New Charter CISO Ryan Davis sees shadow AI as a key risk

Ryan Davis, now CISO at New Charter Technologies, describes a career that began with hands-on tinkering and hacking as a formative grounding for modern security leadership. He recounts building a dual bachelor’s programme in information security and computer networking at Champlain College before joining MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he worked for five years focusing on information assurance and internal audit.

His next move was Veracode, where he progressed from security program manager in application security to security program architect, eventually running the firm’s information security programme as CISO in 2019 after expanding a one-person team into a 15-strong operation. SecurityWeek notes his tenure at Veracode lasted nearly a decade before moving to NS1 as CISO in 2020, with NS1 subsequently acquired by IBM in 2023 and rebranded. He joined New Charter Technologies in 2025 and remains in post today.

Davis frames the CISO role as a business enabler rather than a pure information protector, emphasising the need for both technical prowess and business acumen. He argues leaders must communicate security in business terms to senior executives and be able to influence without being overpowering. His approach to team-building centres on complementarity and diversity, blending technical and soft skills, with a focus on trust and transparency to sustain a cohesive security function.

He is candid about burnout, describing periods of 80–100 hour weeks and stressing the importance of balance—time with family and self-care alongside staying on top of security work. Mentoring is highlighted as essential, with a preference for continuous learning and professional investment.

His prime security concern is the unknown, particularly shadow AI: the challenge of defending against decisions driven by uncharted large language models and other emergent technologies, where visibility and understanding of the environment are crucial. Townsend, SecurityWeek, 5 November 2026.