Episode 4

Behind the Scenes of a CIO at a $50 million Startup, with Jahn Karsybaev

Published on: 23rd September, 2022

Jahn Karsybaev is the CIO at myBasePay - a small startup that raised $60 million in funding and are on their way to closing the year at $50 million in revenue. In today's episode, Assurance IT's co-founder Luigi Tiano asks Jahn about the following topics:

  1. The difficulty attracting IT talent as a startup & how Jahn works around that
  2. Defining cyber resilience
  3. Tips on implementing digital transformation & debunking myths around it
  4. Jahn's best tip to staying up-to-date with the tech industry (we're stealing this one)
  5. What keep's Jahn up at night
  6. What Jahn looks for in a company that potentially acquires myBasePay

 

Resources: 

Watch the episode: https://youtu.be/2wlSQeXbPHQ

Jahn Karsybaev’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jahnibek/

myBasePay: https://www.mybasepay.com/

The book about Business experiments Jahn referred to: https://amzn.to/3dyyHN4

Luigi Tiano’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luigitiano/

Assurance IT Website: http://www.assuranceit.ca/

 

 

About Jahn Karsybaev: 

Jahn Karsybaev is a Technology Executive who has led IT teams for Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Co-Founder and CIO at myBasePay.

Jahn has co-founded, launched, successfully sold as well as successfully failed several start-ups. He is an Angel Investor and sits on Boards of several tech startups. He loves teaching angel investing, growth hacking & fundraising for startups.

Fund-raising is one of Jahn's strengths and passions. Cumulatively, he has successfully raised close to $70MM for the startups he has launched or advised on.

About 10 Questions to Cyber Resilience: 

Twice per month, learn about how IT leaders are strengthening their cyber security practices. Every episode comprises of 10 questions that get you one step closer to cyber resilience. Subscribe to stay up-to-date with hot topics in cyber security. 

 

About Assurance IT: 

Assurance IT (www.assuranceit.ca) specializes in data protection and data privacy for the mid-market in Canada, since 2011. The Montreal-based company’s unique approach to helping customers become cyber resilient is called the PPR Methodology which stands for Prepare, Protect and Recover. Based on industry best practices, the PPR Methodology is an easier way to achieve cyber security and compliance objectives.

Transcript
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Luigi Tiano:

Jahn, so tell me a

Luigi Tiano:

little bit about your startup,

Luigi Tiano:

and how the idea came to be.

Luigi Tiano:

So tell us about, you know, what

Luigi Tiano:

you're doing today so our audience

Luigi Tiano:

can learn about what you do.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah,

Jahn Karsybaev:

absolutely Luigi and thanks

Jahn Karsybaev:

so much for this opportunity

Jahn Karsybaev:

to talk to you on the podcast.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Essentially MyBasePay, we are

Jahn Karsybaev:

an employee of record platform

Jahn Karsybaev:

for the staffing and the talent

Jahn Karsybaev:

acquisition industry, where we

Jahn Karsybaev:

act as a back office provider, the

Jahn Karsybaev:

technology platform to be able to

Jahn Karsybaev:

efficiently onboard candidates,

Jahn Karsybaev:

process the time sheets, one

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the biggest advantages,

Jahn Karsybaev:

also payroll funding that we

Jahn Karsybaev:

provide to the staffing firms.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And I can expand on that

Jahn Karsybaev:

later as we go along.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Essentially we're less

Jahn Karsybaev:

than three years old.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We've launched earlier this year.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We've venture- backed.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We've had a massive round preceed

Jahn Karsybaev:

that we raised 60 million and we

Jahn Karsybaev:

we're on track to process 50

Jahn Karsybaev:

million, in revenue so far this

Jahn Karsybaev:

year, and it's, you know, most of

Jahn Karsybaev:

our clients are here in US, but

Jahn Karsybaev:

we're starting to go outside of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

market, internationally as well.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And yeah, you know, it's

Jahn Karsybaev:

been an exciting journey for

Jahn Karsybaev:

the past couple of years.

Luigi Tiano:

Fantastic.

Luigi Tiano:

That's great.

Luigi Tiano:

Congratulations.

Luigi Tiano:

You know, it's not always

Luigi Tiano:

easy, getting funding and

Luigi Tiano:

that's amazing for you guys.

Luigi Tiano:

And, from what I understand,

Luigi Tiano:

you are obviously the CIO there.

Luigi Tiano:

Right.

Luigi Tiano:

So taking on the CIO position

Luigi Tiano:

for, for a startup, especially,

Luigi Tiano:

you know, in this industry, can

Luigi Tiano:

you maybe talk about some of

Luigi Tiano:

those challenges that you face

Luigi Tiano:

as a CIO, given the climate,

Luigi Tiano:

given the environment today, with

Luigi Tiano:

everything that's going on in

Luigi Tiano:

the industry and in the world,

Luigi Tiano:

talk about, you know, some of

Luigi Tiano:

the challenges you may have.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah, absolutely.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it's, you know, it's an ongoing

Jahn Karsybaev:

journey and I've been part of, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, all my life, an entrepreneur

Jahn Karsybaev:

I've been in a corporate sector

Jahn Karsybaev:

as well as many startups that

Jahn Karsybaev:

have launched successfully

Jahn Karsybaev:

failed and had that experience

Jahn Karsybaev:

of both sides of the equation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Startup, you know, is just

Jahn Karsybaev:

something that I truly enjoy

Jahn Karsybaev:

the challenge to be able to

Jahn Karsybaev:

build something from ground up,

Jahn Karsybaev:

that technologies by trade and.

Jahn Karsybaev:

To have great co-founders with me

Jahn Karsybaev:

that are more business oriented,

Jahn Karsybaev:

more sales, more marketing.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So we compliment each other from

Jahn Karsybaev:

that perspective and taking on

Jahn Karsybaev:

the role kind of as a co-founder

Jahn Karsybaev:

and the technology lead for a

Jahn Karsybaev:

startup as such in this very nichey

Jahn Karsybaev:

space was definitely a challenge.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And most of the challenges.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That I've faced is all around

Jahn Karsybaev:

the talent, especially in this

Jahn Karsybaev:

highly competitive market these

Jahn Karsybaev:

days with just a world shifting

Jahn Karsybaev:

to completely virtual environment

Jahn Karsybaev:

and hybrid, and being able to

Jahn Karsybaev:

attract the top talent and retain,

Jahn Karsybaev:

for startups that adds another

Jahn Karsybaev:

layer of complexity, because we

Jahn Karsybaev:

don't necessarily have that brand

Jahn Karsybaev:

that attracts the, you know,

Jahn Karsybaev:

the best tech talent, at least

Jahn Karsybaev:

so that's been one of the biggest

Jahn Karsybaev:

challenges, which it's still a

Jahn Karsybaev:

challenge even to this day, to be

Jahn Karsybaev:

able to build a world class team.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's something that's at top of my

Jahn Karsybaev:

mind as an executive 24 7, whether

Jahn Karsybaev:

I'm actively recruiting or not.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Every single person I talk to

Jahn Karsybaev:

is always an opportunity to see,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, is this a person that

Jahn Karsybaev:

can potentially join our team?

