Chris Esemplare

Chris’s expertise is in setting strategy, building organizational capability to scale and developing high-performing cybersecurity teams. Most recently, from 2015 – 2020, he was the Global General Manager of IBM’s Security Services Practice, one of the largest security services firms in the world. He was part of the formation of the IBM Security Unit in 2008, focused on building and scaling the unit from a fragmented, regional practice to an integrated global business offering a dynamic portfolio with consistent strategy and delivery in more than 65 countries.

As GM, Chris built and managed a team of 5,400 security professionals, hiring on average more than 700 professionals annually, and was responsible for strategic planning and operational execution across practice areas and geographies. Practice areas included: Strategy, Risk, and Compliance; Operations and Intelligence; X-Force Red Testing; Infrastructure and End Point; Identity and Access Management; Data and Application; IOT / OT and Cloud Security. The global practice areas spanned consulting, systems integration, and managed services.

To support innovation, Chris oversaw the “THINK Tank” program to incubate technology and ideas generated by client-facing employees. The program achieved multiple important innovations and patents. Under Chris’s leadership, IBM Security Services achieved global market leadership as a consulting and managed services provider, growing 3x the market over his tenure.

Chris is a graduate of Brown University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics and Organizational Behavior and Design. He is active in the cybersecurity community engaging in various advisory boards around the world.