The Cybersecurity Readiness Podcast Series Episode 98 -- Beyond Certification — Turning Compliance into Competitive Firepower
In this timely and hard-hitting episode, Dr. Dave Chatterjee is joined by Sandeep Pauddar—an accomplished global auditor with over 30 years of experience—to challenge a deeply entrenched misconception: that cybersecurity certifications and compliance are merely regulatory checkboxes. Instead, the conversation reframes compliance as a strategic asset—one that can strengthen trust, resilience, and competitive positioning in an era defined by AI, global regulations, and escalating cyber risk.
Drawing on real-world breach examples, audit insights, and cross-industry comparisons, Pauddar explains why organizations that treat compliance reactively often pay a steep price—financially, operationally, and reputationally. Dr. Chatterjee integrates his Commitment–Preparedness–Discipline (CPD) governance framework to demonstrate how leadership mindset, continuous audit readiness, and disciplined execution transform certifications from defensive necessities into engines of strategic value.
Together, they explore why leadership engagement—not regulatory pressure alone—determines compliance effectiveness, how audit culture can shift from adversarial to collaborative, and why proactive organizations outperform peers by embedding governance into everyday operations rather than scrambling after incidents occur.
Time Stamps
00:49 — Episode introduction and framing compliance as competitive firepower
02:22 — Podar’s professional background and global audit experience
05:01 — Real-world consequences of non-compliance
07:30 — Sector comparisons and leadership mindset gaps
09:36 — Global regulatory approaches to cybersecurity and AI
12:33 — Compliance overload and framework fatigue
14:56 — Why audits fail to drive change
16:10 — Shifting from adversarial to collaborative audits
18:17 — Leadership’s role in cybersecurity culture
21:44 — Proactive vs. reactive compliance models
23:54 — Leadership best practices for audit readiness
25:45 — CPD framework applied to certifications
29:37 — AI standards and proactive governance
34:24 — Human risk, awareness, and phishing realities
37:44 — Closing reflection
To access and download the entire podcast summary with discussion highlights -
Connect with Host Dr. Dave Chatterjee
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dchatte/
Website: https://dchatte.com/
Books Published
Cybersecurity Readiness: A Holistic and High-Performance Approach
Articles Published
Chatterjee, D. and Leslie, A. (2024). “Ignorance is not bliss: A human-centered whole-of-enterprise approach to cybersecurity preparedness,” Business Horizons, Accepted on Oct 29, 2024.
Chatterjee, D. (2023). “Mission critical – How American Cancer Society successfully and securely migrated to the cloud amid the pandemic,” I by IMD, March 13, 2023.
Chatterjee, D. (2022). “Preventing security breaches must start at the top,” I by IMD, September 28, 2022, Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland
Benz, M. and Chatterjee, D. (2020). “Calculated Risk? A Cybersecurity Evaluation Tool for SMEs,” Business Horizons, available online from May 4, 2020
Chatterjee, D. (2019). “Should Executives Go To Jail Over Cyber Attacks,” Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Vol 29, Issue 1, pp. 1-3.
Abraham, C., Chatterjee, D., and Sims, R. (2019). “Muddling through cybersecurity: Insights from the U.S. healthcare industry,” Business Horizons, July 2019.