Jahn Karsybaev:

And are we, are we the

Jahn Karsybaev:

right fit for them as well?

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that's, that's been one of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

biggest challenges as the CEO of

Jahn Karsybaev:

a startup, but obviously there's

Jahn Karsybaev:

a lot of other complexities

Jahn Karsybaev:

when it comes to launching the

Jahn Karsybaev:

platform fully in the cloud as

Jahn Karsybaev:

well in the virtual environments.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And I'm excited to talk

Jahn Karsybaev:

to you about some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

cybersecurity measures.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That's, you know, it's an ongoing

Jahn Karsybaev:

threat It's an ongoing risk

Jahn Karsybaev:

that we always have to carefully

Jahn Karsybaev:

measure and look out for and

Jahn Karsybaev:

we invest heavily into that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that's, you know, definitely

Jahn Karsybaev:

another challenge that I

Jahn Karsybaev:

would highlight as part of,

Jahn Karsybaev:

kind of that journey of a

Jahn Karsybaev:

startup.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah, no, I like

Luigi Tiano:

what you're saying and, you

Luigi Tiano:

actually touched upon a question

Luigi Tiano:

that I was gonna come back to

Luigi Tiano:

later, so I, I might ask it to

Luigi Tiano:

now because it , it's kind of in

Luigi Tiano:

line with what you just mentioned.

Luigi Tiano:

It staffing and

Luigi Tiano:

talent and skill set.

Luigi Tiano:

That's obviously a

Luigi Tiano:

challenge that we see in

Luigi Tiano:

our, in our business here.

Luigi Tiano:

We're obviously in the

Luigi Tiano:

cybersecurity space, cyber

Luigi Tiano:

resilience, and, you know, we

Luigi Tiano:

help our customers sometimes

Luigi Tiano:

even , find individuals, which

Luigi Tiano:

is obviously a huge challenge.

Luigi Tiano:

So what's your best advice

Luigi Tiano:

for dealing with this

Luigi Tiano:

iT staffing shortage.

Luigi Tiano:

I mean, you're going

Luigi Tiano:

through it right now.

Luigi Tiano:

What would you, you

Luigi Tiano:

know, give us advice.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And

Jahn Karsybaev:

talent acquisition for me.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's , it's not the

Jahn Karsybaev:

term that I like to use.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's not necessarily you acquire

Jahn Karsybaev:

the talent, it's you attract the

Jahn Karsybaev:

talent at the end of the day.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it's really also an opportunity

Jahn Karsybaev:

for those who may be interested

Jahn Karsybaev:

in joining my company in general.

Jahn Karsybaev:

. Is this the right environment for

Jahn Karsybaev:

them , am I the type of leader that

Jahn Karsybaev:

will really help them grow to that

Jahn Karsybaev:

next level where they want to be?

Jahn Karsybaev:

So it's always the mental model

Jahn Karsybaev:

that I have to keep in mind

Jahn Karsybaev:

, whenever we go through interviews

Jahn Karsybaev:

or whenever we go through some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the head hunting exercises it's

Jahn Karsybaev:

really to be able to understand

Jahn Karsybaev:

and align our objectives and

Jahn Karsybaev:

the, and the priorities for

Jahn Karsybaev:

them as a professional and

Jahn Karsybaev:

for us as an organization.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that's been working really well.

Jahn Karsybaev:

In a sense to have those meaningful

Jahn Karsybaev:

conversations with the candidates

Jahn Karsybaev:

and say, here's where, who we are.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Here's where we go in

Jahn Karsybaev:

as an organization.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Here's where we want to be.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Here's our values.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Here's what we're all about

Jahn Karsybaev:

and give them an opportunity

Jahn Karsybaev:

to also speak from their

Jahn Karsybaev:

perspective in terms of.

Jahn Karsybaev:

What are some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things that make them tick?

Jahn Karsybaev:

What are some of the things that

Jahn Karsybaev:

they would love to accomplish

Jahn Karsybaev:

in near term and longer term?

Jahn Karsybaev:

And here's how I can, as a leader.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Here's how I can help you

Jahn Karsybaev:

get to that next level.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Obviously, always understanding

Jahn Karsybaev:

that you're not gonna be

Jahn Karsybaev:

probably with us forever.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That's right.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That goes into the context of, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, retaining the top talent.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Of course I would love for all

Jahn Karsybaev:

of our team members to stick us

Jahn Karsybaev:

forever, but that's the reality,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, everyone needs to grow.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Everyone needs to move

Jahn Karsybaev:

on and realizing that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And in the process, essentially

Jahn Karsybaev:

identifying opportunities for your

Jahn Karsybaev:

employees, for your coworkers and

Jahn Karsybaev:

peers, to be able to capitalize

Jahn Karsybaev:

and take on those opportunities,

Jahn Karsybaev:

create an environment of, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, experimentation, innovation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We're really big on

Jahn Karsybaev:

that as a culture.

Jahn Karsybaev:

One of my favorite books is, by

Jahn Karsybaev:

my former professor , at Harvard

Jahn Karsybaev:

business school is Stefan Thomke

Jahn Karsybaev:

toy's experimentation matters and

Jahn Karsybaev:

experimentation works where he

Jahn Karsybaev:

talks a lot about the models of

Jahn Karsybaev:

fostering, a culture of innovation

Jahn Karsybaev:

through experimentation, where

Jahn Karsybaev:

everyone is empowered to be

Jahn Karsybaev:

able to take on the experiments.

Jahn Karsybaev:

To be that mini CEO of their

Jahn Karsybaev:

project, of their, you know,

Jahn Karsybaev:

initiative that the China launch.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those, I know it's a very

Jahn Karsybaev:

loaded answer to your question

Jahn Karsybaev:

in the sense our strategies to

Jahn Karsybaev:

attract and retain top talent.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But those are some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

mental models that really

Jahn Karsybaev:

help me succeed kind of in, in

Jahn Karsybaev:

that space.

Luigi Tiano:

No, what you said

Luigi Tiano:

there really resonates, cuz , I

Luigi Tiano:

think the fact of being very

Luigi Tiano:

transparent with the employee

Luigi Tiano:

in front of you or the potential

Luigi Tiano:

employee in front of you,

Luigi Tiano:

and finding how you can help

Luigi Tiano:

that person and articulating.

Luigi Tiano:

Has helped me in the past

Luigi Tiano:

find or attract talent.

Luigi Tiano:

Cause I think you said like finding

Luigi Tiano:

talent is not the difficult part.

Luigi Tiano:

It's how do you attract them

Luigi Tiano:

and how do you retain them?

Luigi Tiano:

You know?

