CISO at Stater
CISO of the Year nominee

With 25 years of experience in the security domain, Lies brings a wealth of knowledge to the role, paired with her expertise in cybersecurity change management. Prior to joining Stater, Lies was Director of Cyber Security Governance at Danone and CISO of the Dutch Railways.

In her role as CISO, Lies aims to combine strong leadership with a pragmatic vision that can be understood at all levels.

On being CISO of Stater
“My main focus as CISO is on Stater’s current IT transformation. In this process, we aim to combine compliance, assurance, and automation. In the IT strategy, cybersecurity is one of the main pillars.”

On change & compliance
“In my view, my role should be the one of business enabler and change agent in the organization. We need to make sure we stay ahead of the changes that new technologies such as AI and quantum cryptography bring. At the same time, compliance pressure is increasing with new regulations such as NIS2 and DORA, which we need to adopt in the here and now as well.”

On building resilience
“As a yoga teacher, I like to bring a more holistic approach to the cybersecurity sector: just like we train our body and mind to be resilient, we should do the same with our digital ecosystem. As a CISO, it’s not about patching vulnerabilities on the go, it’s about thinking ahead to build a sustainable strategy that involves all systems within the organization, and as part of the value chain.”

On her CISO of the Year nomination
“As an experienced cyber change expert, I care about the broader goal of cybersecurity. I always aim to extend knowledge and expertise outside of the organization I work for. Having fulfilled CISO roles in multiple industries, I have contributed to the improvement of cybersecurity in those ecosystems. On top of that, I am an advocate for and dedicated to the development of new CISOs.”