November 4, 2026
From Ownership to Influence: Insights From the Annual CSO Survey with Rachel Briggs
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In this episode
What gives corporate security lasting influence: the responsibilities it owns or the decisions it helps shape? Rachel Briggs, CEO of The Clarity Factory, joins Manish Mehta to unpack insights from the CSO Annual Survey and explore security’s evolving role as an enterprise integrator. They discuss why sustained influence requires more than access to the CEO, and how participation in cross-functional decision-making can strengthen security’s contribution. Rachel explains how to move beyond activity counts to meaningful KPIs and deliver intelligence built around business needs. The conversation also explores practical approaches to stakeholder engagement, multidisciplinary talent, and communicating security’s value in plain language.
Download the 2026 Annual CSO Survey.
What you’ll learn
01
How to build lasting influence through cross-functional collaboration
02
How to connect security metrics and intelligence to business decisions
03
How to develop multidisciplinary security talent through broader recruiting and internal mobility
More about our guest
Rachel Briggs is CEO of The Clarity Factory, which produces research, thought leadership and consultancy on corporate security and cyber security. She’s advised dozens of multinational corporations, provides benchmarking services, and regularly briefs security leadership teams. She is the author of The Business Value of Corporate Security, co-author of The Business of Resilience, Holistic Security, and most recently authored, The Clarity Factory Annual CSO Survey. She is an Associate Fellow at Chatham House and a board member of the Risk and Security Management Forum (RSMF) and the Global Center on Cooperative Security. She was Founding Executive Director of Hostage US and the first Director of Hostage International.
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