Luigi Tiano:

And the talent that is

Luigi Tiano:

actually gonna be a good

Luigi Tiano:

fit for your, business.

Luigi Tiano:

Sometimes you see something

Luigi Tiano:

on paper that may look good.

Luigi Tiano:

And then when you bring

Luigi Tiano:

them in, you start.

Luigi Tiano:

Having that conversation, you

Luigi Tiano:

realize that you cannot help them.

Luigi Tiano:

And that, that becomes a problem

Luigi Tiano:

cuz then you can't retain them.

Luigi Tiano:

And so I like that answer.

Luigi Tiano:

And also, to your comment about

Luigi Tiano:

the book that I'd like to, maybe we

Luigi Tiano:

can share that in the comments once

Luigi Tiano:

we publish this, but that sounds

Luigi Tiano:

like a really interesting book.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

So I'll definitely

Luigi Tiano:

ask you for that.

Luigi Tiano:

So that's a good answer.

Luigi Tiano:

Thank you.

Luigi Tiano:

It's really in depth.

Luigi Tiano:

It's interesting.

Luigi Tiano:

Definitely gonna use that

Luigi Tiano:

some of those techniques and

Luigi Tiano:

some of those thoughts thought

Luigi Tiano:

processes when we're looking

Luigi Tiano:

or trying to attract talent.

Luigi Tiano:

So I appreciate that.

Luigi Tiano:

Let's move on to kind of

Luigi Tiano:

the, the next step, which,

Luigi Tiano:

or the next topic here, which

Luigi Tiano:

is gonna be talking around

Luigi Tiano:

security and, cyber resilience.

Luigi Tiano:

So cyber resilience is a term

Luigi Tiano:

that we're hearing more and

Luigi Tiano:

more often in our industry.

Luigi Tiano:

When you hear that, term,

Luigi Tiano:

what does it mean to you?

Jahn Karsybaev:

And that's

Jahn Karsybaev:

a, that's a great term.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And I love just the overall sound

Jahn Karsybaev:

of that, , we are resilient overall

Jahn Karsybaev:

from a technology perspective,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, and another layer of

Jahn Karsybaev:

complexity from the cybersecurity

Jahn Karsybaev:

standpoint, because it's an

Jahn Karsybaev:

ongoing threat and , those threats

Jahn Karsybaev:

are becoming a lot more complex

Jahn Karsybaev:

in nature to be able to detect

Jahn Karsybaev:

and react to that, which leads

Jahn Karsybaev:

me to the point of reacting.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's essentially, cyber resilience

Jahn Karsybaev:

for me, starts with people,

Jahn Karsybaev:

with people at the organization.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it's part of that cultural

Jahn Karsybaev:

definition in terms of, are

Jahn Karsybaev:

we all aligned in terms of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the vision as an organization

Jahn Karsybaev:

and to be able to essentially

Jahn Karsybaev:

proactively identify those

Jahn Karsybaev:

potential risks and technology

Jahn Karsybaev:

is always gonna be there.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Technology will always help

Jahn Karsybaev:

identify those potential risks

Jahn Karsybaev:

from a software perspective

Jahn Karsybaev:

and things like that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But at the end of the day,

Jahn Karsybaev:

it's all on the actual users.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's all on the employees and the

Jahn Karsybaev:

people who use the system to be

Jahn Karsybaev:

able, to have that alignment in

Jahn Karsybaev:

the sense that here's some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things that we don't want to happen

Jahn Karsybaev:

to our organization when it comes

Jahn Karsybaev:

to potential risks and threats.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And identify those procedures,

Jahn Karsybaev:

those policies, and being able to

Jahn Karsybaev:

have that ongoing training as well.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And to show examples of some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things that are potential threats.

Jahn Karsybaev:

To me, those are

Jahn Karsybaev:

very important to me.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That's kind of the definition of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the resilience aspect of that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it just, it definitely needs

Jahn Karsybaev:

to be part of the cultural DNA

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the organization because

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, we can implement

Jahn Karsybaev:

all the tools in the world.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We can implement all of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

software in the world that can

Jahn Karsybaev:

help us become more resilient from

Jahn Karsybaev:

the cybersecurity perspective.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But.

Jahn Karsybaev:

If the users are not brought

Jahn Karsybaev:

in, if your employees are

Jahn Karsybaev:

not brought in to the whole

Jahn Karsybaev:

aspect of how to use that and,

Jahn Karsybaev:

what are the potential risks?

Jahn Karsybaev:

I think that just, it

Jahn Karsybaev:

creates a lot more room for

Jahn Karsybaev:

error from that standpoint.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those are just some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

my thoughts when it comes

Jahn Karsybaev:

to resilience in the special

Jahn Karsybaev:

and the cybersecurity space.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah,

Luigi Tiano:

I agree with you.

Luigi Tiano:

It has to be a cultural thing.

Luigi Tiano:

It has to be a people thing.

Luigi Tiano:

We keep hearing, it's a stat that

Luigi Tiano:

it may be overused or become a

Luigi Tiano:

cliche stat, but, 80 or 90% of the

Luigi Tiano:

attacks are due to human error.

Luigi Tiano:

Right.

Luigi Tiano:

So if you're able

Luigi Tiano:

to kind of mitigate.

Luigi Tiano:

That large portion of the risk,

Luigi Tiano:

then you can have a really

Luigi Tiano:

more resilient, or how can I

Luigi Tiano:

say this, but you know, more

Luigi Tiano:

resilient organization, right?

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

So, yeah, I agree with you

Luigi Tiano:

a hundred percent on that.

Luigi Tiano:

And, again, sometimes we

Luigi Tiano:

overlook the easy stuff.

Luigi Tiano:

We really overlook the easy

Luigi Tiano:

stuff, which is just educating

Luigi Tiano:

the users, getting them familiar

Luigi Tiano:

with what an attack could

Luigi Tiano:

potentially look like and just

Luigi Tiano:

making people more vigilant.

Luigi Tiano:

Right.

Luigi Tiano:

So definitely on board with that

Luigi Tiano:

and that's one of the things it's

Luigi Tiano:

in the DNA of the enterprise.

Luigi Tiano:

It should be anyway.

Luigi Tiano:

And unfortunately, what I'm

Luigi Tiano:

seeing on my side is, it becomes

Luigi Tiano:

the part of the DNA only after

Luigi Tiano:

something really bad happens.

Luigi Tiano:

Right, which is

Luigi Tiano:

late, which is late.

Luigi Tiano:

Right, right.

Luigi Tiano:

So okay.

Luigi Tiano:

Now I like that answer.

Luigi Tiano:

I had a couple of questions.

Luigi Tiano:

I'm gonna shift them

Luigi Tiano:

around here because you

Luigi Tiano:

mentioned cyber resilience.

Luigi Tiano:

And now we hear a lot about digital

Luigi Tiano:

transformation and it's been a

Luigi Tiano:

term that's been obviously been

Luigi Tiano:

used for the last decade, right.

