Chief Data Officer — Cybersecurity Portfolio

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent data investment producing limited reusable business value within a listed enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the cybersecurity portfolio during a product-line consolidation. For mandate 145, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Data Officer operating perimeter covers approximately A$1,400 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several cybersecurity portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Data Officer Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 725 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Data Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the cybersecurity portfolio. The Chief Data Officer Technology seat must resolve a product-line consolidation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the cybersecurity portfolio. For mandate 145, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Data Officer’s first year on the cybersecurity portfolio is expected to end with trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption. In mandate 145, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Data Officer — Cybersecurity Portfolio seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the cybersecurity portfolio remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Data Officer value-creation thesis for the cybersecurity portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately A$1,400 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Data Officer Technology organisation of about 725 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the cybersecurity portfolio economics and execution constraints created by a product-line consolidation, with Chief Data Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Data Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the cybersecurity portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have converted governed data assets into adopted products with named owners, service levels and economic value in mandate 145.
• Build the Chief Data Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the cybersecurity portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the cybersecurity portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to data investment producing limited reusable business value, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Data Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the cybersecurity portfolio, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable cybersecurity portfolio trend against trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Data Officer’s agreed first-year cybersecurity portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Data Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the cybersecurity portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Data Officer mandate’s highest-priority cybersecurity portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical cybersecurity portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Data Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Data Officer-owned improvement in the cybersecurity portfolio operating constraint behind a product-line consolidation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 145: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive in a listed Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the cybersecurity portfolio, your Chief Data Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Data Officer brief.

As a Chief Data Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of A$800 million and led an organisation of at least 500 people.

For mandate 145, the board wants two transitions: a difficult cybersecurity portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a product-line consolidation. As the prospective Chief Data Officer for this cybersecurity portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 145 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Data Officer must be based in Sydney; international relocation is supported, but this Technology role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven Chief Data Officer ownership of at least A$800 million and leadership of no fewer than 500 employees in a comparable cybersecurity portfolio context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of data investment producing limited reusable business value with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Data Officer-level cybersecurity portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Sydney location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 145.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Data Officer package is A$520,000–700,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final cybersecurity portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 145 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Data Officer appointment in Sydney, centred on the cybersecurity portfolio, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 145.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 145. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 145.