Modern CISO Network: Board Book

Richard Reinders believes it is critical to align security with the needs and success of the business. Security should be used to enable new opportunities and provide a way forward in an adversarial world.

Richard is the VP of Information Security at Gravity Payments, a credit card payments processor, where he built the security program from scratch while ensuring compliance with payment card industry requirements. He introduced initiatives such as SOC 2 and implemented a new approach to security and risk management. With a solid background working at financial organizations, Richard has extensive experience dealing with regulatory and compliance concerns.

Before joining Gravity Payments, Richard worked at startup Sisu Data. He aligned security with the business by implementing solid security measures and demonstrating their effectiveness through third-party vetting and attestation. This strategy reduced the average sales held up by security concerns from 50% to 0%. At Looker, which was later acquired by Google for $2.3 billion, Richard developed the security operations and monitoring function into a full team. During his tenure, Looker experienced zero security breaches.

Richard led the incident response team at Yahoo! when the largest breaches in history were announced. Third parties reviewed the team’s work and confirmed they had successfully detected all major adversary activities. After the incident, Richard initiated a series of initiatives to transform the security culture within the company.

From serving as a design partner for startups to gaining industry experience across various sectors, Richard stands out for his versatility and creativity in any situation. Having experienced seven mergers and one spin-off, he understands the relevant security challenges that come with such changes. Richard believes that learning is a lifelong endeavor and has pursued a bachelor’s and graduate degree in Information Security, along with certifications like the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Richard has an amazing wife, three kids, four chickens, and one dog. You can find him in the Rocky Mountains on a quiet weekend.