Chief Security Officer - Central Eastern Europe

Job Summary

The Field CSO is a well known cybersecurity expert for the Central Eastern European Region, responsible for building trusted advisor relationships with customer CISOs, CIOs and other IT executives, while capturing mindshare of the wider CxO community. They will do this by articulating the value Palo Alto Networks can bring with the goal to influence and advise leading companies in evolving their cyber security capabilities. With growing trust, the Field CSO will help customers define a strategic journey towards Cyber Resilience, leveraging industry standards, frameworks, and common practices. This role also requires demonstration of thought leadership by actively participating in industry events to deliver keynotes and active engagement in key industry or governmental groups. In Key Opportunities, the field CISO will be an active member of the account team and own peer relationships throughout the campaign. Lastly, the Field CISO will provide cross functional guidance including but not limited to selling techniques, market awareness and product direction.

Our Mission

At Palo Alto Networks®, we’re united by a shared mission—to protect our digital way of life. We thrive at the intersection of innovation and impact, solving real-world problems with cutting-edge technology and bold thinking. Here, everyone has a voice, and every idea counts. If you’re ready to do the most meaningful work of your career alongside people who are just as passionate as you are, you’re in the right place.

Who We Are

In order to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, we must trailblaze the path and shape the future of our industry. This is something our employees work at each day and is defined by our values: Disruption, Collaboration, Execution, Integrity, and Inclusion. We weave AI into the fabric of everything we do and use it to augment the impact every individual can have. If you are passionate about solving real-world problems and ideating beside the best and the brightest, we invite you to join us!

This role is remote, but distance is no barrier to impact. Our hybrid teams collaborate across geographies to solve big problems, stay close to our customers, and grow together. You will be part of a culture that values trust, accountability, and shared success where your work truly matters.

The Team

Our team members work hand-in-hand with large organizations around the world to keep their digital environments protected. We educate, inspire, and empower our potential clients in their journey to security.

As part of our team, you are empowered with unmatched systems and tools, constantly updated research and sales libraries, and a team built on joint success. You won’t find someone at Palo Alto Networks that isn’t committed to your success – with everyone pitching in to assist when it comes to solutions selling, learning, and development. As a member of our sales team, you are motivated by a solutions-focused sales environment and find fulfillment in working with clients to resolve incredibly complex cyberthreats.

Key Responsibilities

• CISO Advocate (60% of role)Deep knowledge of security frameworks (NIST, ISO27001, etc) and local cybersecurity regulations, articulate Palo Alto Networks ability to bring valueAbility to add value to customer CISO’s by sharing experiences and providing guidance on board-level messaging, internal project selling, stakeholder alignment, etc.Craft and deliver C-level messaging focused on security trends, known customer challenges and best practices in cybersecurity, with a focus on positioning security outcomes
• Technical KnowledgeAbility to integrate Palo Alto Networks Platformization value into the customer’s cybersecurity transformation plan, addressing specific business challengesAbility to articulate high-level technical differentiation from the competition across Network Security, SASE, AI Security, Cloud and SOC transformationPossesses the ability to bridge the gap between deep technical content and information that a C-level executive can digest and use to make quality decisions
• Market and Brand Impact (20%)Deliver thought leadership content at marquee conferences and Palo Alto Networks sponsored events, in partnership with local Field Marketing teamsOwns customer executive advisory board motion in specified geography Active member in Industry Associations/Communities, applying appropriate regional influence be they standards, government or industry drivenLeverages social media and PR engagements to influence the market at large and engage with the wider community via blog posts, white papers, Press interviews, etc.
• Field Impact (10% of role)Proactively help organizations understand their cyber risk landscape and create a business target architecture addressing their long-term cybersecurity strategiesAct as a trusted advisor for a number of strategic customers and help them drive platform adoption within their organizationsKey member of the account team in assigned opportunities - owns peer relationships and participates in opportunity reviews, strategy sessions and customer interactions from early stage to deal closure.Has an established engagement model with the field with widely understood deliverablesLeverages company resources such as EBCs and Business Value Consulting, Principal Architects, Customer Success, and Consulting teams to help reduce the time to close larger opportunitiesRegularly produces content for field consumption to impact awareness, sales tactics and raise the skill set of our teamsDelivers targeted Platform or Industry CxO roundtables for select audiences, based on local field demandProvides guidance designed for Product Management, Marketing and Global Policy teams or other internal teams, in regard with the local market trends and expectations in the long term (1-3 years)Provides technical and local industry related guidance relatively to local governments relationships, e.g. for national products certifications in cybersecurity or operational partnerships with governmental entities, in close coordination with the Global Policy team and Unit 42 Threat Research team

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as a CSO / CISO in large corporate enterprise, plus customer facing experience in a vendor or consulting organization
• Well known in the central eastern european region as a cybersecurity expert
• Has a vision for the cybersecurity future and can help us think through and develop the roadmap
• Possesses the ability to bridge the gap between deep technical content and information that a C-Level executive can digest and use to make quality decisions
• Technical enough to understand various technologies and have credibility with customers
• Has credibility in front of large audiences as well as one-on-one meetings
• Demonstrates credibility in front of large and small audiences as well as one-on-one meetings
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and at least 1 additional regional language (Romanian, Czech, Polish strongly preferred), interpersonal and collaborative skills, and the ability to communicate security and risk-related concepts to technical and nontechnical audiences.
• An innovative thinker, with great problem-solving skills
• Bachelor degree in Business, Information Security, Computer Science, Information Management Systems, or related field or equivalent military experience - master’s preferred
• Minimum of 10+ years of experience in a combination of risk management, information security and IT jobs – at least four must be in a senior leadership role
• Employment history must demonstrate increasing levels of responsibility
• Demonstrated industry expertise through contributions to security industry groups, speaking at industry events, and / or writing blogs and whitepapers on advanced cyber security techniques and tools

Our Commitment

We’re trailblazers that dream big, take risks, and challenge cybersecurity’s status quo. It’s simple: we can’t accomplish our mission without diverse teams innovating, together.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all qualified individuals with a disability. If you require assistance or accommodation due to a disability or special need, please contact us at accommodations@paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Is role eligible for Immigration Sponsorship? No. Please note that we will not sponsor applicants for work visas for this position.