71: Leadership and Executive Development in the Cybersecurity Industry with Willi Nelson

(CS)²AI Podcast Show: Control System Cyber Security

Derek Harp interviews Willi Nelson in this episode. Willi is currently the Field CISO of Operation Technology at Fortinet, one of the oldest and longest-standing sponsors of the (CS)²AI organization.

Willi is a Security/Technology/Visionary who focuses on thought leadership and executive influence for Fortinet. He is responsible for developing security thought leadership, strategy, threat, vulnerability & mitigation insights, and world-class practices for the cybersecurity community and business executives.

Willi is a technologist, military veteran, woodworker, bee-keeper, outdoorsman, fisherman, metal artist, hunter, cyclist, husband, and father.

In this episode, he shares his backstory and unpacks what he does for the industry. He also offers valuable nuggets of advice for people with an OT and engineering background who don’t know cyber and those with a cybersecurity background with no knowledge of control systems and OT.

Show highlights:

• Willi joined the US Army immediately after graduating high school. He gets into what he learned there and why he left.
• Why resiliency is essential.
• How Willi got into computers.
• Willi discusses the importance of education and explains what prompted him to return to college at 27.
• The power of being humble, having a thirst for knowledge, and a work ethic in the workforce.
• Qualities Willi looks for when recruiting people.
• Where OT and cybersecurity first intersected with Willi’s career.
• How he got the opportunity to step into leadership while spending some time working in financials.
• The difference between influential and mandatory leadership.
• What operational technology means in the context of Willi’s current line of work.
• What makes Willi optimistic about the future?