Myrna Soto has joined Forcepoint as Chief Strategy and Trust Officer. In this newly-created role, Soto will serve as a strategic business and technology driver of the company’s enterprise vision, strategy and programs to protect people, critical data and IP both within the company and for thousands of Forcepoint customers around the globe.
As Chief Strategy and Trust Officer, Soto will also serve as a global leader and champion for both the development and execution of strategic initiatives that continue to propel Forcepoint forward as the industry leader for user and data protection worldwide and global enterprises’ trusted cybersecurity partner of choice. In addition, she will also function as a member of Forcepoint’s Security Council.
A security and information technology veteran having held senior leadership roles with many of the world’s most recognized brands, Soto brings more than 25 years’ experience to Forcepoint. Utilizing her experience as a transformational security and business leader at Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Comcast and MGM Resorts, Soto will serve as a trusted security and technology innovation partner to customers as they re-assess their security posture in today’s new business reality reliant on cloud-driven security solutions to protect the work-from-everywhere workforce. She will also partner cross-functionally with the company’s IT and engineering teams to act as a pathfinder and modern problem-solver for the organization. In this capacity she will help teams envision, strategize and execute programs that accelerate customers’ digital transformations with modern security architectures that optimize security as a business enabler.
“Today we are in a world irrevocably changed and businesses must embrace the new workforce reality ahead that takes security beyond the four walls of the office to a work-from-everywhere environment. Every company today needs to reassess their security posture in this new business reality now heavily reliant on SaaS applications and platforms to operate ‘business as usual’,” said Matthew Moynahan, CEO of Forcepoint. “As Chief Strategy and Trust Officer, Myrna brings to Forcepoint an inherent understanding of the challenges global enterprises face today and what it requires to be a security leader driving transformational change at scale. She will serve as a trusted partner to customers as well as a technology leader within the company partnering with R&D and engineering teams to align and accelerate Forcepoint’s roadmap strategy to address customers’ evolving security needs including product improvements and long-term innovation. I am excited to partner with Myrna to continue driving Forcepoint’s industry leadership forward and establish the company as global enterprises’ and government agencies’ most trusted cybersecurity partner for the modern cloud era.”
Soto joins Forcepoint from award-winning managed security service provider Digital Hands where she served as Chief Operating Officer. In this role she was a critical leader in securing the company's first capital round of funding and building the company’s world-class leadership team. She also served as the senior business leader across the company’s Security Operations, Service Delivery, Sales, Customer Success, Marketing and HR functions. Prior to Digital Hands, Soto was a Partner at ForgePoint Capital (Formerly known as Trident Capital Cybersecurity) and a member of the ForgePoint Capital Investment Team focused exclusively on investing in cybersecurity companies.
For nearly a decade Soto served as Corporate SVP & Global Chief Information Security Officer (GCISO) for Comcast Corporation. In this role, Soto led security and technology risk management for the Enterprise business responsible for aligning security initiatives with enterprise programs and business objectives across the company’s 54 business lines within the Comcast Portfolio to ensure information assets and technologies were protected across the global corporation. She has also held senior leadership roles at companies including MGM Resorts International, American Express, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Kemper Insurance.
Soto also serves on the Boards of CMS Energy/Consumers Energy, Spirit Airlines and Popular Inc. And is recognized as a Governance and Board Leadership Fellow by the National Association of Corp Directors.
“There has never been more of a driving impetus for enterprises to get cybersecurity right than this moment in time. The legacy approach to security building walls and moats isn’t an option. And current global events have businesses racing to secure today’s people perimeter where the line between home and work no longer exists,” said Soto. “A successful modern security approach requires businesses today to think about what data they own and how the compromise of that data could represent a material threat to their customers and to their business. It is extremely critical for organizations to have a formative plan in place to address the risks associated with a compromise. Forcepoint offers enterprises and government agencies a modern cybersecurity path forward that understands the constants in every security equation – people interacting with data. I look forward to helping drive forward the company’s cloud-first security vision and innovating new programs and services - such as Forcepoint Advantage that changes the game for security licensing models - that will revolutionize what cybersecurity will look like in the next five years.”
