CISO of the Year: Exceptional performance, exceptional award

As part of the “CISO of the Year 2023” competition, Thomas Schober, CISO for the Allianz Group in Austria and all associated companies, received a special award for “Lifetime Achievement”. He has been responsible for proactive security management and provider management at AZTech Austria, an IT subsidiary of Allianz Elementar, for many years.

Screening opportunities and prioritising

“The focus on your own information security measures during the application process has an external impact, as you get the opportunity to present to many like-minded experts at the CIS Compliance Summit. At the same time, there are also internal opportunities because you take the time to summarise and bundle things – this brings the big issues back into focus that are otherwise neglected in day-to-day business. It’s a great opportunity for a summary,” says the expert, explaining the insights gained. “This makes the competition a good springboard for the CISOs of tomorrow. The award definitely leads to a lot of positive feedback and appreciation within the company.”

Networking and exchange with like-minded people

The CIS Compliance Summit is the specialist conference for decision-makers, security officers and anyone interested in information security, data protection, business continuity and other trending topics. The winners and finalists will have the opportunity to present their projects relating to the “CISO of the Year” application on site. Schober on this opportunity: “It was an honour and a pleasure to be able to give a presentation in front of like-minded experts without having to go into the basics. This makes it possible to discuss the core of problems and possible remedies right away. The discussions in the conference also showed that the challenges addressed are similar across all sectors and that there are many parallels.”

Click here for impressions from previous years.

Don’t miss out – register for the competition until 29 March 2024. Whether you’re a winner, finalist or simply taking part, you can only benefit!

Celebrating success

Every year, the “CISO of the Year” award sets an important milestone in the field of cyber and information security and brings to the forefront a professional group that otherwise often works in the background: the Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) of various companies and organisations in the country. The personal award – launched in 2022 by the CIS certification body – recognises individuals and projects that CISOs have driven forward. Participation is free of charge, but the opportunities that come with it are all the more valuable!