What It Really Takes to Lead Security in Higher Education

After a career in financial services, Matt Martin, CISO, Western Carolina University, turned his attention to underserved markets and resource-constrained environments. Not because the work would be easier, but because it was an opportunity to test his belief: strong security fundamentals still matter, even when the budget, team size, and operating model look completely different.

Join Matt and Sravish Sridhar, CEO at TrustCloud, for a candid #StrategicCISOs conversation on how security leaders can manage risk, build leadership confidence, and use automation to create leverage with limited resources.

Agenda 

1. A CISO’s journey from financial services to higher ed
2. What it takes to lead security in higher education: creativity within constraints
3. Building a resilient GRC foundation: practical steps to apply risk management, automation, and AI
4. Advice to CISOs in higher education and similar industries
5. Predictions and trends for Strategic CISOs
6. Live Q&A

What you’ll learn

• How to lead security with limited resources. Learn how Matt manages high obligations, limited budget, and small-team capacity in higher education.
• How to prioritize the risks that matter most. Hear how to build a stronger risk foundation and focus attention where it counts.
• How to use AI to do more with less. See how continuous control monitoring, AI agents, and automated workflows can reduce manual work.
• How to move beyond annual assessments. Understand why continuous visibility gives CISOs more confidence than point-in-time reviews.
• How to communicate risk to leadership. Learn how to translate security issues into language boards, trustees, presidents, and executives understand.

Who should attend

• CISOs and security leaders in higher education, government, nonprofit, healthcare, and other resource-constrained environments
• GRC and risk leaders building more resilient, automated assurance programs
• Security leaders who need to communicate risk more clearly to boards, trustees, presidents, and executive teams
• Teams trying to reduce manual work through automation, AI, and continuous control monitoring
• Any Strategic CISO who wants to build a stronger program without simply asking for more budget