About this episode

Steve Moore interviews Walt Powell about the evolving role of the CISO and the skills needed to succeed in the boardroom.

What separates a CISO who survives from one who shapes the boardroom? In this episode, Steve Moore sits down with Walt Powell, Lead Field CISO at CDW and author of The CISO 3.0, to unpack the modern CISO playbook—why technical credentials alone no longer cut it, how to build personal eminence, and why most security leaders are still treated as second-class C-suite citizens. Walt traces his path from teaching networking before stateful firewalls existed, to writing CISSP exam questions for ISC2, to running CDW's Global Security Strategy Office. He explains what a field CISO does, why the role is harder than ex-CISOs realize, and how one bad meeting can tarnish a brand built over decades. He and Steve break down the four pillars Walt uses to measure his team—embedded advisory, eminence building, sales enablement, and voice of the customer—and how a karate-style “belt system” maps each consultant's competency. Walt explains why the same skills matrix from The CISO 3.0 works for any CISO trying to spot their own gaps. Walt argues a CISO who is not liked cannot succeed: you are the talent magnet, the culture builder, and the person proving in every board meeting that you belong in the…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Moore

Guest: Walt Powell

Topics covered

• CISO leadership
• boardroom influence
• security strategy
• career development
• organizational culture

Keywords

• CISO
• leadership
• influence
• security
• career advice
• board meetings
• competency

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CDW, ISC2

Books & works: The CISO 3.0

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