Kevin McLaughlin
Vice President, Global Security, Risk & Compliance
Stryker
Dr. Kevin Lynn McLaughlin, PhD, CISO, CISM, CISSP, PMP, ITIL Master, LSSBB, GIAC-GSLC, CRISC, is a highly accomplished cybersecurity expert with a diverse background in law enforcement, corporate security, and cybersecurity. He proudly served in the U.S. Army and was a U.S. Special Agent before making a significant impact in the world of corporate security. With over 39 years of experience in the field, Dr. McLaughlin has demonstrated his expertise in creating and leading three Global Cybersecurity Programs for Fortune 300 companies, establishing Global Security Operations Centers, and designing and implementing a Global Cybersecurity Architecture.
Learn more about the Detroit CISO community here.
Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
I never knew what I wanted to do, and I have a had held a variety of roles in my career: army, law enforcement, teacher, Director at Kennedy Space Center, business owner in Florida (LAN/WAN for Schools), IT at P&G, Cybersecurity at P&G, CISO at University of Cincinnati, Cyber at Whirlpool. This all led me to my current role at Stryker.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
I have three that everyone of the 200 people who work for me can repeat:
- Do the little things right.
- What have you improved today?
- Be productive, not busy.
With disruption being a key theme of recent years, where do you see the CISO role going in the next 1-2 years?
There will be a focus on team role expansion into areas that were not even thought of 3-4 years ago. Prompt engineers for SOAR automation is an example.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out as a CISO?
Be a person of integrity, walk your talk and treat people as you want to be treated. Be as passionate about your team’s career aspirations and goals as you are about your own.
Tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.
- I met my wife in the 2nd grade, and we started dating in high school.
- I spent 8 months in the woods with a buddy living off the land. We were 10 at the time and came in when a truant officer caught us.
- I was a SWAT team leader.
What is the value of joining an Evanta community?
Peer networking and focusing on items that impact the profession overall is invaluable. It needs to be embraced and cherished as a key part of your job. Be loyal to your profession, and Evanta is a great enabler for this.
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