Think being CISO of a cybersecurity vendor is easy? Think again

When people in this industry hear that a CISO is working at a cybersecurity vendor, it can trigger a number of assumptions — many of them misguided. There’s a stereotype that the role isn’t “real” CISO work, that it’s more akin to being a field CISO, someone primarily outward-facing and focused on supporting sales or amplifying the brand.

The assumption goes something like this: How hard can it be to secure a security company, and isn’t the “real” work done at companies outside of this bubble?

Having walked that path myself, I can tell you that the truth is far more nuanced. Being a CISO at a security vendor comes with all the internal responsibilities you’d expect at any other organization, sometimes more, and it brings additional layers of accountability and visibility.

It’s not only about protecting the company; it’s about ensuring that the product itself and its security posture become a core part of the company’s credibility. The role demands heightened levels of transparency and precision and an ability to communicate complex security decisions clearly, both internally to the organization and externally to customers.

Like any other company, a security vendor has systems to protect, employees to educate, risks to assess, and incidents to prevent. There was no free pass because one is in the business of selling security. If anything, the expectations were higher because customers (and even competitors) scrutinized every aspect of what we did. Security leaders in the vendor space quickly learn that their work is not only operational but also symbolic: we had to lead by example.

In cybersecurity, the product is a promise

That symbolism manifests in two critical responsibilities I found deeply fulfilling and uniquely valuable. First, there’s the responsibility of communicating how we were securing our product. In cybersecurity, the product itself is a promise: to protect customers, to reduce risk, to perform securely under stress. As the CISO, I had to ensure that we weren’t just making that promise but that we were living it internally.

Were our development teams following secure coding practices? Were we meeting the highest standards of vulnerability management and product testing? Were we transparent about our own security maturity when customers asked? These weren’t abstract concerns. They were questions I had to address with real, demonstrable proof, both to our leadership and to customers who entrusted us with their business.

The second responsibility is equally important: demonstrating how we used our own product to secure ourselves. This wasn’t just about “eating your own dog food,” it was about showing confidence in the solutions we built. It’s about standing in front of customers and saying: “We believe in this enough to rely on it ourselves.” That’s not performative. It’s foundational.

And here’s where I found some of the most rewarding work of my career. Ensuring that we were both secure and that our product was securing us gave me a perspective I might never have gained elsewhere. I wasn’t just testing controls or rolling out new tools; I was immersed in a feedback loop between our product team, our security operations, and our customers.

Every time we identified ways to improve the product internally, those insights fed into what we delivered to customers. Every challenge we faced with our own implementation helped make the product better.

Security vendor CISOs are a bridge to customer trust

For me, this was an added dimension to the role, one that was deeply connected to value creation for the company. As CISOs, we know that security is often seen as a cost center, but as a security vendor, the connection between the work I did and the success of the business was crystal clear.

The way we communicated our security strategy directly influenced how customers perceived us. The way we deployed our own product internally added to its credibility. Every board update, every customer briefing, and every public statement carried the weight of representing not just the company, but the product and the people who built it.

The internal focus of the role wasn’t any less intense than at a more “traditional” organization. My team and I were still tackling the same challenges: phishing campaigns, access management, secure infrastructure, compliance frameworks, business continuity, and third-party risk. We still faced budget constraints and had to prioritize security initiatives in line with business goals. In many ways, it felt no different from working at a large enterprise, except for the fact that everything we did happened under a brighter spotlight.

The experience also reshaped how I think about leadership as a CISO. I spent a lot of time considering the broader mission of security itself; how it bridges trust between a company and its customers, how it enables innovation, and how it shapes reputation. It reminded me that, no matter where you are, a CISO’s core responsibility remains the same: to align security with the business’s goals and to foster a culture of trust.

At a security vendor, this mission is amplified. It’s not just about protecting the business; it’s about helping the business lead by example in a highly competitive and skeptical market.

Security leadership is security leadership, no matter where it’s practiced

Some might think that working at a security company limits your perspective of what’s out there in the broader industry, but I found the opposite to be true. I gained a deeper understanding of how organizations evaluate security solutions and what they truly care about. I saw firsthand the challenges customers faced when implementing security tools, and that experience gave me empathy, insight, and a renewed ability to speak their language.

Now that I’m back in industry, I’m bringing that perspective with me. The transition wasn’t a step “down” or a shift away from anything; it was just the next phase in my career. Security leadership is security leadership, no matter where you practice it. The challenges remain complex, the responsibilities remain vast, and the importance of aligning security with business outcomes remains paramount.

Reflecting on my time as a CISO at a security vendor, I’m grateful for what the role taught me. It forced me to hold myself and my team to a higher standard, knowing that our security practices were under constant scrutiny. It gave me the opportunity to shape the company’s value proposition through transparency and proof. And it reaffirmed that the role of a CISO, regardless of where you sit, is to be both a protector and a bridge-builder, driving trust within and outside the organization.

The experience has left me more prepared, more aware, and more capable of tackling new challenges. For anyone considering a similar role, I would say this: don’t underestimate the depth and significance of the work. It’s not a sideshow or a sales role. It’s real, strategic security leadership with a scope that can stretch far beyond the walls of the company. If you embrace it, you might find, like I did, that it can shape not only the organization you serve but also the next stage of your career.