🎧︎ EP11. Defending the Vaccine & Crushing Ceilings with Marene Allison, CISO of J&J ‘80

Oct 13

Episode summary — Marene shares what it meant to graduate as part of West Point's first class to include women, the scope and magnitude of being the CISO for J&J during the production of the Covid-19 vaccine, and how she tackles challenges with an "I can do anything" mindset.

“We raised our hand and said, ‘I will defend against all enemies foreign and domestic,’ and I do that every morning. I don't raise my hand, but I go out there for the mission. And J&J, being a fortune 50 company, is not only a target because it's healthcare and because it's created a vaccine, but it's also part of the financial institution and is seen as a symbol of the United States. So [it’s paramount] to make sure that our data is safe and our systems are safe so that the people who create the vaccines, who create the drugs, who create the bandaids that are used around the world every single day— they're free operate without being attacked or having to worry about their systems or data.” — Marene Allison

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Episode Timestamps:

*(3:10) - Where Marene grew up and how she heard about West Point

*(3:40) - What it meant to be the first class of women at West Point

*(7:10) - Did Marene think she’d ever become CISO of J&J?

*(8:40) - How Marene thought about her early career

*(10:30) - How to prove people wrong

*(11:30) - Joining the FBI

*(19:27) - Joining Johnson & Johnson

*(21:45) - The scope and magnitude of being the CISO for J&J

*(26:50) - SOP - Standard Operating Procedure

*(29:50) - The trust needed to be CISO of J&J