Thank you to everyone who joined Pulse in November 2021 for the third edition of this ground-breaking reciprocal discussion between Board Members, CISO/CSO and C-Suite!

• question a real Board of Directors
• connect with peers to benchmark cyber risk strategy 

Talk to the Board!

A rare opportunity to ask the questions you would ideally like to ask your own Board – but with no consequences!

We were honoured that the 2021 conference was opened by Robert Hannigan, Chairman of BlueVoyant, the former Director of GCHQ who shared his experiences on Cyber Threats and the Boardroom, Pulse Conferences was delighted to welcome participants to the 3rd Cyber Exchange: Talk to the Board at the Science Museum London.

What are the skills, behaviours and mind set required to lead the security agenda in a pressured, complex and competing business environment and how to create a culture where cybersecurity is considered central to the way companies think and behave? Where does cybersecurity sit in the list of highest Board risks and opportunities? How has this changed in the past year and what are new expectations of CISOs and security leaders?

These were just some of the questions that were tackled in this open exchange with Board Directors from large organisations in a business agenda that included –

• People, Process, Technology through Transformation & Change
• Resilience & Preparedness to Respond to Any Crisis
• Communication, Engagement & Influence
• Sustainable Business, Governance & Employee Well-Being

This ultimate sound-boarding conference gave today’s CISOs, CSOs and cybersecurity chiefs the opportunity to interact directly with a panel of Enterprise Board Directors. Pulse was delighted to form a super panel of Enterprise Board Directors and Non-Executive Directors, our Board, for a rare and reciprocal exchange with security chiefs. This was a golden opportunity for Board directors and CISOs and CSOs to take stock of where they are on the journey to strengthen resilience and accelerate digital transformation amidst an everchanging landscape and threat horizon. Given that the past 18 months saw many risk registers blown out of the water, the 2021 agenda promises to be an unforgettable discussion!

Our ‘2021 Fantasy Board’ of real directors covering various sectors and roles included:

• Simon Brickles, Chairman, Gibraltar Stock Exchange Group; Director Risk, Governance and Legal, Casino Group in the UK
• Sharon Baylay, Chair, Restore plc; Remuneration & ESG Chair, Hyve plc; Chair, Eurowag plc. Former Board Positions at Microsoft and the BBC. Former Chair, Ted Baker plc.
• Deborah Exell, Former Board Member, Head of Human Capital & Business Transformation, Getronics
• Jeremy Schwartz, Former CEO, The Body Shop, Pandora and Conival plc, Current Chairman Sustainability and Inclusion Practice, Kantar; Advisor Business, Transformation, McKinsey
• Graham Joscelyne, Former Auditor General, World Bank and Chair: Audit and Ethics Committee, The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Current Advisory Committee for Internal Oversight, United Nations (UNRWA)

Read more abut the 2021 Board here.

Testimonials and Key Takeaways from Cyber Exchange 360: Talk to the Board

Co-chairpersons

“Collaboration is the key takeaway. It always has been, but it is about communication, cooperation and collaboration. This underpins so much of what we do. There were some great learnings from the morning sessions – many of the topics are not at board level, but they contribute towards depicting the risk to the board or the executive team, the audit committee, and so on. I love being chairman and thrive on it because being at Pulse is a constant learning experience. Also it’s a great team to work with. Pulse events bring everybody together in a very collaborative environment, the practitioners, the advisors, the consultants, and the vendors, among whom we have some wonderful sponsors. It’s all about knowledge sharing. Don’t get seduced by the sexy bits of security. Never forget the fundamentals, because without them you are insecure.”
Marcus Alldrick, CISO Luminary (Conference Chairperson)