Luigi Tiano:

Or even the last 20 years, but,

Luigi Tiano:

we're in this constant flux.

Luigi Tiano:

Right.

Luigi Tiano:

So what does digital

Luigi Tiano:

transformation mean to you?

Luigi Tiano:

Given you're a CIO today in 2022.

Luigi Tiano:

What does that mean to.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And that's a

Jahn Karsybaev:

great question and so relevant

Jahn Karsybaev:

to the current times, especially

Jahn Karsybaev:

in the current market conditions,

Jahn Karsybaev:

with everything that we're

Jahn Karsybaev:

dealing with, especially on our

Jahn Karsybaev:

technology side, where executives

Jahn Karsybaev:

on the business side and the

Jahn Karsybaev:

investors and things like that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Everyone wants digital

Jahn Karsybaev:

transformation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Everyone wants for that to occur.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Not to sound like a broken record,

Jahn Karsybaev:

but from the standpoint, and that

Jahn Karsybaev:

kind of ties to what I've briefly

Jahn Karsybaev:

talked about from a resilience

Jahn Karsybaev:

standpoint, digital transformation

Jahn Karsybaev:

is all about people transformation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It definitely starts with the

Jahn Karsybaev:

buy-in at organizations you know,

Jahn Karsybaev:

at every level within the company.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Because we can implement all of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the systems in the world, but if

Jahn Karsybaev:

our internal users or external

Jahn Karsybaev:

stakeholders, if they're not

Jahn Karsybaev:

bought in to why at the end

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the day we're doing this,

Jahn Karsybaev:

what is the ultimate benefit

Jahn Karsybaev:

that we trying to achieve?

Jahn Karsybaev:

What is that state of, you know,

Jahn Karsybaev:

just overall environment that we

Jahn Karsybaev:

are trying to operate in and why

Jahn Karsybaev:

are we taking on such initiative

Jahn Karsybaev:

To transform ourselves digitally

Jahn Karsybaev:

in this specific context.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I think that's a lot of, potential

Jahn Karsybaev:

room for error where executives

Jahn Karsybaev:

fall into that trap, that when it

Jahn Karsybaev:

comes to digital transformation,

Jahn Karsybaev:

the very first step is to jump

Jahn Karsybaev:

into straight, you know, Not

Jahn Karsybaev:

analyzing or planning, but

Jahn Karsybaev:

into actual building where

Jahn Karsybaev:

you want, you know, as a human

Jahn Karsybaev:

nature, we want to jump in and

Jahn Karsybaev:

try to identify potential, the

Jahn Karsybaev:

software or the technology stack

Jahn Karsybaev:

that we want to choose, or the

Jahn Karsybaev:

implementation partners that we

Jahn Karsybaev:

want to work together with, but

Jahn Karsybaev:

taking a step back a little bit

Jahn Karsybaev:

and really understanding the.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Objectives and focus more on

Jahn Karsybaev:

the people transformation side.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I think to me that's a lot

Jahn Karsybaev:

more important than going

Jahn Karsybaev:

through the actual quote

Jahn Karsybaev:

unquote digital transformation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those are just some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the thoughts that really tied

Jahn Karsybaev:

together from standpoint of

Jahn Karsybaev:

successful digital transformations

Jahn Karsybaev:

that I've been part of.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And those are some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

ingredients that I had

Jahn Karsybaev:

seen that really played

Jahn Karsybaev:

integral part in that

Luigi Tiano:

okay.

Luigi Tiano:

Interesting.

Luigi Tiano:

So, it's more of a people

Luigi Tiano:

transformation versus

Luigi Tiano:

digital transformation.

Luigi Tiano:

You can't have digital if

Luigi Tiano:

the people are not bought in.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Exactly.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Exactly.

Luigi Tiano:

I hear that

Luigi Tiano:

very, very interesting.

Luigi Tiano:

Okay.

Luigi Tiano:

I like that answer so obviously,

Luigi Tiano:

given your role and you've done

Luigi Tiano:

this several times before, as

Luigi Tiano:

you've mentioned, There's obviously

Luigi Tiano:

a spark or something that kicks

Luigi Tiano:

off a digital transformation

Luigi Tiano:

now, who needs to sponsor that.

Luigi Tiano:

And I think you've touched a little

Luigi Tiano:

bit on it earlier, but what leads

Luigi Tiano:

to that digital transformation?

Luigi Tiano:

How does the company get started?

Luigi Tiano:

Like, there's a lot of

Luigi Tiano:

companies that we deal with

Luigi Tiano:

who are traditional, you

Luigi Tiano:

know, paper, heavy, backend,

Luigi Tiano:

heavy process, heavy, what's

Luigi Tiano:

that spark that says, yes, we

Luigi Tiano:

want to transform digitally.

Luigi Tiano:

You know, what does the

Luigi Tiano:

company do to get started?

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah,

Jahn Karsybaev:

that's a great question.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it ties back to the points

Jahn Karsybaev:

I was making around building

Jahn Karsybaev:

and fostering the culture

Jahn Karsybaev:

of innovation, where you as

Jahn Karsybaev:

an executive team, or as an

Jahn Karsybaev:

executive, you have to walk the

Jahn Karsybaev:

walk where you're not just, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, drafting, fancy mission

Jahn Karsybaev:

statements on the website

Jahn Karsybaev:

and talk about all the great

Jahn Karsybaev:

values that we're all about.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's more around what are some

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the principles that we have

Jahn Karsybaev:

to adhere to when it comes to

Jahn Karsybaev:

building the culture of innovation

Jahn Karsybaev:

at every single level of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

company where, you know, when we

Jahn Karsybaev:

think of innovation, we always

Jahn Karsybaev:

think of something grandiose.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We think of something, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, transformation wise, those

Jahn Karsybaev:

usually the synonyms that come

Jahn Karsybaev:

to mind, but innovation usually

Jahn Karsybaev:

comes in all shapes of form where

Jahn Karsybaev:

it could be just a simple, you

Jahn Karsybaev:

know, improvement to an internal

Jahn Karsybaev:

process, which can definitely be a

Jahn Karsybaev:

spark to a potential digital

Jahn Karsybaev:

transformation where you

Jahn Karsybaev:

identify little areas for

Jahn Karsybaev:

improvement and then need

Jahn Karsybaev:

to tie together to something

Jahn Karsybaev:

that's a lot bigger at stake.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And how does that tie to

Jahn Karsybaev:

the overall organizational

Jahn Karsybaev:

mission for us as a company?

