Sophisticated Cyber-Attacks Prompt Corporate Boards To Elevate Information Security To The C-Suite

CHICAGO, June 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Corporate cyber-attacks cost the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Recent, high-visibility data breaches underscore the need for advanced cyber-security defenses, particularly in the financial services sector. 

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Corporate boards and senior risk executives are taking notice, resulting in a surge in demand for qualified candidates to take on a new C-suite role: the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

• Corporate executives and board directors have a new visually engaging resource to help them find solutions to complex issues vexing global companies today.
• Heidrick & Struggles today launches LeadershipTV™ at www.heidrick.com. Episode One explores how companies are looking for experienced Chief Information Security Officers to help them combat the threat of data breaches from cyber-attacks. Check out the full video here.

"Five years ago, data security barely cracked the top 10 concerns among corporate boards. Today, it's vying to become their biggest concern," says David Boehmer, Heidrick & Struggles' Regional Managing Partner, Financial Services Practice for Europe and Africa. "Throughout the financial services sector, we are seeing unprecedented demand for Chief Information Security Officers. We see this trend continuing to escalate, particularly as data security risk is directly linked to operational risk."

Successful candidates in CISO searches, says Boehmer on LeadershipTV™, demonstrate three qualities:

#1. Leadership presence,

#2. Technical and regulatory savviness,

#3. An overarching vision of the risk framework.

"These are the must-haves our clients expect to see in the CISO candidates we bring them," he says. Cyber vulnerabilities range from systemic credit card fraud and customer identity theft to potential terror attacks aimed at disrupting large swaths of the financial services sector. Recently, cyber-pirates launched "distributed denial of service" attacks to cripple websites and networks in brazen attempts at extortion and blackmail.   

Future episodes of LeadershipTV™ in coming weeks will explore other timely issues including:

• GCs in Demand: The imperative for diversity among corporate board directors, particularly in seeking those with general counsel experience; recommendations on how GCs have successfully secured board positions.
• Breaking the Wall Street Mold: The need for financial services firms to attract leadership talent from outside the typical candidate pool; how to ensure these non-traditional hires are successful in their new roles.

"Heidrick & Struggles is committed to delivering informative leadership content in a compelling, easily digestible format. LeadershipTV™ provides an engaging experience to add to the thinking of busy executives as they tackle complex issues," said Randy Thorne, Senior Vice President—Marketing, Heidrick & Struggles.  "Executives at our client companies want honest and informed perspectives exploring creative solutions to timely issues that are keeping them up at night.  We've decided to share these critical talent-trend thought pieces broadly via Heidrick & Struggles' LeadershipTV™."

About Heidrick & Struggles:                     
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSII) is a premier provider of senior-level Executive Search, Culture Shaping and Leadership Consulting services. For more than 60 years, we have helped our clients build strong leadership teams through quality service, deep insights and our relationships with talented individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles' leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

Media Contact: Lia L. Randazzo
312.496.1788, [email protected]

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7245051-heidrick-and-struggles-debuts-leadershiptv-insights-cyber-attacks-for-c-suite

SOURCE Heidrick & Struggles