“A Pulse Talk to the Board conference is so managed that there is a strong feeling of intimacy and frankness.  This brings the best out if everyone with sage advice for both sides .The Board speakers were open about the challenges they face from all quarters.  One former Board member (Sharon) felt that to be successful he/she need to be curious and interested.  To listen carefully and ask questions.  The CISO need to be concrete in explaining the situation in business terms and offer solutions not just problems. As a co-chairman of the Talk to Board afternoon session I was struck by the openness on both sides. It takes two sides to make a successful team, regular informal contact is an essential part of it.. both with the executive board and NED s.  The variety of experience by the Board speakers made for a lively and fulfilling session.
Lady Olga Maitland, President, Defence and Security Forum (Talk to the Board Co-Chairperson)

Board Directors

“The session Talk to the Board was a rich discussion with two interesting themes emerging for myself. The primary ask from the Board is for them to champion the importance of Cyber security and employee Cyber vigilance across the organisation as a cultural norm. To secure this commitment the audience noted the value of having a standing agenda item on the Board annual agenda. The panel also encouraged the audience to craft carefully any presentation to the Board to focus on what outcome they were asking for and to avoid just an information update. Both the audience and panel found the event very interesting and informative.”
Jeremy Schwartz

“The Talk to the Board session provided a wonderful opportunity for CISOs to hear first-hand how and where they might tailor their Board interaction more strategically to achieve greater impact at this level. By doing so, board members could be better served as CISOs educate and update them about evolving organizational cyber security risk exposures and vulnerabilities. More intriguing, perhaps, was that CISO’s were urged to also see risks as potential opportunities that, with careful due diligence, might be thoughtfully exploited.” Graham Joscelyne

“The afternoon discussion with the Board focused on a number of key themes, how to build trust with Board members, what priorities a Board cares most about and how to sustain the conversation as a rolling programme. Such diverse Board representation from Audit, Tech, Sustainability, Risk, Marketing, People and Change meant the participants could fully engage in debate across a range of challenging topics”
Deborah Exell

As a CISO why attend

• Talk frankly and test questions that you would like to ask of your your own Board!
• Gain context!  A helicopter view on where cybersecurity sits and Board priorities
• Re-energise your approach to driving change and leading teams to influence culture
• Hear about new expectations of security from Board Directors of large companies
• Increase awareness on how to maintain integrity of operations during a crisis
• Understand more about Board Directors’ responsibilities and liabilities
• Speak to the Board in a way that makes them understand your pain points
• Compare key metrics with CISO peers in the morning sessions and hear proven ways to quantify and communicate with the Board during the afternoon Board Directors Panel!

As a Board Director why attend

• Gain insights about how CISOs as a group think, feel and interact with their Board to better understand how you can best support your own teams to develop secure cultures
• Meet CISOs from across sectors and reconfirm the right questions to ask their own teams
• Improve understanding of the latest cybersecurity threat horizon, CISO pain points, security culture and workforce challenges

2021 Agenda at a Glance

Morning – Cyber Exchange 360
Following the Opening Keynote by Robert Hannigan, Chairman, BlueVoyant. Former Director, GCHQ, participate in immersive case studies, fireside chats, keynotes: Led by, with and for CISOs Benchmark strategies and be inspired by case studies and discussions with experienced CISOs, CSOs and other c-level executives on areas relating to cybersecurity and cyber risk.

Afternoon – Talk to the Board
Reciprocal exchange: A Panel of Board Directors with CISOs! Attending CISOs are invited to ‘talk to the board’ and ask the questions they would ideally like to ask their own Board of directors if they had the chance – and without any consequences! Board Executives spanning Chairman, CEO, CFO, CIO, CMO, HR roles from well-known organisations across industry sectors will share their views and predictions on business risk, technology trends, resilience strategies and emerging expectations.

Evening – Reception at Wonderlab. Kindly Sponsored by BlueVoyant
To conclude the day, join us for drinks, canapés and networking at the Talk to the Board evening reception on 10 November from 17:00-20:00. This is a chance to meet your peers, talk to the Board Directors enjoy the delights and exhibits in this inspiring and immersive space! Science Museum ‘Explainers’ will be on hand to explain how the exhibits work!