Jason Maddox
Director of IT and CISO
Roark Capital Group
With more than 30 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity, Jason Maddox is focused on delivering thoughtful, business-aligned leadership across cybersecurity and IT strategy, vendor management, negotiations, and compliance.Jason currently leads cybersecurity for Roark Capital Group, a $41 billion private equity firm headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
In addition to his role at Roark, Jason serves as an advisory board member for Netrio, a managed services and security provider based in McKinney, Texas, and Egnyte, a cloud-based content security and file-sharing platform.
Jason graduated magna cum laude from Kennesaw State University and holds the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
My consulting career eventually led me to a young private equity firm, where I had the opportunity to develop and lead both IT and cybersecurity strategies. That experience ultimately shaped the path to my current role.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Hire people who are smarter than you, give them room to grow, and empower them to succeed. With disruption being a key theme of recent years, where do you see the CISO role going in the next 1-2 years?The CISO role is already an important part of the business, but over the next one to two years, CISOs will increasingly need to demonstrate how cybersecurity can enable business growth, particularly as organizations embrace AI. Through strong governance, thoughtful risk management, and clear communication, CISOs can help organizations innovate with AI while managing risk at an acceptable level.
With disruption being a key theme of recent years, where do you see the CISO role going in the next 1-2 years?
The CISO role, while already an important component of business, will need to demonstrate how their cyber security initiatives can support the growth of the portfolio companies, as well as the due diligence and exit processes.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a CISO?
Work harder than anyone else on your team, lead by example, and strive to be a role model both professionally and personally.
Tell us a few fun facts about yourself.
1. I love grilling vegetables on my Big Green Egg.
2. I completed my BBA at Kennesaw State University while serving in my current role.
3. I’m completely addicted to Apple Fitness+.
What is the value of participating in Gartner C-Level Communities?
I’m looking forward to building lasting, high-quality relationships with peers and developing a strong network of relevant industry partners and vendors.
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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