Killian O’Leary, head of technical recruitment with PlaceMe Recruitment who specializes in cyber recruitment, agrees that the ability to create shared objectives, engage stakeholders, and act as an influencer are important traits.

Years ago, the CISO was very much an island who stayed in their own place, which suited a certain personality type, but that’s giving way to leading influence and collaboration. These qualities are becoming highly valued by organizations when recruiting a new CISO. “They’re looking for CISOs with the personality to gather followers who will buy into the security roadmap and go on the journey,” says O’Leary.

In his experience, technical expertise is important for the modern CISO, but so is appreciating that the security posture means different things to different people, whether it’s the CIO or the CEO. This requires being across evolving threats, presenting insights in ways that resonate with leadership, and fostering a security mindset throughout the organization. “The standout CISO has got a bit of backbone because they can have the difficult conversations, influence and advise in a nice way, and understand their audience, while pushing their agenda for the betterment of the business,” he says.