Modern CISO Network: Board Book
A directory of board-ready security leaders
location
AMER
areas of expertise
- Data privacy and policy
- Risk management - cyber and otherwise
- Compliance and audit
- Recruit and retain top talent
- Strategy and planning
Sailaja Kotra-Turner
VP, CISO and Director Infrastructure and Operations
Brown-Forman
Over the course of Sailaja’s 20-year career, she has managed teams of IT professionals in Infrastructure, Security, Operations, Enterprise Applications, and Manufacturing. In her current role, she is responsible for the design, implementation, and maintenance of people, processes, and tools to ensure the availability, integrity, and security of all computer-based systems and networks across all technical platforms.
In her current and past roles, some of her major accomplishments include obtaining executive sponsorship for the security program by building cyber risk awareness with senior leadership and the Board of Directors. This initiative aimed to improve the security posture, as measured by NIST CSF scores, through the development and implementation of a prioritized multi-year roadmap to strengthen the cybersecurity framework’s security posture.
Additionally, Sailaja reorganized infrastructure, security, and operations functions to enhance cross-functional collaboration, resulting in cost savings and improved operational efficiencies. She also collaborated cross-functionally with legal, corporate risk, and senior leadership to successfully manage and contain a data exposure incident. This comprehensive approach included detection, containment, communication, recovery, and follow-up.