Every claim on this site has been tested by a regulator, an auditor, or a market.
Boards don't need another list of accomplishments. They need evidence that an executive has performed under the exact conditions your company is about to face. Here is that evidence, organized by the pressure it was tested against.
Tested by: Multi-regulator scrutiny during ownership transition
MIO Partners — CISO of record, $26B AUM investment manager (2026–present)
Cybersecurity executive of record through the announced sale of MIO from McKinsey & Company to Neuberger Berman, a multi-party financial services transaction in which seller, operating company, and acquirer each required independent security assurance, under simultaneous SEC, FCA, and BaFin oversight.
Why this matters to you: Ownership transitions are the exact degradation window diligence teams and examiners target. Control continuity under three regulatory regimes at once is the hardest version of the test.
Tested by: A public market that had already lost confidence
Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL) — CISO & CTO, ~$1.2B retailer (2019–2021)
Built the enterprise security and governance program while the company rebuilt stakeholder confidence after a national reputational crisis, with every control decision visible to auditors, regulators, investors, and press. Shifted security from compliance activity to business-risk discipline with named ownership.
Why this matters to you: This is the closest proxy for the trust-officer mandate. The job wasn't just reducing risk, it was making trust demonstrable again to a market that had already punished the brand.
Tested by: Regulators writing the rules in real time
PokerStars / Resorts Casino — CISO during the launch of regulated U.S. online gaming (2014–2015)
Built and secured a regulated online gaming platform under direct, continuous NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement oversight, a category where regulator trust determined whether the business could operate at all. Worked directly with regulators to shape practical cybersecurity expectations for an industry with no precedent.
Why this matters to you: Every pre-IPO AI and fintech company faces this same tension today, speed to market against regulatory readiness, in a category whose rules are still being written.
Amazon Web Services — Executive Technology & Cybersecurity Advisor (2021–2025)
Guided 200+ Fortune 500 boards and C-suites through high-stakes cloud, cybersecurity, resilience, and AI-readiness decisions. Restructured board-level security communication from activity reporting to decision-grade information, exposure, readiness, material risk, the format SEC cyber disclosure rules now presume.
Why this matters to you: Board communication isn't a soft skill in this role. It's the deliverable.
Tested by: 200+ boardrooms
Tested by: Customer trust as the entire business model
Orvis — CISO & CTO, ~$300M multi-channel brand (2015–2019)
Architected enterprise payment tokenization across the full multi-channel platform, materially reducing PCI scope and cardholder-data exposure, published as an industry case study. Unified customer-trust exposure into a single executive view.
Why this matters to you: Trust without operational drag, governance that supported growth rather than constraining it.
The Home Depot — Senior Security Engineer & Architect (2012–2014)
Secure architecture for payments, identity, and infrastructure in one of the world's highest-volume cardholder-data environments. Security embedded in design, not bolted on after.
Foundation
Board credentials & education
NACD Directorship Certified (NACD.DC) • CISSP • CRISC • AIGP (IAPP) • PCI-P & ISA • COBIT 5 • Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz College — CISO Executive Program • Advisory Board Member, Norwich University Cybersecurity Master's Program
Tyson Martin is the executive public and pre-IPO companies in financial services, AI/data, SaaS, and cloud hire to make trust a measurable asset, one accountable answer to Is it secure? Is it resilient? Is the AI governed?
© 2026. All rights reserved.
Navigation
Free Resources
Contact
Stay ahead of your next board agenda
Sign up for Reports & Learnings From the Boardroom. Plain-English AI and cyber governance insights, biweekly. No pitch.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. · Or download the Director's AI Question Pack — 25 questions free