The State of the CISO: Leading in the Age of AI-Powered Threats and Defenses
Phil is a Strategic Security Advisor at Google, specializing in supporting Google Cloud, Cybersecurity and AI for companies and governments at all scales, globally. Prior to this Phil was the first Chief Information Security Officer of Google Cloud, from 2000 to 2025, where he built the risk, security, compliance, and privacy teams. Before joining Google, he was a Partner at Goldman Sachs where he held multiple roles over a long career, initially as their first Chief Information Security Officer, a role he held for 17 years.
In subsequent roles, Venables was Chief Operational Risk Officer, an operating partner in their private equity business and a Senior Advisor to the firm’s clients and executive leadership on cybersecurity, technology risk, digital business risk, and operational resilience. In addition to this, he was a Board Director of Goldman Sachs Bank. Before Goldman Sachs, Venables held multiple Chief Information Security Officer roles, and senior engineering roles across a range of finance, energy, and technology companies. He has been honored with many distinctions and awards most recently, in 2024, being inducted into the Chief Security Officer Hall of Fame.
Outside of Google, Venables serves on the boards of the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, the NYU Stern Business School Volatility and Risk Institute, the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board of NIST, the Security and Technology Advisory Board of MITRE, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. From 2021 to 2025 he served on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology at The White House where he drove multiple initiatives from cyber-resilience, the future of AI, through to improvements in scientific communications.
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