CSO: The perception isn’t arbitrary, rather it’s rooted in how executive hiring works, according to Sal DiFranco, global advanced technology managing partner at talent advisory firm DHR Global. “Back in the day, you stayed in your vertical. You were an industrial person, you were a retail person, you were a telecom person, you were a software person. You stayed in your lane and that’s what it was.”
DiFranco highlights the convergence of technology in the last 15 years has started to shift this perception. He says enterprise technologies have become more standardized across industries, allowing CISOs to move more freely between sectors.
“Technology has become pervasive across all industries,” he says. But DiFranco warns that opportunity alone isn’t enough, CISOs still need to actively reframe why they’re suitable for a role.