CISO Think Tank

Leo has a successful track record working within different blue-chip companies and industries ranging from Start-ups/Scale-ups, Banking, FinTech, SaaS and eCommerce, providing insight, consultancy and strategy across global remits covering Information Security, Cyber Security, GRC, Auditing, Cloud and a multitude of compliance remits including PCI DSS, SOX and GDPR. At Flo Health, the number one health and wellbeing app. His team protects the data of 250 million users, equating to 300 billion data points. He is currently an advisor to multiple start-ups from the Palta Group. He has been instrumental in leading security efforts within HealthTech and FemTech. In June 2022, Flo Security delivered the industry’s first ISO 27001 certification. Leo is a multi-award winner. A Snyk influencer. A Keynote speaker worldwide and was added to the CISO Platform Top 100

Ania Kowalczuk, Vice President of Information Security Risk and Compliance at MongoDB, brings a wealth of experience in steering comprehensive security strategies in the tech industry. Her expertise lies in harmonizing rigorous compliance standards with operational efficiency, ensuring MongoDB's products not only adhere to, but set benchmarks in data security and risk management. Ania’s leadership extends to shaping advanced cybersecurity initiatives, notably in developing teams focused on evolving risk and security regulations. Her insight and foresight in these areas have made her a key player in addressing the nuanced security needs of MongoDB’s diverse clientele, earning her a reputation as a forward-thinking leader in information security.

Melissa Ouari is the Information Security and Business Continuity Officer for Money Management International. She has been I the world of technology and accounting for more than 25 years and has served in leadership positions while in her role at public accounting firms in New York City and Boston. Melissa has an array of cyber risk experience and worked across virtually all industry sectors. In her role at Money Management International, she is establishing collaborative relationships with key business and IT stakeholders to strengthen security protocols across the enterprise and finding balanced solutions to achieve productivity, efficiency and internal controls.

Starcom, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, is a media agency that specializes in advertising and marketing.

EisnerAmper clients are based in the U.S., or comprised of U.S. business interests of foreign entities. To serve domestically-based clients with interests in financial services opportunities overseas, Eisner Amper offers the resources of offices in the UK, Israel, India and  EisnerAmper Global, with offices in the Cayman Islands, Singapore, and Ireland; as well as the services of Allinial Global. Todd, leads the information security team and is an experienced, detail-oriented, and innovative professional with proven performance in information security, enterprise-level systems administration, and project management.

Yabing Wang is the VP and Chief Information Security Officer at Justworks. She has been in the technology world for 25 years, and has more than 20 years of extensive leadership experience in cybersecurity across different industries. Yabing thrives in transforming security into a business enabler through executive leadership, program delivery, and partnership with all stakeholders. She has built global security practices and strengthened cyber resilience at multiple fortune 100 companies and tech-forward companies.

Alex Shulman-Peleg, PhD, is a Managing Director and cybersecurity consulting leader at Ernst & Young in the Americas. She is supporting hundreds of clients with modernization and cost reduction via secure enablement of Clouds and AI, addressing the involved risk, cybersecurity and regulatory requirements. In her previous role, she was the Director and Head of Cloud Security at Citibank, where she established and led a global CISO cloud security program, as well as cloud-native security engineering enabling massive modernization and faster application development. Being a pioneer in Cloud security, she led IBM’s early products and groundbreaking R&D initiatives including multi-national European consortiums consisting of industry and research leaders. She has 14 patents and more than 30 scientific publications having thousands of citations. She has decades of technological leadership and holds PhD, MSc and BSc degrees in computer science in the areas of ML, AI and computer vision.

