Vice President – Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)
Location: Bangalore / Pune
Level: Vice President
Function: Information Security / Cybersecurity
Role Overview
Ness Digital Engineering is looking for an experienced and strategic Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to lead the company’s cybersecurity, information security, risk, governance, and compliance agenda globally.
The CISO will be responsible for protecting Ness and its customers’ critical data and technology assets, strengthening the organization’s overall security posture, and establishing robust security governance and risk management practices. The role will partner closely with executive leadership, technology, delivery, sales, and customer stakeholders to ensure security is embedded across Ness’s business, technology, and customer engagements.
Beyond enterprise security, the role will also serve as a trusted security advisor to customers, understanding their evolving cybersecurity needs and helping create value by addressing complex security challenges.
Key Responsibilities
Cybersecurity Strategy & Leadership
- Define and drive Ness’s global cybersecurity strategy aligned with business priorities, technology transformation, and customer expectations.
- Establish a forward-looking security roadmap covering enterprise, application, cloud, infrastructure, data, identity, and emerging technology risks.
- Build a strong security culture across the organization through awareness, education, and leadership engagement.
- Identify emerging cyber threats and proactively evolve Ness’s security posture, controls, and response capabilities.
- Evaluate and adopt relevant cybersecurity technologies, frameworks, and industry best practices.
- Establish and evolve AI security and governance frameworks covering the secure adoption and use of LLMs, GenAI, and other AI technologies across Ness.
- Ensure appropriate security, governance, risk, and process controls are embedded across the AI lifecycle, including data protection, access, model risk, usage policies, and responsible adoption.
Information Security & Data Protection
- Protect Ness and customer data by implementing effective security practices, controls, and policies across the organization.
- Establish and continuously improve security architecture, standards, policies, and operating models.
- Oversee security risk identification, threat management, vulnerability management, incident response, and business continuity/security resilience.
- Ensure security is embedded throughout the technology and software development lifecycle.
- Partner with engineering and delivery leadership to strengthen application, cloud, infrastructure, and data security.
Risk, Governance & Compliance
- Establish a strong enterprise-wide information security risk and governance framework.
- Identify, assess, and mitigate cybersecurity and information security risks across Ness’s global operations.
- Ensure compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, contractual, and customer-specific security requirements.
- Lead and oversee security audits, assessments, certifications, and compliance programs.
- Partner with Legal, HR, Risk, Finance, Technology, and business leadership on security governance and risk matters.
- Establish appropriate AI risk and governance controls to ensure the secure, compliant, and responsible use of LLMs, GenAI, and other AI technologies.
- Provide regular security and risk updates to executive leadership and relevant governance forums.
Customer Security & Business Partnership
- Act as a senior security advisor to strategic customers and support customer-facing security discussions.
- Understand customer security requirements and translate them into practical solutions and capabilities.
- Partner with Sales, Delivery, and Account leadership to address security requirements during RFPs, due diligence, audits, and executive customer engagements.
- Strengthen Ness’s market positioning by demonstrating security maturity, credibility, and differentiated cybersecurity capabilities.
- Help identify opportunities to create additional customer value through cybersecurity expertise and advisory services.
Security Culture & Industry Leadership
- Drive organization-wide cybersecurity awareness and promote a strong security-first culture.
- Represent Ness at relevant industry forums, cybersecurity conferences, and customer events.
- Stay abreast of evolving cybersecurity threats, technologies, regulatory requirements, and industry practices.
- Encourage knowledge sharing and adoption of leading practices across the organization.
- Build and mentor a high-performing security organization and develop the next generation of cybersecurity leaders.
Candidate Profile
We are looking for a seasoned cybersecurity leader who combines deep security expertise with strong business and customer orientation.
Experience
- 20+ years of overall experience, with significant leadership experience in cybersecurity/information security.
- Experience leading security for a global technology, IT services, digital engineering, software, or consulting organization.
- Proven experience operating at an enterprise/global CISO or equivalent senior security leadership level.
- Strong experience across information security, cybersecurity, risk management, governance, and compliance.
- Experience managing security requirements for enterprise customers and participating in senior-level customer engagements.
- Demonstrated experience leading security transformation and building scalable security organizations and operating models.
- Experience establishing or overseeing AI security, governance, and risk frameworks, particularly in environments leveraging LLMs, GenAI, or other AI technologies.
Leadership & Business Attributes
- Strong executive presence and ability to influence senior stakeholders.
- Ability to translate complex cybersecurity issues into clear business risks and actionable recommendations.
- Customer-centric mindset with the ability to act as a trusted security advisor.
- Ability to build, mentor, and lead high-performing global security teams.
- Passion for cybersecurity innovation, continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
- Strong understanding of how cybersecurity can enable business growth while managing risk.
- Strong understanding of AI-related security risks, governance requirements, and the ability to establish practical frameworks for secure and responsible AI adoption.
- Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, CCSP or equivalent are preferred.
- Experience with leading security and compliance frameworks such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST, PCI DSS, GDPR, and other relevant regulatory/customer frameworks.
- Experience with AI governance and security frameworks, including emerging standards and practices for LLM/GenAI security, would be an advantage.
- Strong industry presence through cybersecurity forums, conferences, publications, or professional associations would be an advantage.