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those are just some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the things that really could

Jahn Karsybaev:

potentially be a trigger when

Jahn Karsybaev:

it comes to creating those

Jahn Karsybaev:

opportunities for transformation

Jahn Karsybaev:

and really foster that

Jahn Karsybaev:

environment for experimentation,

Jahn Karsybaev:

continuous innovation.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And that really ties together back

Jahn Karsybaev:

to just the overall culture as an

Jahn Karsybaev:

organization that we continuously

Jahn Karsybaev:

transform ourselves, we

Jahn Karsybaev:

continuously transform our systems.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We continuously

Jahn Karsybaev:

transform our processes.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those are the thoughts

Jahn Karsybaev:

that I have when it comes to

Jahn Karsybaev:

just some of the triggers that

Jahn Karsybaev:

can potentially lead to those

Jahn Karsybaev:

transformation initiatives.

Luigi Tiano:

Good.

Luigi Tiano:

Interesting.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

And I see how you, how you

Luigi Tiano:

bring it back to the people

Luigi Tiano:

and then responsibility factor.

Luigi Tiano:

I like that people still need

Luigi Tiano:

to, play an important role and

Luigi Tiano:

they need to drive the, the

Luigi Tiano:

the awareness and they need

Luigi Tiano:

to be the champions of change.

Luigi Tiano:

So I appreciate that.

Luigi Tiano:

And, I see it and hear it often.

Luigi Tiano:

So as an IT executive.

Luigi Tiano:

Obviously as you are, how

Luigi Tiano:

do IT managers, how do IT

Luigi Tiano:

executives prepare for the

Luigi Tiano:

tech changes that are, we say

Luigi Tiano:

around the corner, but they're

Luigi Tiano:

constantly around the corner.

Luigi Tiano:

So, how do you keep yourself

Luigi Tiano:

sharp and how do you, because

Luigi Tiano:

what I've seen in the past

Luigi Tiano:

is sometimes you go through a

Luigi Tiano:

transformation and, the delay of

Luigi Tiano:

transformation sometimes ends up

Luigi Tiano:

putting you behind

Luigi Tiano:

in the next step.

Luigi Tiano:

So how do you keep yourself fresh

Luigi Tiano:

and how do you feel that you're not

Luigi Tiano:

leaving stuff on the table when you

Luigi Tiano:

go into this, the tech changes or

Luigi Tiano:

transformation that we talk about?

Jahn Karsybaev:

I love that

Jahn Karsybaev:

question because it's definitely

Jahn Karsybaev:

at the top of my mind, you know,

Jahn Karsybaev:

all the time as a technology

Jahn Karsybaev:

executive, how do I, I either,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, disrupt the industry

Jahn Karsybaev:

myself or I'm gonna be disrupted.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And it's something at the

Jahn Karsybaev:

end of the day that I.

Jahn Karsybaev:

At least make a conscious priority

Jahn Karsybaev:

to pay a lot of attention to how

Jahn Karsybaev:

do we stay ahead of the curve?

Jahn Karsybaev:

You know, everyone and everything

Jahn Karsybaev:

has an exploration date.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And in terms of research and being

Jahn Karsybaev:

able to stay ahead of some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the trends that we're observing.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yes, that's important.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But for me, the

Jahn Karsybaev:

biggest, biggest source.

Jahn Karsybaev:

To be able to stay ahead of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

curve to really understand what

Jahn Karsybaev:

are the things that going on

Jahn Karsybaev:

in my industry or going on, at

Jahn Karsybaev:

least in my sector is networking

Jahn Karsybaev:

and really surrounding myself

Jahn Karsybaev:

with individuals that possess

Jahn Karsybaev:

different strengths that I'm,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, maybe I'm missing as an

Jahn Karsybaev:

executive or they are operating

Jahn Karsybaev:

in different environments

Jahn Karsybaev:

or the different industries.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But still in technology.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So I invest heavily into

Jahn Karsybaev:

spending a lot of time

Jahn Karsybaev:

with peers in my industry.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I'm part of a lot of the groups,

Jahn Karsybaev:

executive committees, and other C

Jahn Karsybaev:

level technology executives, where

Jahn Karsybaev:

we spend significant amount of

Jahn Karsybaev:

our time sharing some of the best

Jahn Karsybaev:

practices, sharing some of the case

Jahn Karsybaev:

studies, especially those that are

Jahn Karsybaev:

not successful because it's very

Jahn Karsybaev:

easy to talk about some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things that we had accomplished

Jahn Karsybaev:

and here's all of the great.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Things that we've achieved,

Jahn Karsybaev:

but when it comes to failures

Jahn Karsybaev:

I don't necessarily view

Jahn Karsybaev:

those as failures view those

Jahn Karsybaev:

as opportunities to learn.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So being able to surround yourself

Jahn Karsybaev:

with people like that and create

Jahn Karsybaev:

a safe environment, to be able

Jahn Karsybaev:

to share those lessons learned

Jahn Karsybaev:

to me, that's a great source

Jahn Karsybaev:

of information and inspiration

Jahn Karsybaev:

to be able to identify those

Jahn Karsybaev:

trends, to identify those

Jahn Karsybaev:

opportunities, to innovate

Jahn Karsybaev:

continuously, transform yourself.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And look for

Jahn Karsybaev:

opportunities to disrupt

Luigi Tiano:

I like what you

Luigi Tiano:

said, you're either disrupting

Luigi Tiano:

or being disrupted earlier.

Luigi Tiano:

I like that.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

So it's good.

Luigi Tiano:

And in the words of the famous

Luigi Tiano:

entertainer from your neck

Luigi Tiano:

of the woods Pitbull, you

Luigi Tiano:

never lose, you learn right.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Right, right.

Luigi Tiano:

So I like that.

Luigi Tiano:

hahahahaha yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

You know what?

Luigi Tiano:

I mean, if you can learn from

Luigi Tiano:

a situation where you may not

Luigi Tiano:

have succeeded and you know,

Luigi Tiano:

take from it and move on.

Luigi Tiano:

And I think that's

Luigi Tiano:

what life is all about.

Luigi Tiano:

So it's about experiences and

Luigi Tiano:

making things better the next time.

Luigi Tiano:

Around

Jahn Karsybaev:

100%.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

You know, having fear

Luigi Tiano:

to fail basically.

Luigi Tiano:

Again, I'm using cliches here,

Luigi Tiano:

but you miss a hundred percent

Luigi Tiano:

of the shots you never take.

Luigi Tiano:

Right.

Luigi Tiano:

So

Jahn Karsybaev:

exactly.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And that's kind of what we

Jahn Karsybaev:

also, I try to instill that

Jahn Karsybaev:

as part of our culture, even

Jahn Karsybaev:

at the startup levels, because

Jahn Karsybaev:

there's no such thing as bad

Jahn Karsybaev:

news, it's either great news

Jahn Karsybaev:

or the opportunities to learn.

Luigi Tiano:

Exactly.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those

Jahn Karsybaev:

are just some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

mental models that really

Jahn Karsybaev:

help.

Luigi Tiano:

Awesome.

Luigi Tiano:

I like that.

Luigi Tiano:

Gonna switch gears a little bit.

