Twenty-five places
CISOs Connect has launched a recognition programme called the APAC C25 for 25 chief information security officers and equivalent cybersecurity leaders across Asia Pacific, the company said. It brings the group's C100 model, which recognises 100 security leaders in the United States and Canada each year and is in its sixth year, to the region for the first time.
Nomination dates
Nominations opened on 3 November 2026, and the inaugural class is due to be named on 26 January 2027 at CISOs Connect Singapore. The programme covers Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other Asia Pacific markets. Entries are submitted through the nomination page.
Who judges
Sandeep Taileng, an information security leader at State Trustees and founder of CyberInSpace in Australia, chairs the board of judges. The other members are Reuben Athaide of Standard Chartered, James Blair of Northpower, Hugo Lai of Temple University Health System, Ashish Mahajan of the IEEE Standards Association board of governors, Sanjay Menon of Citi, Irshad Saifi of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co., and Vannessa Van Beek of Fortescue. The company said honorees are picked against criteria covering leadership, professional impact, business acumen, innovation and influence, and that there are no nomination, application or selection fees and no financial obligation before, during or after selection.
What the company says it is for
Aimee Rhodes, chief executive of CISOs Connect, said Asia Pacific takes in markets, regulators and levels of technological development that differ widely, and that the programme is meant to give visibility to executives doing strong work in the region and to rest recognition on the substance of their leadership. Taileng said artificial intelligence, quantum computing, critical infrastructure, geopolitical risk and digital dependency increasingly intersect for security leaders.
