HP CISO seeks to transform cybersecurity

Driven by digital imperatives, more IT leaders have shed their order-taking shackles to become full-fledged business partners. Cybersecurity leaders are increasingly taking the same tack.

Joanna Burkey, who rejoined HP one year ago, is one CISO leading the charge. Burkey, who spent nearly 13 years in various roles at HP before exiting to lead cybersecurity at Siemens for 5 years, found a cyber program with a strong operational focus. But Burkey believed HP could benefit more if she served as a strategic partner to the business.

“Where we had room to expand our focus was on enabling the business,” Burkey tells CIO.com. “We need a seat at the business strategy table; it’s not enough to have a seat at the IT table.”

The cyber seat at the executive table

It’s a seat Burkey has grabbed with zeal as the company works through a multi-year transformation under President and CEO Enrique Lores. It’s also a belief that Burkey says she shares with fellow CISOs. In recent years, existential threats posed by data breaches have pressured CEOs and boards of directors to bring information security leaders into the corporate fold. And many CISOs are seizing the opportunity to help influence and shape the business strategy.