Mignona Coté, a top 10 CISO in the world with three decades of security leadership across AWS, PepsiCo, Bank of America, and Infor, reveals what vendors keep getting wrong in the first meeting, why every cloud platform is equally secure, and how the ”human in the loop” governance model breaks the moment AI touches your stack.Mignona has led security through three major technology inflection points: the explosive growth of the internet at GTE and Verizon, the financial crisis at Bank of America where she ran security for 200,000 people across credit cards, home loans and Merrill Lynch, and the cloud adoption wave at AWS. Most recently as SVP and CISO at Infor, she was responsible for the security of a platform serving more than 60,000 companies across industries. She is a top 10 CISO globally, a two-time Dallas ORBIE Award winner, and a Hall ofFame inductee who today advises a portfolio of security startups.◼ Why every cloud platform is equally secure, and the real question CIOs should be asking instead◼ How AI has broken the traditional ”human in the loop” model and what has to replace it◼ What vendors must do in the first meeting to win a CISO's trust (hint: bring two people, not fifteen)◼ Why CISOs who stay in one role too long start solving yesterday'sproblems◼ The empathy framework that turns developers into security allies instead of compliance checkboxes◼ What CISOs talk about privately that never makes it into theboardroom00:00 Teaser00:53 Intro01:07 Main Episode01:53 Three decades in, top 10 CISO globally, still learning from 5am to 7am02:47 What it means to be the security officer for 60,000 companies03:46 From the dot com era to the financial crisis to the cloud04:14 Why each company forces a completely different security program05:29 What banking, telecom, and consumer tech each taught her07:26 Leaving the single-company CISO role for advisory work08:15 What builders of enterprise AI platforms keep getting wrong10:37 The “default secured” principle every product team should adopt13:11 88% human error, 63% inadvertent sharing: where SaaS responsibility sits14:39 Empathy as a security strategy, and why auditors get it right17:32 “Shift left, shift left. I call it shift anywhere.”17:37 How AI compounds the threat and breaks old governance models19:07 Building a governance model that flexes like Lego21:28 What feels different about this AI inflection point22:16 Inside the CISO Ascent Board: what CISOs never tell the board26:07 The advice she would give early-career security professionals26:53 Why staying in one role too long will hurt you28:25 Why CISOs have to get hands on with the technology29:46 What single-cloud security misses about multi-cloud reality31:35 The questions CIOs should ask vendors, but rarely do33:39 Choosing the right partner: accessibility over sales pitch34:27 The CrowdStrike account rep story every vendor should hear35:12 What IT services companies must change to sell to CISOs36:34 Chirag’s keynote reframe: “Nobody wakes up saying let me see a demo today”37:20 The late-night call, the board presentation, and digital watermarking38:28 What excites her about the startup security space40:29 What AI will change about the CISO role in two years41:07 The one question the host forgot to askFollow Mignona Coté: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mignonacoteFollow Chirag Khanijau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chirag-khanijauLinks: Flywheelr: https://www.flywheelr.comBrandStori: https://brandstori.aiCXO Spotlight: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/cxospotlightListen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4xVy5IPCvf68BrGaALfUMZListen on Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cxo-spotlight-growth-influence-leadership-in-b2b/id1792963542#CXOSpotlight #CISO #Cybersecurity #CloudSecurity #MultiCloud #InformationSecurity #SaaSSecurity #AISecurity #SecurityGovernance #EnterpriseIT #CIO #CISOCommunity#VendorSelection #ITServices