Security integration · Founder strategy · Operator perspective

How the pieces fit —
and what to do when they don't.

The hardest problems in security aren't technical. I think through what that means for the people building programs and the founders building the companies behind them.

Follow the thinking
Former SVP, Palo Alto Networks · Former Accenture Security Practice Lead
CCO, Staris AI · Board Member, SDG · CEO Advisor, SRA · Founder, Passarel

What's coming

Six pieces in progress

These are the questions I'm working through — on how integrated security programs actually get built, and on the commercial decisions that determine whether security companies survive. Some are solo analysis. Several are co-authored with practitioners I've worked alongside.

01 Co-authored

The Discipline Gap

Organizations fail at fundamentals not because they lack tools, but because the operating discipline to make those tools function as one system was never built. AI just removed whatever friction was left.

Rae Wolfram, MicrosoftIoana Bazavan, CISO Career Coach
Identity & Governance Coming soon
02 Guest conversation

When to Sell

A conversation on timing, GTM strategy, and what CISOs are actually asking founders right now. Plus: the LA and OC tech scene through the lens of a VC who's watching it closely.

Alok, First Rays VC
Strategy & Markets Coming soon
03 Analysis

The Hiring Fraud Nobody's Naming

IAM controls exist for a reason. North Korean tech workers embedded in enterprise teams are exploiting the gap between what identity tools can do and what organizations actually enforce.

Identity & Threat Coming soon
04 Analysis

AI Can Break Your Software. Now What?

Offensive AI has compressed the timeline on every assumption about software security. This is what a realistic response looks like — not what a vendor would tell you.

AI & Offense Coming soon
05 Co-authored

When to Stay

The discipline question applied to careers. When staying in an imperfect role is a smart investment in growth, credibility, or timing — and when it's something else entirely.

Ioana Bazavan, CISO Career Coach
Leadership & Careers Coming soon
06 Analysis

Genuine Opportunity or Noise

How to evaluate unusually persistent inbound — from startups, recruiters, or investors — when the signal is unclear. The framework maps directly onto how you should evaluate early-stage vendors.

Judgment & Strategy Coming soon

Work with me

Advisory

If you're a security leader looking for a trusted advisor with skin in the game — introductions, strategy, or a second opinion on a decision — that's what Passarel is for.

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Staris AI

If your team is still relying on point-in-time pentesting, there's a better model. Staris delivers continuous attack path validation — built for security teams that want to stay ahead, not just catch up.

staris.tech/contact →