The Definition of Senior Security Executive

It is our experience that candidates for security leadership roles often have a misconception about the view an organization will take towards the accountabilities of the senior most security executive in the company. We have previously written about the fluid nature of, and misperceptions around, job titles. In this column we are going to focus on the overarching mission of the role of Senior Security Executive and the various approaches organizations use when they address security related risk issues.

We began working with a group of international security leaders many years ago, gathering information to develop a conceptual position model. The goal was to address the growing concerns CEOs, Boards of Directors and other stakeholders had about a wide array of security risks facing their companies. We wanted to better understand the nature of the senior security leadership role of the future.

The concept of the role often referred to as the “Chief Security Officer” saw it as responsible for the strategy and governance of security related risks facing their organization. It embraced the concept of convergence with accountabilities for securing people, core businesses, information, reputation, supply chain, resiliency, business continuity / crisis management, company preparedness, and information gathering for ongoing risk assessments and pro-active mitigation efforts.

In the early 2000s interest in the current nature of roles significantly increased. More formal studies, white papers and suggested guidelines emerged, considering the concept of convergence of the program efforts.

The idea put forward was the need to have a senior leader who would have the accountability for these areas. They would have easy access the to the Board and its operating committees and report at a level that was intended to signal the organization’s commitment.

The thought was to ensure that the organization had a single point of accountability that would bring a broader view. It would also better understand the inter-relationships and inter-dependance of a more holistic approach to managing….

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