Richard Nealon CISSP-ISSMP, SSCP #4205
Petition to have my name included on the 2022 (ISC)2 ballot for the Board of Directors election
I'm running a campaign to have my name added to the ballot of five names chosen by the current Board of Directors for five open positions on the Board of Directors for (ISC)2
Why:
I believe that current direction of Board strategy is devaluing every members certification.
The Board have effectively taken your right of choice away from this years election. I know that Stephen Mencik, Diana-Lynn Contesti, and Wim Remes all agree with me on this point, and I further support their candidacy to also be included on the election ballot when it's published. This campaign is not about casting your vote for me - it's about providing the membership with some choice in who will represent them!
Current Board Policy:
All successful candidates of the new Certified in Cybersecurity certification, will become full members of (ISC)2. Revenue is projected to increase by $125m annually
The sole focus of the organisation is on increasing revenue, rather than providing value to the current membership. The organisation now hoards $44m in cash, and Investments of $56m
Management and the Board interact with members in US, Singapore. and UK only. The rest of the world has been largely abandoned, and the existing global membership is completely disengaged
The Board is being driven by Management rather than vice versa. Policies and procedures are being changed on-the-fly to accommodate the failings of the Board, and these changes are not transparent to the members. Board committees appear to be mismanaged and there's no remediation (e.g. Ethics Committee is a mess, Nominations Committee is a mess, Audit Committee have allowed us to risk losing our not-for-profit status, Scheme Committee have mismanaged the content and delivery of the CC certification, Business Practices Committee should have investigated all of these fiascos, Board Chair calls member feedback "short-sighted", etc.)
My Pitch (just four of many changes that I want to effect):
Introduce the new CC certification at the current "Associate" level or at a new "Foundational" level (with reduced AMFs). Full membership should be reserved for experienced practitioners and professionals (and our CC Associates may become full Members when they gain experience and pass one of our Professional exams). If our new CC colleagues that are inexperienced, and have very basic knowledge only, are provided with full membership, it devalues the credentials of existing and new professional members (and the much lauded "Gold Standard" Brand of (ISC)2)
Our huge cache of monies should be ploughed back into re-engaging with the membership, and providing real and meaningful member benefit to new and existing members in line with our mission "Support and provide members and constituents with credentials, resources, and leadership to secure information and deliver value to society". We have to rid ourselves of many of the reasons that we're accused of being "just a money grabber" - if we gather revenue, it has to translate to real value for our members. We need to protect our not-for-profit status and remain focused as a professional membership body.
I want to focus Management on re-introducing in-person Security Summits in locations other than Washington, London and Singapore (let’s call these out for what they really are – Government (Defence) Lobbying opportunities). I want to provide a proper pathway for Management and Board to actively interact and engage with, and listen to, “ordinary” members throughout all jurisdictions, understand their needs, listen to their suggestions, take action, and provide them with feedback. I want us to provide real support for the (ISC)2 Chapters (rather than the current hands-off approach) and provide every member in every country a voice that can be heard. I want our members to be once again proud to be part of the (ISC)2 family and feel fully engaged with the organisation.
The Board needs to re-establish itself as a competent, governing, strategic Board. Management need to have clear, measurable objectives set by the Board that align with the organisation's strategy. Committees need to be effective and have clear oversight of their brief (and support when they're struggling). I will call for the resignation of any Director that is incapable of serving the best interests of all of our members.
My experience with (ISC)2:
I've been a volunteer with (ISC)2 for over 30 years. I've been a Board Director, Board Secretary, Board Committee Chair, Advisory Board Co-Chair, Test Developer, Exam Supervisor and Proctor, and Speaker/Presenter on behalf of (ISC)2. Under the Chair of Diana-Lynn Contesti, I was part of a small Strategy Committee that fundamentally changed the strategic direction of (ISC)2 from being focused on “Education and Certification” to having a focus of “Member-Centric Services”. We introduced The Foundation (Centre for Cyber Safety and Education); we introduced Chapters; we introduced diversity Scholarships. I am a proud recipient of the James R Wade Service Award, and two-time recipient of the President’s Award (now the CEO Award).
What I'm asking from you:
In order to have my name included on the ballot for this year's Board of Directors election, I need the support of no less than 500 members who are members (in good standing as of 26th May 2022) before September 1, 2022. If you would like to have some choice in who you elect this year, please send me an email (from your email address as recorded with (ISC)²) supporting my petition to: Threeofus4BoD@gmail.com and include the following information:
A statement that you endorse my candidacy to be included on the 2022 BoD election ballot (also state if you wish to support the candidacy of Diana-Lynn Contesti and Stephen Mencik (petitions below). I think that they'd make a huge difference in driving the change needed)
Your Name (as it's registered with (ISC)2)
Your membership (certificate) number
There are three final things that I ask:
Send the endorsement NOW. If you set it aside till tomorrow, it'll never get sent (I understand. We're all busy). There's less than two weeks before the closing date
Please share this link with other members of your professional network. 500 endorsements is a large number in a very short time, and all of the independent candidates need all of the support that we can get
Please reach out to me on (ISC)2 Community (TrickyDicky) if there's anything that you feel is a major issue for you with (ISC)2, and isn't represented above. If you disagree with any of the points that I've made, that's OK. I'm open to listening.
Thank you for your consideration and support.
Richard