Securing the Digital Alliance – NATO’s Journey Toward Integrated Cyber and ICT Resilience

Leading the Digital Front: NATO's Chief Information Officer, Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer confirmed as keynote

The New Zealand CIO Summit is set to host a truly unparalleled speaker in Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, the Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for NATO. In today's geopolitical landscape, where global security challenges are paramount and NATO's role in collective defense and deterrence is more critical than ever, Manfred's leadership of the Alliance's ICT and cybersecurity strategies is immensely significant. His keynote, "Securing the Digital Alliance – NATO’s Journey Toward Integrated Cyber and ICT Resilience," offers New Zealand's senior technology leaders a unique window into the complexities and triumphs of managing an immense, globally critical digital ecosystem.

Manfred's role at NATO is nothing short of pivotal. He is responsible for realising NATO's overarching vision for ICT, ensuring seamless integration and cohesion across its vast network of 25,000 civilian and military users. This encompasses overseeing the development and operation of critical ICT capabilities, a task that demands not only technical mastery but also exceptional strategic foresight. Beyond his CIO responsibilities, Manfred also functions as NATO's CISO, acting as the single point of authority for all cybersecurity issues. This includes leading incident management, driving strategic investments, and bolstering NATO's overall cybersecurity posture and awareness. His extensive career, spanning leadership roles at Sierra Wireless, Hewlett-Packard, and Compaq, provides a rich foundation of experience in global technology management. His academic pursuits, including an MBA from Duke and a current Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) focusing on human-technology interactions within IoT, highlight a deep commitment to both practical application and cutting-edge research.

For New Zealand's senior tech professionals, Manfred's session is profoundly relevant. He will delve into how NATO is building robust digital and cyber resilience across over 50 diverse civil and military entities – a challenge that mirrors, albeit on a different scale, the need for integrated resilience within complex New Zealand organisations. His insights on embedding cybersecurity into core ICT systems for "mission assurance at scale" will provide actionable takeaways for any organisation prioritising security in their digital transformation journey.

Furthermore, his discussion on leveraging AI to detect, correlate, and respond to emerging cyber threats is particularly pertinent in today's evolving threat landscape. Perhaps most compelling for the New Zealand context is his experience in navigating geopolitical complexity while aligning 32 nations on digital strategy. This speaks directly to the challenges of multi-stakeholder governance and achieving consensus on critical digital initiatives, a common hurdle for many large enterprises and government agencies.

Finally, his focus on enabling secure interoperability and real-time collaboration across the Alliance and leading transformation through influence, trust, and multi-stakeholder governance offers invaluable lessons in leadership and collaboration, skills essential for any successful senior tech executive. Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer's keynote promises not just a glimpse into NATO's digital operations, but a masterclass in strategic technology leadership and resilience that will resonate deeply with the challenges and aspirations of New Zealand's technology community.

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