Business Security Weekly (Audio) Emergence of the Chief Trust Officer as CISOs Earn Business Respect and Agenda Shifts - Jeff Pollard - BSW #419
Oct 29, 2025
Jeff Pollard, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, dives into the emerging role of the Chief Trust Officer, highlighting its importance in today's business landscape. He explains how customer demands have driven this role's evolution from traditional CISO responsibilities, now encompassing ESG, resilience, and compliance. Pollard emphasizes the need for metrics that demonstrate trust's contribution to revenue, while discussing ideal CISO personas for this position. The conversation also touches on the balance between AI reliance and core security skills.
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Trust Center And Chief Trust Role Co-Evolved
- Trust centers and Chief Trust Officers emerged together driven by customer and partner demands.
- Trust centers scaled questionnaire responses while CTOs (Chief Trust Officers) provided an executive point of presence for major B2B deals.
Product And Third-Party Risk Drove Elevation
- Product and third-party risks forced elevation of security responsibilities beyond traditional enterprise security.
- Chief Trust Officers unify product security, enterprise security, and external promises to customers and partners.
Chief Trust Officers Often Emerge From CISOs
- Most Chief Trust Officers were CISOs first and view the role as an elevation, not a demotion.
- Elevation lets them mentor new CISOs and align security to revenue and business conversations.