP Investments
As the spotlight on security grows, so does the pressure to understand your organization’s unique security demands. Split into groups by industry, Toronto security executives will have a chance to hash out their goals and challenges with a select few who truly get it.
Join this interactive session to:
- Engage with your most similar CISO peers
- Validate strategies and uncover new ways of thinking
- Gather proven, industry-specific, practices
11:05am - 11:50am Executive Boardroom
Generative AI – Should CISOs be Guardians or Gatekeepers?
Hosted by Grip Security and Abnormal Security

Lior Yaari
CEO and Co-Founder
Grip Security

Mick Leach
Field CISO
Abnormal Security

Tom Bornais
CISO
NAV CANADA

Edmond Georges
CISO
Canadian Forces Base
From content generation to data analysis, generative AI is transforming the way people work and drastically improving productivity. However, the benefits do not come without risks, and the technology has the potential to do more harm than good when placed in the wrong hands. So what do security leaders need to know about the risks of generative AI, and how do they mitigate them?
Join this session for an insightful discussion on the latest cybersecurity challenges associated with generative AI, including:
- How the threat landscape is changing as a result of generative AI
- How businesses can ensure the privacy and security of sensitive data used in generative AI applications and govern them appropriately
- What tools and capabilities are necessary to protect organizations from malicious uses of generative AI
11:05am - 11:50am Executive Boardroom
Step by Step – Progress From the First Line of Defense
Hosted by Okta

Chris Niggel
Regional Chief Security Officer, Americas
Okta

Scott Corneil
Senior Director, IT Security & Compliance
ABC Technologies

Jeff Stark
CISO
Fasken
These days, it doesn’t take much to breach a system. Most attackers just need the right login info. From allowing sloppy password hygiene to poorly distributing access privileges – there are plenty of missteps threat actors are ready to exploit.
In this peer-led, roundtable discussion, you’ll consider:
- The strengths and weaknesses of your existing defenses
- What security cornerstones your peers are building upon
- How to gain leverage put a stop to breaches
11:50am - 12:35pm Lunch Service
Apply to Participate
Apply to participate in the Toronto 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 Harbour CastleWestin Harbour Castle, Toronto - Room Block Cancellation Policy:
Any cancellations made after the Cut Off (June 3, 2024) are subject to a cancellation fee of one (1) night room charge plus tax.
Hotel Nearby
Hotel: Le Germain Hotel Toronto Maple Leaf Square
Address: 75 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON M5J 0A7, Canada
Distance from Venue: 450.0 m
Valet: $55
Self Park: Multiple locations around the property:
- 88 Queens Quay (Waterpark Place)
- 200 Queens Quay W. - Garage (7 Lower Simcoe St.)
- 75 Wellington St W (200 Bay St)
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Westin Harbour Castle at a reduced conference rate. Reservations should be made online or by calling 888-627-8559. Please mention EC5 to ensure the appropriate room rate.
Deadline to book using the discounted room rate of $469 CAD (plus tax) is June 3, 2024.
Community Program Manager
For inquiries related to this community, please reach out to your dedicated contact.