The Greater Chicago cybersecurity community will gather for an impactful day of insights, networking, and collaboration at the 10th annual SecureWorld Chicago conference on May 20, 2026, led by three stellar keynote sessions.
Good friends Fred Kwong, CISO at DeVry University, and Ricardo Lafosse, CISO at The Kraft Heinz Company, will set their camaraderie aside to take on a fun and challenging rapid-fire game show format. Fred and Ricardo, prompted by moderator Arpi Long, Deputy CISO, Collective Health, will be presented with difficult "would you rather" choices ranging from ransomware negotiation dilemmas and crippling technical debt to extreme budget constraints and the secure-by-default friction that can stall business innovation.
They won't just pick a side; they have to defend it against a panel of their peers—in this case, Arpi and the audience.
SecureWorld Chicago is being held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. Earn 6 CPE credits for the day; and consider the SecureWorld PLUS course the day prior to earn an additional 6 CPE with Rodney Beard, Senior Cyber Risk Analyst, Cyber Risk Opportunities LLC, teaching a 6-hour course on "Securing & Enabling AI: Transform Chaos into Competitive Advantage."
John Opala, Former VP of IT & Global CISO for HanesBrands Inc., and member of SecureWorld's Charlotte Advisory Committee, will present the lunch keynote on "The Changing Dynamics of the Role of the CISO in the Age of AI."
John will talk about how CISOs and their teams can navigate the new age of cybersecurity, one that is continually evolving, including noticeable trends towards increased scrutiny on the decision-making processes of CISOs; ethical considerations in handling data breaches; proactive cybersecurity measures; building a culture of transparency and accountability within CISO teams; and more.
Closing out the day is our keynote panel, "Ask Us Anything! A Live Conversation with Security Leaders," featuring Pam Nigro, VP of Security & Security Officer, Medecision; Shefali Mookencherry, CISO, Chief Privacy Officer, University of Illinois at Chicago; Mike Zachman, CISO, Zebra Technologies; and moderator Erik Hart, CISO, Cushman & Wakefield, taking any and all questions from the audience.
Some featured breakout sessions throughout the day include:
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Lori Kevin, VP, Security & Compliance, IMO Health, speaking on "From Risk to Resilience: Engaging the Enterprise for Smarter Security."
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A panel on managing mental well-being in a stressful profession, featuring Bruce Coffing, CISO, City of Chicago; Joe Mariscal, Senior Director, Cybersecurity, Rich's Products Corporation; Troy Stairwalt, Board Member, The Center for Critical Infrastructure Security; and moderated by Lynn Dohm, Executive Director, Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). In this candid, high-impact session, a group of senior cybersecurity leaders will step away from the dashboard to discuss the one metric they rarely report to the board: their own mental resilience.
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A panel of Business Information Security Officers, including Sarah Buerger, BISO, The Kraft Heinz Company; Ed Yousfi, BISO, Gallagher Bassett; and moderator Frank Yanan, SVP & GIS BISO, Bank of America, talking about the role of the BISO in modern security.
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Dan Flaningan, Chief Transformation Officer, and Meredith Winegar, Transformation Office Director, both from Old National Bank, present on "Building an AI-First Center of Excellence: From Legacy Transformation to Enterprise-Wide Capability."
See the full agenda and registration options, from the PLUS course with 12 CPEs; a Conference Pass with 6 CPEs and lunch; or an Open Sessions Pass to attend most of the sessions but not earn CPEs or have lunch.