Luigi Tiano:

Just talk a little bit more about

Luigi Tiano:

security cause obviously that's

Luigi Tiano:

probably top of mind for you.

Luigi Tiano:

Ransomware attacks are obviously,

Luigi Tiano:

continuously on the rise.

Luigi Tiano:

It's no secret.

Luigi Tiano:

Would you say that that's probably

Luigi Tiano:

the most worrisome thing when it

Luigi Tiano:

comes to thinking about security?

Luigi Tiano:

What keeps you up at night?

Luigi Tiano:

Obviously besides everything else

Luigi Tiano:

in your job, but when it comes to

Luigi Tiano:

security and security perimeter

Luigi Tiano:

in your organization, what's the

Luigi Tiano:

top of mind for you right now?

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah, 100%.

Jahn Karsybaev:

You nailed it on the head with

Jahn Karsybaev:

a ransomware attacks and us

Jahn Karsybaev:

handling financial information

Jahn Karsybaev:

adds another layer of urgency.

Jahn Karsybaev:

At least for me, because we

Jahn Karsybaev:

handling the payroll information.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We basically are in charge.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Making sure that people

Jahn Karsybaev:

get paid on time.

Jahn Karsybaev:

People get paid, accurate

Jahn Karsybaev:

amounts and proper taxes are

Jahn Karsybaev:

being deducted and all of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

compliance aspects of that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that's at the top of the list.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's absolutely, that's something

Jahn Karsybaev:

that keeps all of us at night

Jahn Karsybaev:

and with everything that's going

Jahn Karsybaev:

on in the world these days with

Jahn Karsybaev:

invasion in Ukraine and all of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the cyber attacks that we read

Jahn Karsybaev:

about in the news on daily basis.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Those are some of the things that

Jahn Karsybaev:

definitely worry me as a technology

Jahn Karsybaev:

lead within my organization.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But for me, the most

Jahn Karsybaev:

important aspect of that is

Jahn Karsybaev:

how do we essentially put

Jahn Karsybaev:

ourselves ahead of the curve?

Jahn Karsybaev:

We're not so reactive in

Jahn Karsybaev:

nature, but more proactive.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And to be able to identify weaker

Jahn Karsybaev:

areas within our organization,

Jahn Karsybaev:

whether that's an area within

Jahn Karsybaev:

the code, or it's an area

Jahn Karsybaev:

within the actual operations

Jahn Karsybaev:

where we need to invest more,

Jahn Karsybaev:

whether that's training security

Jahn Karsybaev:

patches, or custom updates to

Jahn Karsybaev:

the deployments, things like that

Jahn Karsybaev:

are always at top of the mind.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And we, as a company, as a startup,

Jahn Karsybaev:

that's the beauty of a startup

Jahn Karsybaev:

where we can move a lot quicker.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We can be a lot more nimble, but at

Jahn Karsybaev:

the same time, we want to lay the

Jahn Karsybaev:

right foundation because when we

Jahn Karsybaev:

grow and when we become enterprise

Jahn Karsybaev:

level, those things that are gonna

Jahn Karsybaev:

matter a lot, because we're not

Jahn Karsybaev:

gonna be able to move as quickly

Jahn Karsybaev:

as we were when we were a startup.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But if we're raise the

Jahn Karsybaev:

right foundation in terms of

Jahn Karsybaev:

identifying the proper and

Jahn Karsybaev:

documentation on policies and

Jahn Karsybaev:

procedures and what are some of

Jahn Karsybaev:

the things that we need to do.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Proactively.

Jahn Karsybaev:

That's the keyword that

Jahn Karsybaev:

we love to highlight.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that, as you said earlier,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, the cybersecurity

Jahn Karsybaev:

becomes the top priority when

Jahn Karsybaev:

something actually bad happens.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So we definitely realize

Jahn Karsybaev:

that we definitely respect

Jahn Karsybaev:

that and we try to stay as

Jahn Karsybaev:

proactive as possible to,

Jahn Karsybaev:

minimize the risk.

Luigi Tiano:

Got it.

Luigi Tiano:

And I like what you're saying

Luigi Tiano:

about being nimble, cuz as a small

Luigi Tiano:

organization startup obviously you

Luigi Tiano:

wanna be nimble and I like what you

Luigi Tiano:

said about building a path to being

Luigi Tiano:

enterprise level, but you also

Luigi Tiano:

want to have something that scales

Luigi Tiano:

early on because once you grow

Luigi Tiano:

and you're growing rapidly, if you

Luigi Tiano:

don't have a foundation that can

Luigi Tiano:

scale you find yourself having to

Luigi Tiano:

redo a lot of that work and effort.

Luigi Tiano:

And I see sometimes it happens

Luigi Tiano:

where scale can happen overnight

Luigi Tiano:

in some organizations where they

Luigi Tiano:

just blow up and then they have to

Luigi Tiano:

rework a lot of the stuff and then

Luigi Tiano:

leaves a lot of risk, you know,

Luigi Tiano:

there's opens up for risk issues.

Luigi Tiano:

And they just have to a

Luigi Tiano:

lot of effort duplication.

Luigi Tiano:

You're obviously addressing

Luigi Tiano:

that early on, which is

Luigi Tiano:

great to see in here.

Luigi Tiano:

So congrats on that again.

Luigi Tiano:

I had another question about

Luigi Tiano:

ransomware attacks and this is

Luigi Tiano:

more of a bigger question that

Luigi Tiano:

may not impact you directly,

Luigi Tiano:

but given your expertise, I

Luigi Tiano:

wanted to throw it out there.

Luigi Tiano:

You said something important

Luigi Tiano:

about smaller enterprises being

Luigi Tiano:

nimble and can react quicker and

Luigi Tiano:

you wanna be proactive, but we

Luigi Tiano:

have a lot of organizations in

Luigi Tiano:

the US or in Canada here in north

Luigi Tiano:

America and across the world

Luigi Tiano:

for that matter, that are larger

Luigi Tiano:

in nature that don't operate

Luigi Tiano:

as quick, or can't be nimble.

Luigi Tiano:

As you mentioned, and obviously

Luigi Tiano:

they host a lot of critical

Luigi Tiano:

infrastructure and these

Luigi Tiano:

critical infrastructures, utility

Luigi Tiano:

organizations and other businesses.

Luigi Tiano:

And I don't wanna be specific cuz

Luigi Tiano:

I don't wanna point anyone out,

Luigi Tiano:

but there's a lot of critical

Luigi Tiano:

infrastructure out there that has

Luigi Tiano:

a lot of operational technology.

Luigi Tiano:

Embedded in its day to day.

Luigi Tiano:

And now it's bleeding into

Luigi Tiano:

the IT and that becomes a huge

Luigi Tiano:

target for ransomware attacks.

Luigi Tiano:

Do you have any

Luigi Tiano:

thoughts about that?

Luigi Tiano:

Is that something that you think

Luigi Tiano:

about in your day to day or what

Luigi Tiano:

have you done in the past that

Luigi Tiano:

kind of mitigate some of that?

