Priya Mouli
Director of Information Security
Sheridan College
Priya Mouli is a thought leader and seasoned technology executive with an impressive 17-year career in IT Risk Management, covering the areas of Cyber Security, Privacy, Regulatory Compliance, and Resiliency. She has a commendable history of both collaborating with Senior Leadership and the Boards of large global companies to formulate robust and agile cyber risk strategies, and working with the operational teams to implement them. She has authored global publications, is frequently invited to speak at international conferences (e.g. ISACA, ISC2) and is an active DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) advocate.
When she is not working in cyber security, she says you would often find her at the movies or the zoo, dabbling in poetry, traveling or learning languages.
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Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.
If I were to take a look back at where I started my career, I can tell you that my journey was neither predictable nor a smooth sail!
Like many engineers in India, I got my start in software development and then went on to do an MBA so I could focus more on the intersection of technology with business. Being someone that is motivated by challenges, I decided to immerse myself into and learn another facet of technology that was nascent then, and that is what led me to pursue a role in cyber risk. I moved to the US about 10 years ago and Canada after, advising several organizations in building and standing up their cyber security programs from the ground up.
I took up my current role at Sheridan College to be able to give back to the community and enable both enriched and secure learning experiences for our future generations.
What is one of your guiding leadership principles?
Being empathetic, inspirational and having my peoples' backs have really helped me build high performing and motivated teams.
What is the greatest challenge CISOs face today, and how are you addressing it?
Sifting through huge volumes of data to understand what's relevant to action and then prioritizing these actions – these would also include which security vendors / tools to use.
What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CISO?
Be able to unlearn / reorient yourself to your organization's business objectives, culture, understanding the hands-on, to be able to fine tune your security services and operations accordingly.
How do you measure success as a leader?
You are a successful leader when people and the teams you have worked with in the past actively seek out ways to continue working with you. I have found this fulfilling.
What is the value of being a member of the Evanta community?
The Evanta community has an impressive roster of CISOs and cyber professionals across industries and timely topics that help provide a well rounded perspective on all things a security practitioner should keep in mind – through both formal sessions and informal networking opportunities.
Evanta Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.
by CISOs, for CISOs
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