About NextCSO

NextCSO is an annual awards and recognition program instituted by the CSO Forum magazine, which aims to identify 30 experienced senior executives and managers who have the skills, ability and motivation to become Chief Information Security Officers (CSOs).

The NextCSO 2022 award winners will be selected through a rigorous and comprehensive process that will evaluate professional achievements, management and leadership skills that are essential to fulfilling the challenging role of a CISO. To learn more about how to apply, Read more...

    Image Who Can Apply

  • Applicants should have a minimum of 7 (seven) years of full-time work experience, and be a resident of India. They need to be currently employed in an organization (cannot be self-employed). Experience in information and data security, risk management and compliance will be advantageous, but not essential.

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    Image Why Appy

  • By applying for the NextCSO award, you get a free diagnosis of your personality, emotional and leadership traits from Central Test, France. Also, you will have the opportunity to interact with India’s information security thought leaders. All award winners will be featured in a special book that will be circulated to hundreds of top organizations.
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    Image How To Apply

  • To apply for the NextCSO award, you need to register on this site. There is NO application fee. Registration will enable you to track the progress of your NextCSO application and get other useful information. Applications open on 1st October 2022 and will close on 16th October 2022.
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% of organizations identify cyber security as a top five business risk
% include cyber risk in their boardroom agenda
% have increased their cyber security budget
% believe their cyber security teams needs major skill and talent enhancement

Jury Members

India’s leading risk and information security Leaders play a large role in steering the selection process of the NextCSO award winners. These seasoned senior executives, who cumulatively represent hundreds of years of managerial experience and technical expertise, define the selection criteria, interview candidates and approve the list of award winners.

Juries of 2020

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    Rudra Murthy

    CISO
    Amazon Pay

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    Yash Sharma

    CISO
    Indian Oil

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    Aashish Narkar

    Global Head, IT Security (Internal IS) CISO
    Tata Consultancy Services

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    Anuj Tiwari

    CISO
    HCL Technologies

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    Durga Prasad Dube

    Senior Vice President & Global CISO
    Reliance Industries

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    Lucius Lobo

    Chief Information Security Officer ( CISO )
    Tech Mahindra

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    Makesh Chandramohan

    CISO
    Aditya Birla Financial Services Group

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    Manoj Nayak

    CISO
    SBI Life Insurance

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    Murli Menon

    Director & CSO GDC India
    Atos India

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    Sridhar Govardhan

    Senior Director & Head IS
    Flipkart Internet

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    Uday Deshpande

    CISO
    Larsen & Toubro Group

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    Vinit Sinha

    Director Cyber security
    Mastercard

Juries of 2018

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    Amit Pradhan

    EVP - Technology Security, CTSO & Chief Privacy Officer
    Vodafone Idea Limited

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    Anuj Tiwari

    CISO
    HCL Technologies

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    Ashutosh Jain

    CISO
    Axis Bank

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    Burgess Cooper

    Partner - Information & Cyber Security
    Ernst & Young

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    Durga Prasad Dube

    Senior Vice President, Global CISO, Senior Cyber Security Practitioner, Author and Ph.D
    Reliance Industries

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    Inderajit Saha

    Chief Manager (IS) & CISO
    Indian Oil Corporation

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    KS Narayanam

    Executive Director & CISO
    PWC India

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    Makesh Chandramohan

    CISO
    Aditya Birla Financial Services Group

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    Manoj Nayak

    CISO
    SBI Life Insurance Co

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    Milind G Mungale

    Senior Vice President & CISO
    NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure

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    Murli Menon

    Director, CISO & Head - CSR
    Atos

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    MV Sheshardri

    CISO
    NSE

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    Niranjan Bal

    GM IT Compliances (CISO) and Project Management
    Hindalco Industries

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    Rajiv Nandwani

    VP - Global Information Security & CISO,]
    Innodata

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    Ramakrishnan Venkatsubramanian

    CISO
    L&T SMART WORLD & COMMUNICATION

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    Rudra Murthy

    CISO
    Amazon Pay

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    Sanjivan S Shirke

    Senior Vice President - IT & Head - Information Security
    UTI Mutual Fund

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    Satish Warrier

    CISO
    Stock Holding Corporation of India

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    Shivakumar Sriraman

    Head of Risk - South East Asia
    VISA

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    Subhash Subrahmanya

    CISO
    ICICI Bank

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    Subrahmanya Boda Gupta

    Head, IT & Digital
    Brigade Group

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    Sunil Varkey

    MD & Global Head of Cyber Security Assessments & Testing
    HSBC

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    Thiyagarajan Saravanan

    General Manager - Security & Compliance
    Hindustan Petroleum Corp

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    Uday Deshpande

    CISO
    Larsen & Toubro Group of companies

Juries of 2017

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    Anuj Tewari

    CISO
    HCL Technologies

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    Anuprita Daga

    CISO
    Reliance Capital

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    Ashutosh Jain

    CISO
    Axis Bank

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    Brijesh Dutta

    Executive Vice President & CISO
    Reliance JIO

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    Burgess Cooper

    Partner - Information & Cyber Security
    Ernst & Young

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    Faraz Ahmed

    Executive Director
    Morgan Stanley

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    Indrajit Saha

    Chief Manager (IS) & CISO
    Indian Oil Corporation

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    KS Narayanam

    Executive Director, Cheif Information & Security Officer
    PWC

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    Makesh Chandramohan

    CISO
    Aditya Birla Capital

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    Manoj Nayak

    VP & Chief Information Security Officer
    SBI Life Insurance Co

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    Milind G Mungale

    Executive Vice President & CISO
    NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure

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    Parag Deodhar

    Director - Information Security, Asia Pacific
    VF Corporation

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    Rajesh Thapar

    CISO
    OakNorth

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    Sameer Ratolikar

    Executive Vice President & CISO
    HDFC Bank

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    Sanjivan S Shirke

    Senior Vice President - IT & Head - Information Security
    UTI Mutual Fund

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    Subhrahmanya Boda Gupta

    Head, IT & Digital
    Brigade Group

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    Sunil Varkey

    MD & Global Head of Cyber Security Assessments & Testing
    HSBC

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    Thiyagarajan Saravanan

    General Manager - Security & Compliance
    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

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    Uday Deshpande

    CISO
    Larsen & Toubro Group of companies

Juries of 2015

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    Brijesh Dutta

    Executive Vice President & CISO
    Reliance JIO

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    Burgess Cooper

    Partner - Information & Cyber Security
    Ernst & Young

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    Faraz Ahmed

    Executive Director
    Morgan Stanley

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    K S Narayanan

    Executive Director, Cheif Information & Security Officer
    PWC

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    Parag Deodhar

    Director - Information Security, Asia Pacific
    VF Corporation

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    Rajesh Thapar

    CISO
    OakNorth

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    Sameer Ratolikar

    Executive Vice President & CISO
    HDFC Bank

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    Subrahmanya Boda Gupta

    Head, IT & Digital
    Brigade Group

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    Sunil Varkey

    MD & Global Head of Cyber Security Assessments & Testing
    HSBC

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    Uday Deshpande

    CISO
    Larsen & Toubro Group of companies

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    Venkatasubramanian Ramakrishnan

    Head Infromation Risk
    Cognizant

Winners

India’s leading risk and information security Leaders play a large role in steering the selection process of the NextCSO award winners. These seasoned senior executives, who cumulatively represent hundreds of years of managerial experience and technical expertise, define the selection criteria, interview candidates and approve the list of award winners.

Winners of 2017

Winners of 2015

Hall of Fame