Luigi Tiano:

Just your thoughts on ransomware

Luigi Tiano:

attacks specifically on

Luigi Tiano:

critical infrastructure.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah,

Jahn Karsybaev:

100%.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Early in my career, when I spent

Jahn Karsybaev:

my time in enterprise, especially

Jahn Karsybaev:

in the corporate sector, I

Jahn Karsybaev:

definitely saw how complex that

Jahn Karsybaev:

is, especially when you have so

Jahn Karsybaev:

many different systems integrated

Jahn Karsybaev:

which definitely opens up a lot

Jahn Karsybaev:

more opportunity for risk because

Jahn Karsybaev:

compatibility becomes the number

Jahn Karsybaev:

one priority at that stage in

Jahn Karsybaev:

terms of being able to integrate,

Jahn Karsybaev:

especially if you're growing

Jahn Karsybaev:

through acquisitions and mergers

Jahn Karsybaev:

and things like that, you have to

Jahn Karsybaev:

take into account the opportunities

Jahn Karsybaev:

to be able to effectively

Jahn Karsybaev:

integrate external systems with

Jahn Karsybaev:

something that's already in place.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those things become

Jahn Karsybaev:

of utmost importance.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And as an organization, The

Jahn Karsybaev:

technology is no longer a service

Jahn Karsybaev:

provider within the organization.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Technology is a strategic partner.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So the C level executives in

Jahn Karsybaev:

technology, whether you CTO

Jahn Karsybaev:

SVP of technology or CIO it's

Jahn Karsybaev:

definitely, you have a seat

Jahn Karsybaev:

at the table as part of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

strategy to be able to in

Jahn Karsybaev:

identify investment opportunities.

Jahn Karsybaev:

To put not only the financial

Jahn Karsybaev:

in the budget, but also the

Jahn Karsybaev:

resources to partner with human

Jahn Karsybaev:

resources or just the overall

Jahn Karsybaev:

operations and create that

Jahn Karsybaev:

sense of urgency early on.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

As you and I kind of had this

Jahn Karsybaev:

vibe of the overall conversation

Jahn Karsybaev:

to be essentially very proactive

Jahn Karsybaev:

and focus also on the people

Jahn Karsybaev:

aspect of the cybersecurity.

Jahn Karsybaev:

It's oftentimes overlooked

Jahn Karsybaev:

because it's very easy to point

Jahn Karsybaev:

out and say, this is the flaw

Jahn Karsybaev:

in the security patch or the

Jahn Karsybaev:

code that you had deployed.

Jahn Karsybaev:

But.

Jahn Karsybaev:

End of the day, there's a lot, a

Jahn Karsybaev:

lot more complex problems at the

Jahn Karsybaev:

root cause of that, where I've

Jahn Karsybaev:

seen an enterprise of companies

Jahn Karsybaev:

over various size, typically

Jahn Karsybaev:

that involves some type of user

Jahn Karsybaev:

behavior where the non proper

Jahn Karsybaev:

training has been executed or non

Jahn Karsybaev:

proper policies and checks in the

Jahn Karsybaev:

process have been implemented.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So those are just some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things and thoughts that I have

Jahn Karsybaev:

in my head when it comes to just

Jahn Karsybaev:

the overall ransomware attacks,

Jahn Karsybaev:

how to prevent at organizations of

Jahn Karsybaev:

various size.

Luigi Tiano:

Like that

Luigi Tiano:

answer, Jahn, I'm gonna

Luigi Tiano:

go back and replay it.

Luigi Tiano:

Cuz you said a lot of

Luigi Tiano:

good stuff in there.

Luigi Tiano:

appreciate that, John.

Luigi Tiano:

Very good answer.

Luigi Tiano:

Okay.

Luigi Tiano:

I actually have one more question

Luigi Tiano:

which is more of a philosophical

Luigi Tiano:

or a hypothetical question.

Luigi Tiano:

Maybe you can answer, maybe you

Luigi Tiano:

can't but you know, obviously

Luigi Tiano:

you're happy where you are.

Luigi Tiano:

I don't wanna, I don't wanna

Luigi Tiano:

say anything, but if you

Luigi Tiano:

ended up getting acquired

Luigi Tiano:

for a gazillion dollars or

Luigi Tiano:

something really good happened.

Luigi Tiano:

And now you had to keep

Luigi Tiano:

the same role, but you were

Luigi Tiano:

gonna transplant yourself

Luigi Tiano:

into a new company as a CIO.

Luigi Tiano:

What would you look for in that

Luigi Tiano:

company for you to go there?

Luigi Tiano:

What's important for you as a CIO

Luigi Tiano:

outside of where you are today?

Jahn Karsybaev:

That's an easy

Jahn Karsybaev:

answer for me because I spend a

Jahn Karsybaev:

lot of time thinking about that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And at the end of the day, it's

Jahn Karsybaev:

really to be in a position to help

Jahn Karsybaev:

others because I've had a lot of

Jahn Karsybaev:

people that helped me along the

Jahn Karsybaev:

journey and continuously they do.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I have a lot of mentors that

Jahn Karsybaev:

have a lot of people that kind

Jahn Karsybaev:

of created that springboard

Jahn Karsybaev:

for me to be able to go to the

Jahn Karsybaev:

next level where I want to be.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So really at this stage of my

Jahn Karsybaev:

career, it's really to be able to.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Pay, you know paid back at the end

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the day to some of the people

Jahn Karsybaev:

that are coming up the ranks.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So trying to get, maybe break

Jahn Karsybaev:

into technology in general.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We definitely need a lot more

Jahn Karsybaev:

diversity in technology, whether

Jahn Karsybaev:

that's gender racial or whatever

Jahn Karsybaev:

the other orientation is.

Luigi Tiano:

I agree.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I think we

Jahn Karsybaev:

definitely need a lot of that.

Jahn Karsybaev:

So as a technology executive,

Jahn Karsybaev:

having been on different sides

Jahn Karsybaev:

of the equation for me, if I was

Jahn Karsybaev:

to take on another opportunity

Jahn Karsybaev:

is an environment where I can

Jahn Karsybaev:

be as effective and value, add

Jahn Karsybaev:

as possible to be able to help

Jahn Karsybaev:

others to get to that next,

Jahn Karsybaev:

to grow as an individual, to

Jahn Karsybaev:

grow as a professional, when

Jahn Karsybaev:

it comes to technology space.

Luigi Tiano:

Amazing answer, Jahn.

Luigi Tiano:

Lucky organization to

Luigi Tiano:

have Jahn inside there

Luigi Tiano:

or lead that's for sure.

Luigi Tiano:

Hahahaha

Jahn Karsybaev:

too

Jahn Karsybaev:

kind Luigi easy.

Jahn Karsybaev:

You're too kind.

