Brex’s CISO Mark Hillick on avoiding tool bloat and learning from high-severity incidents

In a recent episode of The Future of Security Operations podcast, Thomas Kinsella hosts Mark Hillick, the CISO at Brex, who shares insights from his extensive career in security, which began at Allied Irish Banks and included leadership roles at MongoDB and Riot Games. The discussion covers a range of topics, including maintaining excitement in the security field, transforming vendor relationships into meaningful partnerships, and learning from significant incidents to build team resilience. Hillick emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture where team members feel safe to voice their opinions and the need for security to serve business objectives. He also reflects on his leadership style, characterized by transparency and genuine care, and his approach to giving and receiving feedback. Additionally, Hillick discusses the challenges of securing gaming platforms, strategy and planning in the fintech space, and the inspiration behind his book, "The Security Path," which features interviews with over 70 security professionals.