Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
A great chief information security officer doesn’t just have technical know-how, but the social grace to build relationships and encourage even the most reluctant team leader to implement cybersecurity policies.
“Being a CISO in a federal agency is tough because you’re setting policy and regulations for the agency when you don’t have operational control,” said Sanjay Sardar, vice president of advanced analytics at SAIC. Agencies have to follow those policies and make changes as they go, which means “people have to trust you and like you enough to go the extra mile.”
Mittal Desai, CISO at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has that “likability factor that gives him an edge in building relationships,” Sardar added.
Desai led initiatives to increase visibility into network systems and bolster protection of endpoint network devices, which led FERC to investigate 70 percent more potential incidents.
He is a “young, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky guy with a baby face who’s looking to balance hard work with good fun,” Sardar said of Desai, an avid soccer and basketball player. “He’s a very humble guy in that he knows when to take good advice but also knows when to push to get things done.”
Desai is fostering widespread change in the cybersecurity world by partnering with other agencies and contributing to committees geared toward promoting innovation. “He brings passion and energy to the cybersecurity domain,” Sardar said.
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