2026 Atlanta CISO Community Executive Summit

CISOAtlanta CISO CommunityAtlanta CISO Programs

Collaborate with your peers

Get together with Atlanta's top CISOs to tackle shared business challenges and critical priorities facing your role today. Participate in this one-day, local program with peer-driven topics and interactive discussions with your true C-level peers.

Join your peers to discuss the most critical issues impacting CISOs today:

Enabling GenAI innovation while reducing human-element risk

Reframing risk reduction as minimizing business impact and strengthening resilience

Positioning cybersecurity as a creator and driver of business value

Governing Body Co-Chairs

Derek Benz

The Coca-Cola Company
SVP & CISO

Tim Callahan

Aflac
SVP & Global CISO

John Dickson

Insight Global
CISO

John Gift

PepsiCo
SVP & Global CISO

Stacy Hughes

ABM
SVP & CISO

Kemper Seay

Carter's
VP Infrastructure & Chief Information Security Officer

What to Expect

Interactive Sessions

Hear from CISO practitioners and thought leaders on how they're solving critical challenges impacting your role today in Keynote sessions, and join smaller, interactive discussions with your peers in Breakout and Boardroom sessions.

Community Networking

Make new connections and catch up with old friends in casual conversations during dedicated time for networking designed to better acquaint you with your Atlanta CISO community.

Peer-to-Peer Meetings

Connect with like-minded peers in a private, one-on-one setting through Peer-to-Peer Meetings. You will be matched with peers in your community based on your shared interests and priorities.

Agenda

Breakout Session

Winning the Room — Board Communication That Lands

Communicating with the board isn’t just a skill — it’s a differentiator for today’s security leaders. In this interactive session, executives share real stories of communication wins, how they secured board buy‑in, and the metrics that made their messages resonate.

Join this session to explore:

Elevating board engagement through clear, compelling narratives
Securing leadership alignment on high‑impact initiatives
Defining the right metrics to influence decision‑makers

Executive Boardroom Sessions

Targeted at the Top — Physical and Digital Protection for Leaders

Executives and their families are now prime targets for converging physical and cyber threats, expanding risk far beyond the corporate perimeter. CISOs must address overlapping vulnerabilities and bridge security silos to protect both personal and professional spheres.

Join this boardroom to discuss:

Conducting holistic threat assessments for executive risk
Bridging IT and physical security teams for unified protection
Implementing comprehensive strategies for safeguarding leaders

Securing Tomorrow — Rethinking Data Recovery Strategies

CISOs are challenged by the growing sophistication of cyberattacks and the increasing complexity of IT environments, making traditional recovery approaches insufficient. Ensuring rapid, reliable recovery is now central to organizational resilience and trust, yet many security leaders struggle to integrate recovery into overall security strategy. Exploring new paradigms in cyber recovery can empower CISOs to proactively safeguard business continuity.

Join this session to explore:

Integrating recovery into incident response plans
Assessing cyber resilience beyond prevention
Bridging gaps between security and IT operations

M&A — Security Leadership Strategies for Thriving Through Change

As mergers and acquisitions accelerate, CISOs play a critical role in safeguarding business resilience and ensuring secure transformation. With cyber risk, data, and technology shaping organizational value, security leaders are uniquely positioned to guide strategic decisions and enable sustainable growth.

Join this session to discuss:

Modernizing M&A security playbooks and integration roadmaps
Managing cyber risk through organizational pivots and technology consolidation
Leading resilient change and strengthening a security‑driven culture

Keynote Session

AI at Full Speed, Security at Full Strength

As organizations accelerate their adoption of AI, CISOs are becoming pivotal business enablers—driving innovation while ensuring security remains uncompromised. Discover how security leaders are fostering an innovative, AI‑forward culture while safeguarding the enterprise against emerging risks in this session.

Leave this session with insights on how to:

Build a culture of innovation through intentional, cross‑functional collaboration
Implement governance models that mitigate shadow AI risks while preserving employee trust and autonomy
Leverage both AI successes and failures to strengthen continuous learning and experimentation across the organization

Apply to Participate

Already a Member? Sign In

Apply to participate in the Atlanta CISO Community Executive Summit.

Gartner facilitates exclusive, C-level communities by personally qualifying and understanding the priorities, challenges and interests of each member.

Our selective approach maintains the high quality of the network and ensures top-level discussions with peers from the world’s leading organizations.

Each application will be reviewed, and once your participation is confirmed, you will have access to year-round community programs.