Chief Information Security Officers Executive Search

The CISO your board can understand

Partner-led search for Chief Information Security Officers across regulated industries, PE-backed software, and public companies. We find the CISO who can hold board credibility, technical depth, and operational discipline at the same time.

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95% Referral Rate
85% Referral Rate
4.9 out of 5 rating
98% Placement Rate
The Role

Chief Information Security Officers
executive search

The CISO seat moved from the server room to the boardroom. SEC disclosure rules and PE governance expectations ask the CISO to brief audit committees in business terms, while AI-era threats demand technical depth that cannot be delegated. Leaders who hold both are scarce and heavily retained where they are. We calibrate the risk context first, because the right CISO for a regulated bank is structurally different from the right CISO for an AI-native platform. Median close across our security searches: 108
days.

The Roles We Place

Three CISO archetypes. Different searches for different contexts.

The CISO seat is contextual. The right CISO for a regulated financial institution is structurally different from the right CISO for an AI-native SaaS company. We name the archetype before the spec.

Hired into banking, insurance, healthcare, or other heavily regulated industries. Carries deep regulatory fluency alongside technical depth.

  • Has held a CISO seat in a regulated industry

  • Comfortable with regulator examinations and audit committee reporting

  • Strong vendor risk and third-party security instincts

  • Builds programs that survive regulatory scrutiny

Hired into PE-backed software and AI-native companies building modern cloud-native security programs. Comfortable with developer-led security, AI security, and product-side risk.

  • Has built security from scratch in a cloud-native company

  • Comfortable with shift-left security and developer partnership

  • Strong AI security and infrastructure-as-code instincts

  • Builds without slowing product velocity

Hired into a public or pre-IPO company managing SEC cyber disclosure, board-level cyber governance, or post-incident transformation. Carries proxy-relevant communications fluency.

  • Has led a CISO function through public-co disclosure or post-incident response

  • Comfortable with board reporting, audit committee, and risk committee

  • Strong incident response and crisis communication instincts

  • Builds programs the board can actually understand

Sample of our work
In their words

What clients say after the placement.

1 / 5
“

The whole team was great. Robust and proactive communication. Well organized process. Everything from in-meeting reviews to getting meetings on the calendar effectively.

Aerospace & Defense
Executive Vice President
Our clients

Companies trust ON Partners

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Common Questions

What leaders may ask before a search

 The 2026 enterprise standard positions the CISO reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), coupled with a formal dotted line to the board’s audit or risk committee. Traditional structures that position security under the Chief Information Officer (CIO) are declining because they fundamentally conflate independent cybersecurity governance with everyday IT infrastructure operations. 

Regulated-industry CISOs are anchored in comprehensive regulatory fluency, continuous audit committee engagement, and rigorous third-party vendor risk discipline. Conversely, SaaS CISOs specialize in cloud-native application defense, agile developer partnerships, and product-side risk management—meaning the respective candidate pools rarely cross over during a search.

Proprietary data from the 2026 Widening Gap report shows that while 94% of senior executives state that artificial intelligence is actively transforming their day-to-day responsibilities , only 9% of organizations substantially rethink a leadership role before running a new search. Forward-looking boards treat transitions as an active opportunity to shift away from restrictive "like-for-like" historical templates and redefine the security mandate around modern AI architecture, business enablement velocity, and future growth goals.

 Research from The Widening Gap report highlights that 77% of organizations expect replacing a senior leader to require at least three months , yet 46% of companies acknowledge that succession planning is handled reactively by the board. Because security vulnerabilities compound rapidly while a seat remains open, progressive organizations mitigate this exposure by engaging in continuous succession governance and building proactive external market relationships well ahead of an active transition.