Amir Niaz
VP, Global CISO
Culligan
Amir Niaz is an accomplished IT executive with over 30 years of experience driving operational strategies and leveraging emerging technologies to support organizational growth across diverse industries. He is recognized for building high-performance teams, improving service delivery, and implementing cost-effective technology solutions aligned with corporate objectives. His expertise spans global IT security, infrastructure management, and continuous improvement, consistently delivering results in complex, multinational environments.
A fun fact about Amir, he enjoys a good glass of wine and quality family time. He says it is “Simple, grounding, essential.”
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
Prior to joining Culligan International, I held senior leadership roles at Steel Partners Holdings, Videojet Technologies and Danaher Corporation.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Build a culture of trust and insurgency, set clear expectations, then empower the team to act, own outcomes, and grow.
What is the greatest challenge CISOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
AI Governance is an immediate challenge. Being able to understand and navigate that concept will be critical for future success for every organization moving forward. Although AI creates massive opportunities, it also presents serious opportunities for bad actors to fast-track social engineering tricks to break into key systems.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CISO?
Start with relationships. Align security and ops with business goals, then design your framework around real risks, new tech, and compliance demands.
How do you measure success as a leader?
Finding ways to optimize costs while maximizing output are obvious metrics tied to success, but the relationships you make and the people you empower matter even more. By lifting others up along the way, everyone wins in the short and long term.
What is the value of being a member of Gartner C-level Communities?
This community provides an opportunity to connect with my true peers throughout the year. We have a chance to shape the agenda with the topics that matter the most to us so our conversations are relevant and valuable.
Gartner C-level Communities Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
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