Amit Basu is the head of IT and IT Security at International Seaways (INSW). INSW, headquartered in New York City, is one of the largest tanker companies providing energy transportation services worldwide. Amit is a proven IT leader with over 25 years of experience in maritime IT and has pioneered several technology innovations in maritime. Over the last decade, Amit has led a digital transformation in INSW with a Cloud-Only IT strategy and is instrumental in designing a multi-layered cybersecurity framework promoting a cyber resilience culture. Amit holds an MBA as well as a Master of Science degree in Information Management from the Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey. He is also a Certified Information Security Manager from ISACA, certified in Cybersecurity Risk Management by HarvardX, Cybersecurity Oversight by Carnegie Mellon University, Maritime Cybersecurity by Lloyds Maritime, and Artificial Intelligence by MIT Sloan School of Management. Amit is an advisory board member for the Cybersecurity program at Pace University and Ithaca College, on the advisory board of Exium, and a member of the Governing Body of New York CIO Executive Summit.

Chris Hickman is the Chief Security Officer at Keyfactor. As a member of the senior management team, Chris is responsible for establishing & maintaining Keyfactor’s leadership position as a world-class, technical organization with deep security industry expertise. He leads client success initiatives and helps integrate the voice of the customer directly into Keyfactor’s platform and capability set. Chris previously held the position of Director of Technical Services at Alacris, an Ottawa based smartcard and certificate management company, which was sold to Microsoft and is now part of the Microsoft Identity Manager product suite. Chris has worked on PKI projects for organizations and firms including NATO, both the U.S. and Canadian Departments of Defense, Fortune 100 banks and financial institutions, manufacturers, insurance companies, telecommunication providers and retailers. He continues to be a trusted resource for enterprises looking to leverage digital certificates within existing portfolios and new product development.  Chris lives in Ottawa, Canada and enjoys traveling with his family, working on classic cars, and photography.

Visionary, results and solutions-driven professional with 20+ years of experience in progressively responsible Cyber Security and IT leadership roles in the financial services, insurance, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, consumer goods,and chemical manufacturing industries. Adept in building and leading global Cyber Security, IT technical and support functions. Creative, resourceful problem solver with a track record of success in delivering cost-effective and value-added services to his customers. Additional experience in industrial engineering and process improvement. Specialties: Areas of expertise include: Cyber Security, Network Security,Application Security, Infrastructure Management and Security Incident Management, Disaster Recovery, Forensic Investigations, Operations Management, Financial Management, Project/Portfolio Management, Policy/Procedure Development, Budget Preparation, Strategic Planning, Process Design/Implementation, Risk Mitigation, Enterprise Architecture, IT Governance, Manufacturing/Laboratory Automation, Organizational Design, Vendor Audits, System, Start-Up Operations, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Talent Development/Mentoring, International Team Management, and Regulatory Compliance

Matt Goldberg is the Chief of Staff to the CISO at CLEAR. He partnered with the CISO to establish CLEAR’s Enterprise Risk program and also owns the board of directors reporting content. Prior to CLEAR, he worked in risk at Bridgewater Associates, where he helped generate client facing insight coverage for COVID-19. He began his career as a cyber threat intelligence analyst at Citigroup, where he assisted in the establishment and operation of the financial sector's first Cyber Security Fusion Center. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics and Ethics, History & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Matt lives in New York City with his fiancé and is as excited as anything for his UConn Huskies.

Samrah Kazmi serves as the Chief Innovation Officer at RESRG, an innovation advisory firm. She also serves as adjunct professor at New York University and The Pratt Institute. Samrah's extensive experience in leadership roles in Financial Services and Technology, as well as her deep domain expertise make her a trusted advisor to a wide range of clients, including complex financial institutions, government agencies, higher education, startups, and corporate boards. She covers a broad spectrum of topics, including Artificial Intelligence, Digital Ethics, Cybersecurity, Privacy, GRC, Regtech and Regulation. Notably, Samrah led the merger of the New York Stock Exchange with InterContinental Exchange as part of an elite Risk team and the $200bn Risk Transformation of General Electric. As an entrepreneur, she was the co-founder of Maiden Century, an alternative data platform. She has been ranked as a Top 100 Global Regtech influencer and received the Inspiring Fintech Female award from NYC Fintech Women and serves on the boards of multiple startups. In addition to degrees in Economics, Journalism, and Business, Samrah also holds certifications in Disruptive Strategy from Harvard, Digital Transformation from UC Berkeley, and Corporate Innovation and Fintech from MIT.