Leadership

Aimee Rhodes

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Aimee Rhodes is the Founder and CEO of CISOs Connect^™ and Security Current^®, which she created to give security leaders a trusted forum for candid exchange, original insight and meaningful professional connection.

A former Reuters journalist and cybersecurity executive, Aimee has spent her career at the intersection of technology, communications and executive leadership. As a Reuters foreign correspondent based in Israel, she covered politics, business and the emerging technology sector before moving into cybersecurity.

Under her leadership, CISOs Connect^™ has grown from its U.S. roots into an international community engaging security leaders across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Throughout that growth, Aimee has remained focused on the organization’s founding mission: helping CISOs grow as security executives and enterprise leaders through trusted peer relationships, practitioner-led research, executive education, professional development and recognition.

That mission continues with the CISOs Connect^™ Academy, bringing together education, leadership development and practical learning designed around the evolving responsibilities of today’s CISO.

Aimee holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in journalism from Michigan State University.

David Cass

President, CISOs Connect^™ | Chief Risk Officer, Grayscale

David Cass is President of CISOs Connect^™ and Chief Risk Officer of Grayscale, bringing decades of experience across cybersecurity, enterprise risk, financial services, digital assets and regulatory oversight.

David is adjunct faculty at Harvard, where he teaches graduate-level cybersecurity courses spanning technology risk, cloud security, digital forensics and ethical hacking. He also serves on the advisory board for Harvard’s graduate cybersecurity program and has taught at Rutgers Law School and Drexel University.

Before joining Grayscale, David held senior security leadership roles at Keyrock, GSR, IBM and Elsevier. He also served as Vice President of Cyber and IT Risk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he was a lead regulator involved in the supervision of globally significant financial institutions.

David’s education includes MIT Sloan, the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School. His experience as a CISO, risk executive, regulator and educator brings a uniquely broad perspective to his leadership of CISOs Connect^™.

Erik Liederbach

Vice President, Growth

Erik Liederbach leads growth initiatives across CISOs Connect^™, with a focus on expanding the value and reach of the community’s executive programs, awards, education initiatives, strategic partnerships and member engagement.

His background spans strategy, operations, communications and executive positioning. Before joining CISOs Connect^™, Erik worked closely with senior executives and organizations on thought leadership, digital presence and growth strategy, including previous work with members of the CISOs Connect^™ community.

At CISOs Connect^™, he works across programs and teams to turn strong relationships and ideas into initiatives that deepen engagement and extend the organization’s impact.

Amanda Ortiz

Director, CISO Programs & Member Experience

Amanda Ortiz leads CISO programs and member experience for CISOs Connect^™, serving as a central point of connection for both CISOs and the solution providers who engage with the community.

She works closely with participants throughout the year, facilitating introductions, supporting relationships and coordinating engagement across CISOs Connect^™ programs, research, awards, education and executive gatherings.

Amanda also leads the highly personalized support that is central to the CISOs Connect^™ experience. Known for her responsiveness, judgment and genuine care for the people she works with, she anticipates needs, solves problems and makes sure both CISOs and solution partners feel supported throughout their involvement with the community. Her approach reflects the ethos of CISOs Connect^™: relationships built on trust, generosity and a commitment to looking out for one another.

Bob Turner

Head of Research

Bob Turner leads research for CISOs Connect^™, including its practitioner-driven studies, surveys and CISOs Investigate^™ research.

A cybersecurity leader with four decades of experience spanning the U.S. Navy, federal cybersecurity consulting, higher education and the private sector, Bob has served as CISO at both Penn State University and the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

His work brings together the experience of practicing security executives to examine the issues reshaping the CISO agenda, translating peer knowledge into practical intelligence security leaders can use.

Amy Teibel

Vice President, Content

Amy Teibel is Vice President of Content at CISOs Connect^™, where she leads content and educational development and plays a central role in building the CISOs Connect^™ Academy.

A veteran journalist, Amy spent years reporting for Bloomberg News and The Associated Press, covering major political, economic and international stories from the Middle East. Her journalism background brings a rigorous editorial approach to CISOs Connect^™ research, storytelling and education, with an emphasis on asking the right questions, distilling complex issues and bringing practitioner perspectives to the forefront.

For the CISOs Connect^™ Academy, Amy works with CISOs, subject-matter experts and instructors to develop educational content and learning experiences around the evolving responsibilities of security leaders. She also oversees executive interviews, CISO profiles, research reports and multimedia content, helping ensure that CISOs Connect^™ content and education remain substantive, practitioner-led and relevant.