It was a true honor to be invited to keynote the CISO-CIO Forum! My goal was to create an experience much like my Keynote in Beijing at the Grand Skylight: a memorable, passionate, and enthusiastic personal story that was truly unique. I wanted to equip an audience I deeply respect and understand with actionable insights they could immediately apply.

Given that the tech IPO pipeline in 2025 is a whopping 81% stronger than last year, with even more growth anticipated in 2026 from promising companies like Databricks, 1Password, Abnormal Security, Plaid, and Solera, sharing my unique experiences and insights felt incredibly relevant and timely. This is especially crucial when considering that fewer than half of tech companies currently debut on the public market without a material weakness on record.

As a longtime contributor to the security community, my commitment remains the same: to help ensure our innovation pipeline grows not just rapidly, but securely.