When you think you have all the answers, you’re part of the problem. —Tracy Reinhold
Since 2018, Tracy Reinhold has served as Everbridge’s Chief Security Officer — coming from a storied career in the security industry across the private and public sectors. Everbridge Technology Blog co-editor John Maeda took advantage of a pocket of time they spent in London sharing the stage at the International Security/Cyber Expo to launch the Best in Enterprise Resilience™ program globally.
Everbridge Technology Blog: How does technology play a role in the security space?
Tracy Reinhold: It is the future of security. One of the biggest challenges that organizations have with Chief Security Officers (CSO) is that unfortunately, a lot of them look like me. Yeah, we’re older, we’re balder, we don’t like to learn things. But with that also comes a lifetime of experience of doing things a certain way. And there’s a resistance to change because change is unfamiliar and therefore it becomes scary. Some feel like they can’t embrace technology because they don’t understand it. The reality is technology allows us to do what we’ve always done in the field faster, better, and smarter.
And if you embrace that concept, you will actually benefit the company which you are charged to protect. It’s really about opening your mind and being available for new learning experiences. I heard Larry King the other day say “when I go into an interview and I think I know all the questions to ask it, I’m never going to go again (because then I don’t have it.)”
The way I feel about what I do for a living is I learn more every day that I’m in this field. Where I stand today from where I started ten years ago when I left government is a totally different picture. And those who can adjust, adapt, and overcome the changes and advances in technology can actually add huge value to an organization.
Be a sponge, learn. Not just security but learn the business too.
ETB: How does the CSO’s life change throughout the year? Are there any rhythms?
TR: It depends on the industry, right? In financial services you are tied to your regulator, so you have to make sure that every quarter you have those reports done, you have to make sure that you’re prepared for board meetings and other things that routinely occur during the year. If you are a good CSO, a CSO that is in tune with the rhythms of the business, you make sure that your team is prepared to provide this sort of protection that the organization needs and is forward-leaning when it comes to threat mitigation, public events, etc. If you are a media company, for example, there’s a lot of activity around there. I was talking to the CSO at a major media company, and his life is very different than that of a CSO at a financial services company.
There are some basic tenets that apply across the board, but adjusting to the realities of each individual business is where a CSO actually adds value to the company he or she is charged to protect.
ETB: When you look into the future of the security industry, where do you see Everbridge’s technologies enabling the CSO?
TR: Allowing them to get ahead of threats. My prediction is that in 10 years the CSO will look radically different than they do today because technology is going to force that change. I have a friend who is the head of security for a major company based in Europe. She is Eastern European, she’s 41 years old, and she is an absolute rock star. That is the future of the CSO role. Me, we, the older bald guys <smile> are the past. So facilitating that smooth transition is about having them embrace technology, and there’s no better technology for the security space than Everbridge, because it is an end-to-end solution that allows a CSO to manage their responsibilities better than any other platform out there.
ETB: Along the way up, what was the best advice given to you by one of your mentors?
TR: It’s funny. I had a guy in the Bureau, we didn’t call them mentors because at that time the word wasn’t used. But he was a mentor and he still is actually. He sat me down once when we were both working in the Director’s office and he said “Here’s the challenge. The minute you think you are a wheel, you’re part of the problem.”
So, maintain humility and understand that it’s never about you. It’s about the mission. That has resonated with me throughout my Bureau career and throughout my private sector career. And I think that there’s a lot of truth to that. Nobody does anything alone; and if you really think that you are the guy that makes the difference, you are probably part of the problem.
Maintain humility and understand that it’s never about you. It’s about the mission.
ETB: Technology is generally extremely valuable, but I get the sense of “people sense” as being even more valuable within an organizational setting. Hanging out with you has always made me felt that it’s one of the secrets that underlie your incredible career as a CSO.
TR: It’s really about relationship building. Interpersonal skills are really important as a CSO, and it’s not something that most of them come with. If the answer is always no, then you’re not really developing that relationship.
So all ears, no mouth. Be a sponge, learn. Not just security but learn the business too. I had a lot of folks that started on my team in a past company, and I would actually promote them into the business. I would see somebody that had really good skills, so I would develop a relationship with one of our executives and say “I need you to mentor this new employee.”
Initially the response was “I’m not a security person. How can I help them?” I’d tell them that it didn’t matter. You are a successful executive. Share your knowledge with them. So I would promote them out of my team onto the core business team. A colleague of mine told me I was insane because I kept losing good talent. I said, no, actually I’m developing brand ambassadors for security across the enterprise. As they ascend, they’re good for the company.
If you’re starting out in security, learn everything that you can. Embrace technology; don’t be afraid to not have the answer. And when you start to think that you have all the answers, you’ve become part of the problem. Figure out how to make yourself work within the environment you’re charged to protect. And most of all, don’t be myopically focused on security.
ETB: Thanks, Tracy! It’s always a treat to get to spend time with such a terrific global resource on operational resilience.
On Tracy
Tracy Reinhold is Chief Security Officer at Everbridge. He is responsible for advancing Everbridge’s enterprise-level security strategy, as well as working closely with customers and partners to optimize their organizational approach to managing and responding to critical events.
Reinhold has served in executive leadership roles in security and incident management for some of the world’s largest brands. As Chief Security Officer at Fannie Mae, a leader in mortgage financing with more than $3 trillion in assets, Reinhold was responsible for designing and managing the company’s enterprise resilience strategy. He established a robust enterprise response model that enabled senior leaders to respond to security and business disruptions in an efficient and consistent manner. His leadership was instrumental to ensuring the safety and security of all employees, contractors and visitors at locations nationwide, and successfully protecting company assets including over 3 million square feet of office space.
Prior to Fannie Mae, Reinhold served as Vice President of Global Investigations at Walmart. He had been recruited by the retail giant to investigate and protect company interests related to compliance and ethics concerns across its global portfolio. In less than three years, he created and led a team of global investigators in the United States, Asia, Africa, South America and the United Kingdom.
Prior to his commercial roles in security, Reinhold served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for twenty-two years. During this time, he was a member of the Senior Executive Service, served as Associate Executive Assistant Director for National Security, and led the FBI’s intelligence division. Reinhold is a frequent speaker across the industry on topics including “Improving Organizational Resilience Through Enhanced Security Practices” and “The Changing Role of the CSO in Today’s Corporate Landscape.”
About Everbridge
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Everbridge, Inc. (NASDAQ: EVBG) is a global software company that provides enterprise software applications that automate and accelerate organizations’ operational response to critical events in order to Keep People Safe and Organizations Running™. During public safety threats such as active shooter situations, terrorist attacks or severe weather conditions, as well as critical business events including IT outages, cyber-attacks or other incidents such as product recalls or supply-chain interruptions, over 6,000 global customers rely on the Company’s Critical Event Management Platform to quickly and reliably aggregate and assess threat data, locate people at risk and responders able to assist, automate the execution of pre-defined communications processes through the secure delivery to over 100 different communication modalities, and track progress on executing response plans. Everbridge serves 8 of the 10 largest U.S. cities, 9 of the 10 largest U.S.-based investment banks, 47 of the 50 busiest North American airports, 9 of the 10 largest global consulting firms, 8 of the 10 largest global automakers, 9 of the 10 largest U.S.-based health care providers, and 7 of the 10 largest technology companies in the world. Everbridge is based in Boston with additional offices in 20 cities around the globe. For more information visit www.everbridge.com
