CIO Council

It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the Chief Information Security Officer of an iconic global brand that has a deep, cherished, always-on connection into communities everywhere. Information Security at 7-Eleven focuses on maintaining and enhancing an industry-leading, comprehensive and cohesive security fabric around our business value drivers in a customer-obsessed manner. The 7-Eleven Information Security organization brings together the various technical domains within Information Security with the force multipliers of Governance, Risk and Compliance as well as Data Protection to facilitate unified accountability and expedient action. I came to 7-Eleven from Symantec's Consumer Business Division where I had the honor of driving a global security engineering portfolio. Prior to joining Symantec via the LifeLock acquisition, I spent 5 years at NetApp, and over 10 years with Intuit; after working with the information security and risk management teams at Ernst & Young and KMPG. I have been responsible for leading key security initiatives that helped integrate security into the culture of the company and extend the brand into global markets. It has been a great honor to lead NetApp's ISO27001 recertification, speak at NetApp's conferences in Berlin and Tokyo and be a recipient of Intuit's Innovation Award. At Ernst & Young and KPMG; I was responsible for developing risk mitigation strategies primarily for Fortune 500 clients in the financial and technology sector. My focus is on maturing the organization's security posture by driving execution to a well-socialized and accepted security strategy that benefits internal and external stakeholders through a pragmatic mix of building cross-organizational relationships and developing people managers. I have a Masters degree in Electronics Engineering and am a Certified Chief Information Security Officer (C|CISO), a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) as well as Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT). Most recently, I was fortunate to learn about organizational leadership at global scale, with a focus on innovation and cybersecurity; from my professors and colleagues at the Haas Business School in UC Berkeley. I support the local and global security community by contributing to non-profit security organizations in a leadership capacity, offering mentorship and being an executive sponsor for key initiatives like Women in Technology, hiring veterans and academic programs designed to help kids & young adults stay safe online.

Mikhail is a Principal Partner Solutions Architect at AWS, focusing on container services and application modernization. He helps partners and customers drive their products, applications and services on AWS, integrating with Amazon EKS, ECS, AppMesh and other container services. He is also a software engineer.

VJ Viswanathan is a seasoned global technology executive recognized and awarded for technology innovation, capability transformation and inclusive leadership. Most recently, VJ is the founding partner at CYFORIX, a global cybersecurity research, advisory & strategy firm delivering solutions to public and private sectors. He serves as the CEO at TORQE, a specialized due diligence, advisory and technology services firm delivering value through analytics and automation. VJ is also the co-host of ELEVATEINTEL, a podcast series at the nexus of technology, social and defense. With over 25 years of Enterprise technology, Cyber Security, Privacy, Compliance and Risk Management experience, VJ has a detailed track record of designing, implementing and leading highly successful programs, products & services at multinational brands spanning CPG, Telecom, Media, Supply-chain & Finance segments. As a strategic thought leader, VJ has delivered the first of its kind "Supply Chain Security" & “Omni-channel Risk management” frameworks. As a published author and featured keynote speaker at global industry events, he approaches disruptive digital paradigms with innovation, creativity and active collaboration with his key industry peers, national & international law enforcement and defense groups. VJ is an active advisor, investor at select incubators & accelerators groups. As a strategic advisor to VC & PE firms, he specializes in developing market analysis, competitive product road map and guides in opportunity mapping. As a Board member and subject matter advisor to CEOs and Corporate directors, VJ evaluates and audits cyber security program for veracity and operational effectiveness. VJ is passionate about animal rights and giving back to the technology & security industry. He has created a rescue & foster care group for large breed dogs. He is actively engaged with academic institutions and purpose driven professional groups like ‘Minorities in Cyber security’, where he serves as the Board member and chair of mentorship programs to develop the next generation talent through coaching and facilitating scholarships for cyber security education.