Kara Schlageter is a cybersecurity executive with a career that bridges human resources, technology, and security leadership. Formerly Deputy CISO at First Citizens Bank, she brings a rare perspective shaped by early consulting experience, large scale transformation work at Bank of America, and deep exposure to identity and access management. Her path into cybersecurity began not with firewalls or endpoints, but with people, culture, and organizational change. Today, Kara is known for advocating a human centered approach to cybersecurity that treats leadership, empathy, and ethics as core security controls.
Kara Schlageter explains why cybersecurity must be demystified and understood as a human problem first. She challenges the common perception that security is primarily about tools, arguing instead that breaches happen because of human behavior, incentives, and culture. Her background in HR allows her to view cybersecurity through the lens of motivation, trust, and organizational design rather than purely technical controls.
She shares how her career evolved through consulting, identity and access management, and large scale transformation at Bank of America. While helping organizations grow rapidly, Kara learned that hiring decisions, culture, and leadership alignment matter as much as technical skill. That experience shaped her belief that understanding people is a force multiplier in cybersecurity.
The conversation also explores AI and its growing role in both security and leadership. Kara emphasizes that AI is a powerful tool, but one that must be governed carefully. She stresses the importance of transparency, ethical use, and intentional guardrails, especially as organizations rush to adopt AI driven capabilities without fully understanding long term risk.
As the discussion turns toward leadership, Kara outlines how the CISO role is changing. Modern security leaders must communicate risk in business terms, define culture, and align technology decisions with organizational values. Technical expertise still matters, but it is no longer sufficient on its own. The future of cybersecurity leadership belongs to those who can balance innovation with humanity.
Resources mentioned in this episode
Matthew Connor on LinkedIn
CyberLynx Website
Kara Schlageter on LinkedIn
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