James Robinson's route to the chief information security officer role at Netskope was far from linear. He never planned a cybersecurity career, yet after stints at seven companies and a deputy CISO position, he now leads security at the cloud security vendor.
The profile, part of SecurityWeek's CISO Conversations series, traces how his experience across multiple organisations and roles built the foundation for his current job. The deputy CISO role in particular appears to have been a crucial step in preparing him for the top security seat.
His story illustrates that security leadership can emerge from an accidental, varied background rather than a deliberate early career choice. With only one source available, there are no contrasting accounts to compare, but the narrative stands on its own as an example of a nontraditional path to the CISO office.