Spotlight on Diego Pogliani

Diego Pogliani is Group Chief Information Security Officer at Mediobanca, with more than 25 years of experience in financial services, leading cybersecurity strategy, transformation and resilience across complex, multi-entity environments. His focus is on ensuring that cybersecurity and resilience effectively support business priorities.

Learn more about the Italy CISO community here.
 

Give us a brief overview of the path that led to your current role.

My career began as an IT Manager in the financial services sector and subsequently evolved into a Senior Project Manager role. As Program Manager, I led the launch of the CheBanca! startup (now Nexi). Following this, I designed and implemented the IT and cybersecurity governance from scratch, initially at CheBanca! and subsequently at Group level across Mediobanca. This led to my current role at the Group holding as Group CISO, where I am responsible for cybersecurity strategy, cyber resilience, regulatory readiness and Group-wide transformation initiatives.
 

What is one of your guiding leadership principles?

One of my guiding leadership principles is to clearly understand the objective, create the right conditions for people to perform at their best, and foster a positive, motivated environment built on accountability and trust.
 

What is the greatest challenge CISOs face today, and how are you addressing it?

One of the main challenges today is balancing increasing regulatory expectations, rapidly evolving cyber threats and the speed of digital transformation. In the financial sector, this requires strengthening operational resilience while supporting innovation, cloud adoption, and emerging technologies such as AI. 
 

What is the key to success for someone just starting out as a CISO?

The key is developing the ability to connect cybersecurity with business priorities and organizational strategy. Technical expertise remains important, but leadership, communication, and stakeholder management are equally critical, especially when operating in highly regulated and complex environments. Building trust across business, technology, and executive leadership teams is essential for long-term success.
 

How do you measure success as a leader?

I measure success as a leader by achieving business objectives while enabling the professional growth and development of the people I lead.
 

What is the value of being a member of Gartner C-level Communities?

The value of being a member of Gartner C‑level Communities lies in the opportunity to engage with peers, share real-world experiences and gain valuable insights and perspectives on common challenges and strategic priorities.
 

Governing Body members share their insights and leadership perspectives to shape the agendas and topics that address the top priorities impacting business leaders today.