Luigi Tiano:

No, well, listen,

Luigi Tiano:

I mean, it's obvious that you're

Luigi Tiano:

people first and you know what?

Luigi Tiano:

You can't have an organization

Luigi Tiano:

without good people.

Luigi Tiano:

So that's important.

Luigi Tiano:

I like how you you've methodically

Luigi Tiano:

thought out what you're doing

Luigi Tiano:

and what you're gonna be doing.

Luigi Tiano:

So, which is great.

Luigi Tiano:

That's important

Luigi Tiano:

as a leader, right?

Luigi Tiano:

Cause you have so many things

Luigi Tiano:

going on that you wanna be able

Luigi Tiano:

to prioritize, compartmentalize

Luigi Tiano:

certain things and then

Luigi Tiano:

kind of execute them right.

Luigi Tiano:

With the right team.

Luigi Tiano:

So, which is great.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yep.

Luigi Tiano:

Jahn I don't have

Luigi Tiano:

any more questions for you

Luigi Tiano:

specifically, cuz you've given

Luigi Tiano:

me a lot to chew on, frankly.

Luigi Tiano:

I'm gonna replay some

Luigi Tiano:

of those answers cuz I

Luigi Tiano:

wanna learn from them.

Luigi Tiano:

Do you have any questions for me?

Jahn Karsybaev:

Well, obviously,

Jahn Karsybaev:

you know, you being a thought

Jahn Karsybaev:

leader in cybersecurity space

Jahn Karsybaev:

just want to get your 2 cents

Jahn Karsybaev:

on some of the trends that

Jahn Karsybaev:

really excite you these days.

Jahn Karsybaev:

What are some of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

things that you personally

Jahn Karsybaev:

very passionate about?

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah.

Luigi Tiano:

Well, that's actually

Luigi Tiano:

a good question.

Luigi Tiano:

So for myself and my colleagues,

Luigi Tiano:

it's really data protection

Luigi Tiano:

and protection from the onset

Luigi Tiano:

of how the data's handled

Luigi Tiano:

within the organization and the

Luigi Tiano:

privacy that goes along with

Luigi Tiano:

it because data right now means

Luigi Tiano:

a lot and it's very valuable.

Luigi Tiano:

And I think we've taken it

Luigi Tiano:

for granted in terms of what

Luigi Tiano:

it can do for organization

Luigi Tiano:

how we can help them evolve,

Luigi Tiano:

become better how to use it.

Luigi Tiano:

In an analytical situation

Luigi Tiano:

to solve problems.

Luigi Tiano:

So there's that aspect of the data.

Luigi Tiano:

There's the aspect of

Luigi Tiano:

the privacy of the data.

Luigi Tiano:

So when you're working with

Luigi Tiano:

clients with suppliers, you

Luigi Tiano:

wanna make sure that you're

Luigi Tiano:

hosting and housing that data

Luigi Tiano:

and manipulating that data in a

Luigi Tiano:

way that doesn't get compromised.

Luigi Tiano:

Cuz I think that's very important.

Luigi Tiano:

We deal with a lot of cyber

Luigi Tiano:

insurance conversations or

Luigi Tiano:

situations and the data management.

Luigi Tiano:

Conversation or data management

Luigi Tiano:

topic comes to play often.

Luigi Tiano:

So you wanna make sure that you're

Luigi Tiano:

highly vigilant when it comes to

Luigi Tiano:

manipulating data, whether it's in

Luigi Tiano:

a small form, large form structured

Luigi Tiano:

or unstructured you wanna make sure

Luigi Tiano:

that you're handling with the white

Luigi Tiano:

glove and I can't state that enough

Luigi Tiano:

as being an important aspect of it.

Luigi Tiano:

So again, data protection, data

Luigi Tiano:

privacy for me is top of mind.

Luigi Tiano:

And it's all part of the whole

Luigi Tiano:

protecting enterprise because

Luigi Tiano:

ultimately the data is probably

Luigi Tiano:

the most valuable thing outside

Luigi Tiano:

of your people, of course, you

Luigi Tiano:

know, within the enterprise.

Luigi Tiano:

So that sets for me has become

Luigi Tiano:

top of mind and it's become

Luigi Tiano:

top of mind the last couple of

Luigi Tiano:

years, but now it resonates more

Luigi Tiano:

when you're talking to clients

Luigi Tiano:

and customers and suppliers.

Luigi Tiano:

So that's my 2 cents.

Luigi Tiano:

And if I can save anyone, to

Luigi Tiano:

your point earlier, if there's

Luigi Tiano:

anybody in IT who's looking to

Luigi Tiano:

get into the game or get into IT

Luigi Tiano:

I think that's an area where we're

Luigi Tiano:

gonna need more talent for sure.

Luigi Tiano:

A lot more talent in that space.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Yeah.

Jahn Karsybaev:

We have absolutely.

Jahn Karsybaev:

And that's probably one of the

Jahn Karsybaev:

areas that probably has negative

Jahn Karsybaev:

unemployment when it comes to

Jahn Karsybaev:

cybersecurity and data management,

Jahn Karsybaev:

I think you nailed it on the head.

Luigi Tiano:

Yeah,

Luigi Tiano:

Well, Jahn, I promised that we

Luigi Tiano:

were gonna make this efficient

Luigi Tiano:

and fun and I think we've

Luigi Tiano:

achieved both those objectives.

Luigi Tiano:

So I thank you very much

Luigi Tiano:

for taking the time today.

Luigi Tiano:

We're definitely gonna, you

Luigi Tiano:

know, enjoy putting this up on

Luigi Tiano:

the podcast for all our viewers

Luigi Tiano:

and listeners I hope to stay

Luigi Tiano:

in touch great individual.

Luigi Tiano:

When I'm in the 3 0 5 or in the

Luigi Tiano:

south Florida area, I give you a

Luigi Tiano:

call, grab a coffee or something.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Absolutely

Jahn Karsybaev:

Luigi and I really

Jahn Karsybaev:

appreciate the opportunity.

Jahn Karsybaev:

I'm definitely gonna stay

Jahn Karsybaev:

in touch and looking forward

Jahn Karsybaev:

to our next conversation.

Luigi Tiano:

All right, Jahn.

Luigi Tiano:

Thank you very much.

Luigi Tiano:

Have yourself a good afternoon.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Thanks so much.

Jahn Karsybaev:

Take care.

Luigi Tiano:

Okay.

Luigi Tiano:

Bye.

Luigi Tiano:

Bye.

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10 Questions to Cyber Resilience

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brought to you by Assurance IT.

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cybersecurity space, specializing

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since 2011, they primarily help

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About the Podcast

10 Questions to Cyber Resilience
Cyber resilience is the ultimate IT goal for every business. Twice per month, join Assurance IT as they discuss various cyber security topics with IT leaders to help you get closer to your cyber security goals. Each episode includes best practices that can be applied to your enterprise. Cyber resilience is a collaborative effort; let's work toward it together!