Certified CISO delivers the ultimate competitive edge that helps you excel as a CISO

Richard Foltak

Company: Dito
Job Title: Senior Vice President, CISO, and Head of Cloud

Richard Foltak, an experienced Chief Information Security Officer, attests that the Certified CISO program helped him tremendously in his career and highlights that people start interacting with you differently when you hold a credential as superior as the Certified CISO.

The Certified Chief Information Security Officer certification played a pivotal role in his career growth, equipping him with the leadership skills and risk management expertise necessary for senior-level roles.

According to Richard, leadership certification like the Certified Chief Information Security Officer increases credibility, enables better communication with industry peers, and accelerates career advancement, which are valuable assets for aspiring and established CISOs.

BXS Quote

I know for a fact that certifications such as the Certified CISO have helped me in my career tremendously.

Tell us about your current role and how you got there.
BXS Quote
Today I serve as Chief Information Security Officer, and I was recruited by Dito to lead their cloud security practice based on the professional experience and certifications that I gained during my tenure at Deloitte Consulting, where I was the Chief Architect and led the implementation of cloud management solutions across the Amazon Web Services, Google, and Azure cloud platforms.

Over time, I continued to learn and gain credible credentials to demonstrate my competency across multiple practices. This effort helped me establish proficiency and credibility within my roles, both inside and outside of my company. My advice is to train for your next role—the opportunity will present itself.

You hold a CISSP certification. Why did you later pursue the Certified Chief Information Security Officer (Certified CISO) credential?

Individuals new to certifications need to understand that each certification teaches you how to demonstrate competency in either a specific knowledge area or a specific role. The CISSP certification is a role-based certification. While it covers technology-based subjects needed to perform in a specific role, it focuses more on operations, behavior, and engineering best practices.

BXS Quote
The Certified CISO, however, prepares learners for senior leadership roles, which require different skills to be effective. In the end, a Chief Information Security Officer helps empower businesses to succeed. Thus, it is a leadership function. In my opinion, to be a successful CISO, one needs to have a good grasp of risk management. I felt it was important to validate my foundational skills before pursuing senior leadership certifications

How is the Certified CISO different from the CISSP certification?

The Certified Chief Information Security Officer (Certified CISO) is focused on providing the skills necessary to govern an enterprise’s security and IT practices.

BXS Quote
It covers the governance of an enterprise, which involves understanding the regulatory, industry, and other cybersecurity requirements along with the business objectives and specific technical environmental factors needed to manage business-specific operating methodologies and risks.

The CISSP certification is focused on the day-to-day practices needed to secure IT assets. It prepares learners for management and engineering roles and emphasizes validating the specific skills required for these roles. The Certified CISO and CISSP focus on two distinct roles that are crucial for the effective operations of an enterprise IT environment.

Can you share some success stories about how you applied the Certified CISO body of knowledge in the workplace?

BXS Quote

“Certifications help you gain a competitive edge and knowledge of the industry.”

Knowing what best practices are and following them are two very different things. Getting industry certifications adds to your credibility.

BXS Quote

When people look at you and see that you hold credible certifications, they interact with you differently. The Certified Chief Information Security Officer enabled me to communicate better in the industry-specific language of that specific role.

Has the Certified Chief Information Security Officer (Certified CISO) program impacted you positively in your career?

My certifications helped accelerate my career and my salary growth.

BXS Quote
I know for a fact that certifications such as the Certified CISO have helped me in my career tremendously.

Become a Certified Chief Information Security Officer (C|CISO)

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Address*