Modern CISO Network: Board Book

Andre Aponte, currently the CISO for Primer Technologies Inc., spent 21 years in the U.S. Air Force and has almost 30 years of experience in the cybersecurity and information security domains. He possesses a comprehensive background in cybersecurity, leadership, program management, and IT management derived from leading domestic and global programs across three continents, spanning six countries. Andre held numerous positions throughout his time in the U.S. Air Force, including serving as the Cyber Maintenance Policy Manager, where he planned and executed cyber maintenance and sustainment policy/procedure development efforts for seven cyber weapons systems valued at over $200 million. Andre also served on Yahoo’s Paranoids and Facebook’s Enterprise Engineering teams, and held senior cybersecurity and information technology roles at Booz Allen Hamilton and Qualis Corporation. He has achieved measurable and impactful results while organizing and leading teams toward accomplishing strategic goals and objectives in dynamic, agile, fast-paced environments. As the CISO for Primer Technologies Inc., an artificial intelligence/machine learning startup based in San Francisco, he defines and owns the strategic information security roadmap, budget, and key performance indicators to reduce cyber risk. He aligns business and information security goals, implements security controls for compliance, mentors the team, ensures protection for remote and technology environments, and leads incident response. He also conducts security awareness training and drives vulnerability management efforts.

Utilizing his excellent communication and leadership skills, he was an instructor for cybersecurity boot camps at the University of California’s continuing education divisions in Berkeley and San Diego.